Open golf practice range plan

Application submitted to use part of Birkdale Common for international contest

- BY ANDREW BROWN

PART of Birkdale Common in Southport could be taken over to be used as a practice range for the world’s top golfers playing at The Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale.

The tournament takes place in 2026, with tournaments coming to Southport around every eight years.

R&A Championships Limited has submitted a planning application to Sefton Council to utilise open land adjacent to the practice range at neighbouring Hillside Golf Club on Hastings Road in Birkdale for golf course use.

It would include the erection of new fencing and gates, the introduction of new landscaping, reprofiling works to create a practice tee and the diversion of the existing Public Right of Way.

A Public Right of Way crosses the centre of the site connecting Hastings Drive with the wider coast. To the north of the site is Greenbank High School. Royal Birkdale Golf Club is located to the west, with Hillside Golf Club and residential development located to the east.