In many ways Formby Ladies Golf Club is unique. It is thought to be the only club in the UK with ladies-only membership, while welcoming both male and female visitors. 

The course is deceptively challenging, with tight, twisting fairways, undulating dunes and unforgiving heather in a setting which is both links and heathland.

Nestling on the same coastal estate as Formby Golf Club it offers a distinctive challenge to visitors touring the renowned North West golf coast, with its surprisingly formidable design giving pause for thought on every hole.

As a Site of Special Scientific Interest, its greenkeepers take great pride in preserving the variety of trees and foliage which are home to many sorts of wildlife, including buzzards, deer, red squirrels, foxes and pheasants.

Visitors are assured of a warm welcome in the friendly clubhouse, where staff provide day-long hot and cold meals and snacks and possibly the best range of home-baked cakes in any British golf club! 

Formby Ladies is on the National Club Golfers’ wish list of five courses to play after lockdown.

Click here to see what they have to say

Women have played over the links at Formby since the earliest days, initially as the Ladies’ section of the Formby Golf Club (FGC). Indeed the first plus handicap recorded in FGC was that of a woman, Miss M. I. Bushby, who on the 18th November 1885 returned a score of 72+5=77 in a monthly competition for a ladies’ prize.

As early as 1886 the women were invited to form their own committee to organise ladies competitions and handicaps and over the next ten years the Ladies’ Section thrived. Relations between the two Sections seem to have been excellent with several mixed foursome competitions being played. However when the men decided to make alterations to their course in 1896 the women asked if they could have a course of their own. Minutes from that time show the FGC council agreeing that “the women should have a course of their own for their amusement”

On New Year’s Day 1896 the Formby Ladies Golf Club (FLGC) was born. The women now had a nine-hole  course and a small clubhouse of their own but remained dependent on FGC for the management of their course.

Club minutes from early 1907 record a flurry of correspondence between FGC and FLGC regarding the cost of extending the Ladies’ course. It was soon agreed that FGC would proceed with the work on the basis of only charging the Ladies with “the actual cost of the men’s time and feed of the horses whilst employed on the work”. An annual rent of £300 was agreed and to assist the Ladies in paying this rent it was also agreed that the Ladies could elect as “associates” any member of FGC at one guinea per annum. Those members of FGC who were not “associates” would be charged a nominal fee per day to play the Ladies’ course. The Ladies retained the right to play on the Long Course (FGC) without payment but at restricted times.

The new 18-hole links was officially opened on 1st July 1908 and during the same year the Ladies’ Clubhouse was extended to accommodate the growing membership, which now stood at one hundred and nineteen ladies. Finally in the mid-1920s FLGC employed their own green staff and took over the maintenance and development of the course.Members of FGC retained the right to be “associate” members of FLGC until 2010 when sadly, the passing of the Equalities Act meant that we could no longer offer this type of membership as it was deemed to be discriminatory.

Over the years we have hosted many prestigious competitions at County, National and International level including the British Girls’ Home Internationals, the British Men’s Seniors and the British Women’s Seniors. In 2024 we hosted a Rose ladies series event and we will be hosting it again this year.

Taster lessons for beginners are organised throughout the year with our Professional Andrew Witherup.  If you think you might like to take up golf, why not come along, find out all about us, and give it a go!  You will receive a very warm welcome!

To book a place or for further information please contact the secretary on 01704 873493 or email tasters.formbyladies@gmail.com

Formby Ladies Golf Club welcomes Junior Girl members (from 10 years of age).

For details of membership and applications please contact the Secretary/Manager,

Mrs Anne Bromley on 01704  873493.