I played Royal Lytham & St Annes ahead of the AIG Women’s Open - here is what the pros will face
The 50th anniversary of the AIG Women’s Open will take place at the iconic Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, with the best female golfers in the world vying to take home the trophy.
144 of the best female players on the planet will go head-to-head for the championship trophy, with the low amateur being awarded the Smyth Salver.
Royal Lytham is one of the world’s most iconic venues, a links course situated slightly inland, renowned as a tough strategic test of golf.
Steep-sided bunkers surround tight fairways and small greens meaning inaccurate shots are punished.
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Established in 1976, the AIG Women’s Open is one of the five major championships in women’s golf and celebrates their 50th year of championing the changing face of women’s golf.
Now owned by The R&A, the tournament is the centrepiece of their commitment to growing women and girl’s golf. The growth of the women’s game has been recognised by Sky Sports with a new early window being added on Thursday and Friday adding three extra hours of coverage each day combined with 14 hours of live action across the championship weekend.
The AIG Women’s Open takes place from 29 July to August 2 2026 and prior to the championship kicking off, I was lucky enough to be invited down to the course to put my 20+ handicap skills to the test.
As we arrived at the grand clubhouse, the history of the venue hit us straight in the face.
You could be forgiven for thinking you’d walked into a living museum of golf, original golf clubs used by various winners of The Open and Bobby Jones’ legendary club from his 1926 Open win.
We were given an excellent breakdown of the course, clubhouse and facilities as we arrived at reception before heading to the range for a warm-up.
A quick chat with our lovely starter and we were ready to take on the challenge. As a relative newcomer to the game of golf, less than two years into my journey, it was the daunting par-3 to start, with a small gallery to add to the pressure.
With the AIG hoardings and the immaculate Women’s Open trophy on display behind us to further jangle the nerves, I took my 6-iron and proceeded to shank my first ball into the trees to the right.
After invoking the breakfast ball rule and being told not to worry by the starter, I managed to keep my second attempt in play but nowhere near the green. A smart chip over one of the enormous bunkers and a two-putt was enough to secure a bogey on the first.
Despite sitting slightly inland, Lytham is still exposed to the coastal winds synonymous with links courses, making this tricky course even more challenging for the best female players in the game, never mind an amateur.
Thankfully, the skies were clear with no rain. The wind, however, was howling. 35 mph gusts on the day made some par 4s feel like par 5s. Luckily for me, driver was my friend on this day and I managed to play some of my best shots off the tee to keep me in play and out of trouble in the huge pot bunkers.
Double bogeys on holes 2, 3, 4 and 5 genuinely felt like the best I could hope for before hitting my drive of the day on the par 5 6th. A 270-yard drive that split the fairway followed by a sweetly struck 7-iron helped me reach the green in two with the help of some wind and the contours of the course.
An eagle putt awaited me. It was no surprise that the course was in superb condition and the greens were no different. With the AIG Women’s Open flag furiously waving in the wind atop the pin, I blasted my first putt way past the hole. My second wasn’t much better but gave me a chance on the third, putting for a respectable par.
The same couldn’t be said for the next par 5 straight after the previous hole. Despite the wind helping my drive to around the 270-yard mark, my second shot went right into one of the huge pot fairway bunkers and after multiple attempts to get out, I ended with a triple-bogey.
A bogey on 8 followed before one of the most scenic holes on the entire track, the par 3 ninth. 51 on the front 9. Not great but not terrible.
The halfway house met us after the 11th hole, offering some of Lytham’s famous sausage rolls and they were easily some of the best I've ever had.
The score kept getting higher, but our enjoyment never once waned as we navigated around some more tricky holes in the blustery conditions.
We could see the iconic clubhouse in the distance as we slowly made our way around the iconic 18th hole.
To add even more pressure onto the final tee shot, our fantastic photographer for the day was on hand to take some unbelievable shots for us.
Despite the thought in the back of my mind to do anything but hit him with an errant tee shot, my final drive of the day was a peach, missing the many bunkers to rest firmly on the fairway.
A bogey to end capped a 105 finish, 34 over par, and it felt like I had played great. Golf is a funny game.
Having now experienced the course for myself, I can’t wait to watch the best female professionals in the world show how it’s really done for what promises to be one of the best days out this year.
The AIG Women’s Open takes place at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club from 29 July - August 2 2026. Tickets are priced from £25 for adults; youth tickets are half price and U16s go free.
Marcus Banks