Hillside Golf Club

From Flat Links to Giant Dunes

The golf course at Hillside Golf Club dates to 1911, although the layout seen today took shape much later. After the club acquired new land in the 1960s, Fred W. Hawtree remodelled the course and created a new homeward half through the larger dunes. This change gave Hillside its clear two-part rhythm.

The opening nine plays across flatter linksland, with the railway marking one edge and position carrying more value than brute length. After the turn, the ground rises sharply. Fairways ripple between dunes, while elevated tees expose broader views across neighbouring links and, in clear weather, towards the Lake District and Snowdonia.

The par-five 11th captures the shift. Its elevated tee reveals a left-moving fairway before the approach climbs to a raised green, with a deep bunker waiting on the right. Mackenzie & Ebert later worked on the course, including dune reconstruction on the front nine and new sand scrapes and dunes at the 18th, strengthening the visual link between both halves.