A golf club in Blackburn has placed among the 200 best golf courses in the British Isles following the completion of its £1 million restoration.
Pleasington Golf Club secured a spot in Golf Monthly magazine’s prestigious list of courses in the UK and Ireland.
Placed in the 100-200 section, which does not rank courses by number, the accolade puts Pleasington in the top six per cent of courses in the British Isles.
The recognition comes following the completion of its five-year ‘Good2Great’ project, which has seen a full restoration of the course to its original heathland splendour, along with further off-course changes to improve the club’s standing financially and within the community.
Writing in the June issue of Golf Monthly, course expert Jeremy Ellwood said: “Pleasington is a course I’d heard about but never played until a few years ago.
The course has stunning views across Lancashire (Image: NQ Staff) “I was hugely impressed, especially with the holes from the sixth to the 11th where its heathland credentials are at their strongest.
“Subsequent visits have revealed more rich treasures as hole after hole has been improved, especially the unique, split-level par-5 seventh and the superb par 3 that follows.”
The seventh hole, named The Mill, featured a steep funnel to the lower portion of the hole, offering a brilliant risk-reward choice for a player on the tee box; play safe and stay at the top level, or be brave and try and catch the slope to create a great scoring opportunity.
The signature seventh hole, The Mill (Image: NQ Staff) Mark Bleasdale, general manager at Pleasington Golf Club, said: “This recognition from Golf Monthly is a testament to the vision, investment and hard work that has gone into transforming Pleasington over the past five years.
“We are incredibly proud to see the club ranked among the UK and Ireland’s finest courses, and we look forward to welcoming golfers from near and far to experience Lancashire’s number one heathland course.”
A 12-time Open Qualifying venue, Pleasington will also host a Men’s Senior Order of Merit competition in memory of gifted East Lancs golfer Trevor Foster later this year.
Elsewhere in Lancashire, Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club was ranked the 16th best golf course in the UK and Ireland, down two places from the previous biennial list, while St Annes Old Links was also included in the 100-200 list.
In the historic Lancashire boundaries, Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport was ranked the sixth best course – the highest ranking English links – while Hillside Golf Club, also in Southport, placed 30th, Formby ranked 40th, Southport and Ainsdale placed 65th, and West Lancashire Golf Club came in at 75th.
The top four courses in the UK and Ireland remained unchanged, with Northern Ireland’s stunning Royal County Down in first place, while second to fourth was an all-Scotland affair, with the Home of Golf, the historic Old Course at St Andrew’s in second spot, Turnberry’s magical Ailsa links in third, and Muirfield in East Lothian in fourth.
The full list is available by visiting the Golf Monthly website.
