Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa: This good-quality, relatively recent and flattish parkland course provides an enjoyable alternative from the better known and perhaps more revered seaside links courses on the other side of the Liverpool-Southport road (e.g. Formby, Hillside, West Lancs and Royal Birkdale). The greens and fairways here are a tad softer, and orchard-sized trees rather than big sand dunes break-up the reasonably open terrain. Strangely though, it appears that dozens of links-like revetted bunkers decided to migrate across the A565 road, and install themselves onto this otherwise parkland-style layout. Great news that they did, since these excellent and often quite deep bunkers (many pot bunkers among them) provide good definition to the holes and solid defences around the greens. In addition to the bunkering, water hazards are also a significant factor (and also home to a multitude of water fowl) especially on the more interesting and varied back-nine. From the front nine you'll get occasional glimpses of the old Formby Hall.