Europro Tour Pro-am Formby Hall Golf Resort and Spa

The budding stars of the Europro Tour were dealt a treat this week with a trip to the fantastic Formby Hall Golf Resort and Spa. Having quickly established itself as one of the top golf resorts in the North of England, Formby is revered as a superb test of golf with quick greens and plenty of water coming into play for wayward tee-shots.

The pro-am takes place over the day prior to the tournament and allows amateurs an opportunity to experience a golf course in pristine tournament condition. Formby Hall Golf Resort and Spa assembled an elite team to take part in this event, unfortunately they were unavailable so they had to settle for some average golfers from Your Golf Travel.com (Andrew Harding & Oliver Gunning) and Charlie Grimley from Englands Golf Coast.

Our pro for the day was Eliott Saltman, did exceptionally well considering the lack of star quality in his team. Eliott recently competed in his first Major event at the Open Championship at Turnberry, although his +6 total for 36 was shy of the cut line by two based on his perforamance in the pro-am we’re sure it won’t be long until the talented Scotsman is back in this illustrious company.

We’ll now give you a brief rundown of the holes at Formby Hall and our very amateur advice for playing the course –

1st Hole – Par 4 – 366 yards
The hole is a great opening hole with bunkers placed down the left and right as well as out-of-bounds right and water left. Needless to say all amateurs missed the fairway and Eliott hit a 300+ yard drive.

2nd Hole – Par 3 – 186 yards
With pot bunkers short right and left, club selection is key to getting your tee-shot on the green. The green slopes from back to front so keeping it short of the flag will give you an uphill putt and potentially a birdie opportunity. One amateur on the green, one pro on the green and two amateurs were building sandcastles in the bunkers.

3rd Hole – Par 5 – 493 yards
Good birdie opportunity if you miss the fairway bunkers, out of bounds right, trees left and water short. Eliott negotiated this perfectly in carding a birdie 4, the amateurs were less than impressive with us sampling some if not all of the hazards.

4th Hole – Par 4 – 361 yards
Short par 4 with a good opportunity for a birdie if you can avoid the water to the left off the tee and the bunker on the right. Hitting the perfect second shot is important here with the green raised above you and a big pond short of the green.

5th Hole – Par 4 – 468 yards
A sweeping dog-leg left with 5 bunkers coming into play off the tee. Hitting the fairway is imperative if you are to be able to have a chance of hitting the elevated green in two.

6th Hole – Par 3 – 182 yards
The wheels start to come off our challenge on this hole. 4 attempts and 4 shots miss the green in regulation, the amateurs show off exemplary short games in all of us failing to get up and down, Eliott the pro saved our bacon with a superb exhibition of how a chip and putt should be executed.

7th Hole – Par 5 – 521 yards
Another demanding tee-shot with water coming into play for drives up the left hand side. It takes two mighty blows to reach the dancefloor in two and with water short of the putting surface you’ll have to make sure you hit the perfect shot to reach a very small green with a big pot bunker left of the green.

8th Hole – Par 4 – 430 yards
Hitting out of a tunnel of trees, this par 4 is very demanding with players needing to favour the left hand side to avoid the large trees on the right hand side of the hole. Second shots are greeted by a slopey green where shots to the left of the hole are left with a very quick putt.

9th Hole – Par 4 – 383 yards
Great par four with a hazard and a small copse of trees on the left, golfers should keep the ball to the right off the tee to ensure a good angle into a small green surrounded by many bunkers. The green is a two-tiered affair so getting the correct distance is key to taking advantage of this birdie opportunity.

10th Hole – Par 4 – 309 yards
A driveable par four for the longer hitters but those taking on the green should steer clear of the left hand side which features out-of-bounds and some intimidating pot bunkers. The green features many slopes and you should keep your approach shot short of the hole to get a birdie opportunity.

11th Hole – Par 4 – 386 yards
A tight driving hole with two bunkers in the middle of the fairway who will capture any balls from players wanting to take on too much of the dog-leg. The green is protected by a pond short right of the green and a large oak tree approximately 50 yards short. Good par four, anyone walking away with a par will be very happy.

