The Course

Royal Birkdale sits between Southport and Ainsdale on a stretch of Lancashire linksland that is among the finest in England — the sandhill ridges that divide the fairways are higher and more dramatic than at most links courses, creating a layout that feels more enclosed and protected than the open heathlands of Surrey while losing none of the exposure to the wind that defines links golf. The fairways are the finest feature of the course: flat valley floors between the dunes, running true and firm in summer, with the ball sitting up perfectly on the short links turf.

The course was redesigned in its current form by Fred Hawtree and J.H. Taylor in the 1930s and has since hosted ten Open Championships — the most recently in 2017, when Jordan Spieth survived one of the most dramatic Sundays in the championship’s modern history. Nicklaus conceded his famous putt to Jacklin here in 1969. Lee Trevino’s chip-in sequence in 1971. Tom Watson in 1983. Padraig Harrington in 2008. Royal Birkdale has a history of producing moments that define the Open, because the course demands the full range of golf in a way that few links anywhere can match.

The layout stretches to over 7,100 yards from the championship tees and plays to a par of 70 — a severe, uncompromising test on any day. The visitor tee times available on weekdays are substantial, and the welcome at Birkdale is genuine — this is a club that takes pride in its openness to visiting golfers who have made the effort to get there.