Royal Lytham & St Annes Revisited
The 2026 AIG Women's Open closes out the links and major season over a historic venue now scheduled to host the 156th Open.
The AIG Women’s Open returns to Royal Lytham & St Annes this week for the sixth time. As with the U.S. Women’s Open host Riviera from earlier this year, we get to see the world’s best women on a classic test bound to offer a reminder of what golf looks like when skilled players are confronted by a design in proportion with their hitting distances.
Which is all a wordy way of saying: we might see the driver matter (depending on just how fast the fairways are running after the summer heatwaves).
The historic club seemed as if it might be destined to past-Open rota status following the 2012 Open and the recent prioritization of fan capacity. But several tweaks later and a successful staging of the AIG Women’s Open in 2018 has the club on full display this week (before hosting The 156th Open in the first year of new testing protocols limiting distances.)
The storied links and its history-rich clubhouse have been celebrating this year’s centennial of the incredible number of firsts from 1926: the first year with Royal status, the club’s first Open hosted, and the first Open won by Bobby Jones.
As with Royal Birkdale, which sits 8.5 miles to the south (as the gull flies), Lytham has had a knack for producing compelling finishes and deserving champions who were among the best of their era. And stuff happens at Lytham. Maybe not to peak Birkdale levels—I don’t have Charley Hull demanding new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the phone on my bingo card—but you get the idea. Don’t turn off the AIG Women’s Open until the champion is giving her thank you speech.
Random stuff to whet your viewing appetite for the 50th anniversary of the championship:
Established in 1976 and now owned by The R&A, a field of 144 competes. Future venues include Royal St George’s in 2027 and Sunningdale in 2028.
2026 will be the sixth Women’s Open at Lytham. Previous winners include Georgia Hall (2018), Catriona Matthew (2009), Annika Sorenstam (2003) and Sherri Steinhauer (2006).
The club was founded by 19 members on February 27, 1886, with 27 holes opened for play in 1887 (18 holes for men and 9 for ladies).
Lytham & St. Annes moved to the current location ten years later when the club’s professional George Lowe’s design was unveiled. It’s since seen significant development surrounding the course and is the only Open rota course not adjacent to the sea (two AIG Women’s Open regular venues are on inland sites).
H.S. Colt revamped nearly every hole in 1919, including a new 17th green that became sacred ground after Bobby Jones’s infamous 175-yard mashie-iron shot in 1926 (more below on that).
More Colt and C.H. Alison changes were made in 1935, including today’s fantastic par-3 12th.
Other architects to work on the course include Herbert Fowler, Tom Simpson, Stan Eby, C.K. Cotton/J.J.F. Pennink. And more recently, Donald Steel and then Mackenzie & Ebert ahead of the 2012 Open and this week’s championship. (More in a moment on the latest changes.)
In case you haven’t heard, you’ll be reminde this week that Royal Lytham starts on a par-3. The odd-way-to-start will play 180 yards for the women.
The place has always been sandy. Both in the form of bunkering (north of 170 despite some removal work in recent years), and dunes that made Jones’ shot so incredible. The earlier bunkering was less formal and is now a traditional sod-revetted face look.
For the full story on Bobby Jones’ incredible shot and how he almost did not play at Lytham, Golf Digest adapted Steven Reid’s excellent account in his wonderful book, Bobby Jones and the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club.
The short version: Jones was two back with five to go in a duel against fellow American Al Watrous. But he chipped away, arrived at the dogleg left 17th tied and pulled his tee shot left into the dunes. Jones proceeded to pu a 175-yard “mashie-iron” (his 3-iron) onto the green from a poor angle and obstructed view.
