9 things you should know about this week's open site
Nine years ago, Jordan Spieth spent 20 minutes planning his options to get the Claret Jug down the line. The wait seemed to last forever. Time has passed.
Just like that, the Open Championship is back at Royal Birkdale for the club's 11th turn as host. Before the game begins, here are some things you should know about one golf tournament.
It was born as a nine-hole course
The club first hosted play in 1889 on what was then a nine-hole course. Eight years later, it moved to its current home at Birkdale Hills, where 18 holes were laid out by George Lowe, head technician at Royal Lytham & St. Annes nearby.
It's in a golf rich zip code
Community playtimes are not running at Royal Birkdale this week. But there are many other nearby places to play. An hour's drive along the Irish Sea coast will take you to a constellation of outstanding courses, including Royal Lytham, Royal Liverpool, Wallasey, Formby, West Lancashire, Hillside and Southport & Ainsdale.
It's a relative newcomer to the rota
Of all the clubs on the current Open rota, Royal Birkdale is the newest addition. Although it was founded in 1889, it did not hold its first Open until 1954, when Peter Thomson claimed the Claret Jug.
Its name “Royal” marked its growing reputation
Not all good links get the royalty treatment. Royal Birkdale got its name in 1951, when King George VI gave the club permission to add the coveted initial to its name. The time was not perfect. In 1946 and 1948, Birkdale was in the limelight when he won the British Amateur Championship and the Curtis Cup, respectively. Then in 1951, six months before the king issued his official contract, the club proved its worth – and an even bigger competition was yet to come.
It was course golf before that was a thing
Long before the rise of man-made courses, Royal Birkdale provided a natural example – the structure, ranked 42nd on GOLF's list of the Top 100 Courses in the World, runs through an area of towering dunes. Despite those amazing features, the design itself is a bit underwhelming, with mostly soft contours and a few eye-popping graphics. It's often referred to as the “correct” open test, although don't try to tell that to anyone who spends time in the riveted fairway bunkers, which are steep, devilishly placed and in the middle of the course's defenses.
Its clubhouse breaks the links mold
Unlike the Victorian and Tudor lodges found in many open spaces, the Royal Birkdale headquarters looks futuristic. The striking Art Deco structure opened in 1935 after architects Fred Hawtree and JH Taylor redesigned the course, removing the opening hole and making the old field obsolete.
Architect George Tonge won a design competition with a structure inspired by a naval ship. As he later explained, “I visualized the lines of the line at sea; the perfect balance of the ship at any angle and from any direction it was seen.”
Nearly a century later, it remains one of the most famous clubhouses in tournament golf.
Work booked by Birkdale
Thomson's victory in 1954 was the first of three straight Open titles in a career that would eventually include five. Royal Birkdale served as bookkeepers to that remarkable run, as it also hosted the '65 Open, the last time Thomson lifted the Claret Jug.
It has produced marquee winners – and unforgettable moments
The list of Royal Birkdale champions reads like a Hall of Fame vote. Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Padraig Harrington and Jordan Spieth have all lifted the Claret Jug here.
The near misses are almost memorable.
In 1976, 19-year-old Seve Ballesteros burst onto the international scene with an early play marked by a deft chip from the fescue that weaved between the bunkers to the tee on the 18th hole, earning him a tie for second with Jack Nicklaus.
Twenty-two years later another rash show appeared. This time it was 17-year-old rookie Justin Rose, who chipped away at the final hole to finish fourth, a shot that created one of the Open's most memorable celebrations.
Then came Spieth in 2017.
The tournament is remembered for a 20-minute rules discussion after his bogey on the 13th. But what happened next was even more remarkable. Spieth salvaged a bogey, then played his final five holes in five under par, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 15th and a hole-out from a greenside bunker on the 17th, turning one of the Open's strangest stretches into one of its best.
It's not the same Birkdale Spieth won
Championship courses often find the architectural equivalent of nips and tucks between major events. Royal Birkdale has had something close to a facelift.
Since Spieth's victory in 2017, the club has made several major changes. The old 14th hole is gone, and the new 15th is absolute brutality – a par-3 that stretches to 240 yards. After a test visit, Rory McIlroy described the new hole as compelling but suggested it could be “fun” with misplaced tees, perhaps playing better if moved further than a 6- or 7-iron distance.
The 5th hole was also changed from a blind shot to a drivable par-4 after the large mound was removed, giving players a clearer view of the green. Note the hidden pond on the right.
As for the new 15th, the first residence by the green can also disturb your mind. Sir Nick Faldo described it as an “optical illusion” because, from the tee, it appears to be sitting directly in front of the putt when it is actually from the left.
