Just a couple of miles from Royal Lytham & St. Anne’s is a course called St. Anne’s Old Links, a place that, as the name would suggest, is old-style links golf with a classic atmosphere. Almost completely unknown and overlooked, this Open Final Qualifying Venue is a wonderful links experience, a chance to play a course nicely unchanged over the decades, with one of the most unique settings in golf. The distant Blackpool Tower, a miniature of the Eiffel Tower, and a giant rollercoaster along the pier both serve as aiming points many times during the round. Our favorite holes are the 9th and the 18th. 9 is a superb par-3, straight into the traditional clubhouse, with the green hidden in the dunes, surrounded by steep, deep-faced bunkers. The 18th is a classic finishing hole, a short par-5 with the second shot completely blind over a mound, with the old railway hugging the right of the fairway, and an old bridge to the right of the green. Perfect for arrival day, or an evening round after playing Royal Lytham, we highly recommend including the “Old Links” on your Lancashire itinerary!