It was only a couple of months ago when I again had the pleasure of teeing-up at Royal Liverpool and the famed Open Championship host venue located on the English west coast shoreline at Hoylake just to south of Liverpool.
For the past few years members of the Association of Golf Writers (AGW), and with overwhelming thanks to club secretary Simon Newland, have been afforded the opportunity to tee-up annually on the course that has hosted 13 Open Championships.
The first Royal Liverpool Open was in 1897 and the most recent included wins by Tiger Woods in 2006, Royal McIlroy in 2014 and lefty Brian Harman in 2023.
GIVEN @RLGCHoylake THE ALL CLEAR AFTER UNEXPLODED BOMB ALERT ……
The famed @TheOpen host ⛳️where TW @TigerWoods & @McIlroyRory golf’s oldest major evacuated ☹️
Read: https://t.co/WJeJe4kHUY
@TourMiss / Getty
✅ @TOURMISS @CallawayGolfEU pic.twitter.com/GqqXK4bx3W
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) December 13, 2025
Royal Liverpool is a stunning, true links layout and not a golf course you can take for granted.
It goes without saying in all the times the AGW has been fortunate to play the course there has never been the need to sound the alarm bells, calling everyone immediately from the course.
If there had been any need to sound any sort of alarm, it was due to the horrid state of your writer’s golf game (smiling).
On a serious note and what took place yesterday (Friday, December 12) on course at Royal Liverpook you could not take lightly as Simon explained and reported in the local Liverpool Echo newspaper.
“We’ve been undertaking some drainage work on the golf course and come across what looks to be like an unexploded artillery shell,” said Simon.
Royal Liverpool in all its glory. Image – GolfByTourmiss
On of the many great photographs and other Open Championship items on show within the Royal Liverpool clubhouse. Image – GolfByTourMiss
AGWs Dave Edwards joins the champions who have enjoyed success in playing Royal Liverpool. Image – GolfByTourMiss
“It’s very far down, about four or five foot under the playing surface, and one imagines it’s from the wartime. So we have evacuated the golf course and we’ve invited the police and bomb squad to have a look at it.
“At the moment, we’re currently waiting for an update and the initial inspections to be completed, and at the moment we have no clue when we’ll be able to recommence golf. All games are off for now.”
The newspaper report added Merseyside Police were called to the golf club on Meols Drive at around 12.30pm and with the police saying: “We can confirm that emergency services are at The Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake following a report that a suspected unexploded artillery shell was found on the course.
“The site has been cordoned off whilst emergency services are at the golf course. Members of the public are advised to avoid the area. Thank you for your patience whilst we investigate this incident.”
As a precaution, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was in attendance and later conducted a controlled explosion to rid the course of the bomb.
Not sure at this stage what hole on the course where this all took place.
Liverpool was second to London in terms of enemy German bombs dropped on the city in World War 11.
The first major Germany air raid on Liverpool took place in August 1940, when 160 bombers attacked the city on the night of 28 August.
This assault continued over the next three nights, then regularly for the rest of the year.
There were 50 raids on the city during this three-month period. Some of these were minor, comprising a few aircraft, and lasting a few minutes, with others comprising up to 300 aircraft and lasting over ten hours. On 18 September, 22 inmates at Walton Gaol were killed when high-explosive bombs demolished a wing of the prison.
The heaviest raid on Liverpool took place on 28 November, 1940 with a heavy bombardment on the city, and the most serious single incident, when a hit on an air-raid shelter in Durning Road caused 166 fatalities. Winston Churchill described it as the “single worst incident of the war”.[6]
The air assault in 1940 came to a peak with the Christmas Blitz, a three-night bombardment from 20–22 December.
Anyway, pleased yesterday’s news from Royal Liverpool was on good note, and wishing Simon and the team the very best for the upcoming Christmas festive season.