12th Hole – Par 4 – 471 yards
Tough driving hole where you will need to hit the fairway for a chance of hitting the green in two. At 471 yards this is one of the hardest holes on the course and can assure you none of the amateurs troubled old man par on this hole.

13th Hole – Par 3 – 220 yards
Unlucky for some, hole 13 is a terrific par 3 where club selection is vital. With two cavernous pot bunkers on the left hand side anyone missing the green on this side will be left with no chance of walking away with a score of par.

14th Hole – Par 5 – 593 yards
Very long par 5 which is set up to be a tricky three shotter. A large water hazard comes into play from 100 yards out so anyone trying to take on more with their 2nd shot will run the risk of a cricket score on this hole. The green is very tricky with numerous slopes and is very quick from back to front.

15th Hole – Par 4 – 460 yards
Long par four with trees coming into play for the tee-shot both on the left and right. This was the scene of possibly the longest drive in the world ever from Eliott. Playing slightly into the wind and uphill Eliott hit a drive of well over 300 yards much to the amazement of his playing partners hence why we all missed the fairway to give him a clear run at the green, what great team players we are.

16th Hole – Par 3 – 187 yards
The amateurs in the group were left with a real test on this hole, Eliott playing first hit his tee-shot into the water which left us utter chaos and disarray. Thankfully we scraped 4 points on the hole thanks to an incredibly lucky birdie and equally lucky bogey. With a big pond short of the green and unwelcoming bunkers this is a short but dangerous hole.

17th Hole – Par 4 – 397 yards
Great par 4 with accuracy off the tee paramount to getting it close to the green in two. With bunkers left approximately 250 yards off the tee and water all the way up the right this is a very tricky hole. This proved no problem for Charlie who found the fairway and hit a superb second shot which ended in a fantastic birdie 3, cue the following crowd of 2 people to go wild in celebration. This 5 pointer hole for the team was a rare moment where we may have troubled the prizes.

18th Hole – Par 5 – 542 yards
A very intimidating tee-shot with water all along the right hand side for any mishit slices. The approach shot is as equalling intimidating with water coming into play again, as well as the pressure of a watching gallery from the terrace on the 19th hole. Thankfully Eliott’s birdie ensured we had a champagne moment to finish with.

Our team ended on a very respectable 84 stableford points (winners had 87) to just miss out on the prizes. The professional prize was won by Adam Frayne of St Mellion International Resort with a score of 69 (-3).
A great day was had by all who attended and the feedback received by the pros playing was that the course was one of the best they’d played so far on the Europro Tour.

Your Golf Travel.com offer uk golf breaks and golf tours to Formby Hall and Southport starting from £79 per person for more information please visit their website or simply call 0800 043 6644.

Formby Hall Golf Resort

Formby Hall Golf Resort Review. We travelled here over the weekend of 19th and 20th July and were really happy with the resort and would fully recommend it. The hotel itself is of a very high 4* standard and catered for our every need. The hotel was also chosen to be Padraig Harrington’s base when he won the Open Championship at nearby Royal Birkdale in 2008. Despite such illustrious guests, I’m sorry to say that my golf didn’t quite match that of Padraig!

The course at Formby is a great challenge with plenty of water coming into play as well as some interesting bunkers. The condition was really good and can see why they use this course on the professional tour. Whilst there we met others who were actually on their 2nd and 3rd trip to Formby and can definitely see why people would go back there for a golf break.

The quality of the hotel is clear from the onset and was very impressed with the food but a special mention must be made to the staff who were outstanding from the moment we checked in to departure. The rooms were very modern and had every facility you’d expect including Sky TV and an ultra large flat screen tv.
We’d definitely rate this break 9 out of 10, it was great value for money and look forward to returning in the near future, its without doubt the best golf resort in the north-west of England.

Jeff travelled to Formby Hall Golf Club on a golf break with Your Golf Travel.com who have golf breaks starting from just £79 per person including dinner, bed and breakfast and two rounds of golf. For more information simply click here or call 0800 043 6644.