Lancaster Country Golf Club: History & Significance of the 2024 US Women’s Open Venue Explored

The second women’s major is just around the corner. Scheduled from May 30 to June 2, the US Women’s Open consists of a field of 156 players. The field is carefully curated, consisting of past winners, top performers, and golfers who successfully cleared the qualifiers. Players like South Korea’s Gee Chun and the defending champion, Allisen Corpuz, are on the field this year.

The players will be competing for an exemption into the next 10 U.S. Women’s Open Championships, along with a hefty share of $12 million in prize money. This event boasts the highest purse for female golfers to grab on the LPGA Tour. The tournament is returning to the Lancaster Country Club, which was a host for the event nine years ago, in 2015! Apart from being one of the finest courses in Lancashire, it has also been the main venue for the Lancashire County Championship on several occasions. Here is all you need to know about the course.

James Braid: The mastermind of the Lancaster Country Club

James Braid, who won the Open Championship five times (1901, 1905-06, 1908, and 1910), designed the Lancaster Country Golf Club in 1932. Renowned as one of Britain’s greatest course architects, he wanted to provide a challenge to every golfer on the greens. It is a 6512-yard-long course with 71 off-the-white tees, which includes the infamous classic dogleg on the 9th hole. Apart from that, the 17th hole, regarded as the ‘Braids Best’ is one of the longest holes.

The Scottish professional golfer dreamt of making a course in harmony with the beautiful landscape, with just the right amount of theater. This is when he decided to make the dramatically striking effect that comes after the 11 holes. The parkland course displays an unexpected seaward aspect, facing toward Morecambe Bay.

Nonetheless, the signature hole of the course is the daunting elevated tee on the 18th hole. It poses the problem of carrying a ravine of rough ground, water, and sand to the green below from an exceptionally high tee. The course has an Oak tree on the left, with an additional four bunkers, which makes the putting area all the more challenging. The tree has been there even before the course was constructed.

Lancaster Country Club became a signatory to the R&A Women

The CEO of England Golf announced that the Lancaster Country Golf Club has met all the requirements to become a signatory to the R&A Women in Golf Charter in November 2020. The club has ever since catered to the various commitments that motivate more women to become golfers.

From promoting female representation on the Board of Directors and any other committees that take care of the club membership to implementing strategies that support the retention of women in the sport, there could be no better venue for the women’s major! It not only works for professional female golfers but also adopts an approach with female and family imagery and gender-neutral language throughout the clubhouse and website. This is why there is a higher chance of an 85% rise in the viewership of this year’s US Women’s Open, as confirmed by the host than it was back in 2015.

Are you excited to be a part of the second Women’s Majors? Who are you rooting for? Let us know in the comments section below!