british open - royal birkdale golf club

The OPEN Championship2008

ROYAL BIRKDALECourse Guide

The Mulligan+ Course Guide for Royal Birkdale Golf Course - Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Type Links

Country England

Region North West

County Merseyside

Town Southport

Address Waterloo Road

Postcode PR8 2LX

Phone 01704 567920

Email [email protected]

Website www.royalbirkdale.com

Course Vitals

Holes 18 Yards 6305 Slope 0

SSS 72 Par 72 Par 72 - (Ladies & Juniors)

Playing Card 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Hole Par 4 4 4 3 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 5 4 5 4

Par (Ld's & Juniors) 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 5 4 5 5

Stroke Index 11 3 7 15 13 1 17 9 5 14 8 16 4 18 2 12 6 10

Club Features

Club House Club Hire Putting Green Pro Shop

Practice Area Club Bar Driving Range Restaurant

Trolley Hire Changing Rooms Buggy Hire Lessons

The Club

Though a relative newcomer to the Open Championship rota, only hosting its first Open in 1954, Royal Birkdale is regarded bymany to be the finest championship venue of all. And in order to get an idea of the stature of the course, one only has to look at theevents that have been staged there. Eight Open Championships , two Ryder Cups, the Walker Cup, the Curtis Cup and countlessmajor amateur events have all been played over the hallowed turf of Royal Birkdale.

It is often said that great golf courses invariably produce great champions and this being true, Royal Birkdale must be pretty good.Birkdale's list of winners reads like a veritable who's who of golfing greats; among them being Peter Thompson (1954 & '65), ArnoldPalmer (1961), Lee Trevino (1971), Johnny Miller (1976), Tom Watson (1983), Ian Baker Finch (1991) and Mark O' Meara (1998).And in September 1969, Birkdale was also the scene of one of the most memorable and sporting moments in Ryder Cup history, when Jack Nicklaus conceded Tony Jacklin's putt on the final green to half the game and the match.

Founded by a group of eight golf enthusiasts on July 30th 1889, the original nine-hole course was extended to eighteen holes by theturn of the century. The first major reconstruction at Royal Birkdale occurred in the early 1930's when five-times Open Champion J. H.Taylor and course architect Charles Hawtree joined forces. Work aimed at fine-tuning the links has been ongoing over the years and itis to the credit of the club that all the greens were redesigned and rebuilt between the Opens of 1991 and 1998 - such is theforward-looking attitude of the club.

As for the golf course itself, Royal Birkdale is exceptionally fair, with the problems associated with each hole clearly stated. With eachhole essentially running along valley-like fairways amidst towering dunes, the sound advice is to avoid sampling the punitive delightsof the sand hills, buckthorn and thick scrub. It is nigh impossible to select any particular hole for special praise. It suffices to say thatright from the off, having negotiated a 450-yard par four, double dogleg start, Royal Birkdale will provide the links purist with aprofound golfing experience, which will linger in the memory as long as you live.

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The Course

The Royal Birkdale has some fantastic courses ranging from difficult par 3's to some long par 4's. The stunning coastal resort of Southport is host to the finest links courses in England. This is the home of Royal Birkdale, for manygolfers, quite simply, the best of all the great golf courses to have staged The Open Championship.

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Green Fees

1 April to 31 May 2008Weekday Price £165.00 Price £165.00 (Juniors)

1 April to 31 May 2008Weekend Price £195.00 Price £195.00 (Juniors)

1 June to 27 July 2008 Price £1.00 Price £1.00 (Juniors)

Course Closed to Visitors

28 July to 5 October 2008Weekday Price £165.00 Price £165.00 (Juniors)

28 July to 5 October 2008Weekend Price £195.00 Price £195.00 (Juniors)

6 October to 14 December 2008Weekday Price £120.00 Price £120.00 (Juniors)

6 October to 14 December 2008Weekend Price £150.00 Price £150.00 (Juniors)

Directions

The Royal Birkdale Golf Club is situated in the north west of England. Royal Birkdale, situated on the same stretch of coastline as fellowOpen Championship venues Royal Lytham St Annes and Royal Liverpool, is distinguished by its roll call of honours. Two Ryder Cups, theWalker and Curtis Cups and eight Open Championships.

1 - Hole 1

Par 4 Par 5 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 11

Championship - 450 Medal - 450 Regular - 430 C'ship Ladies - 418 Ladies & Juniors - 418

The opening hole is a left-hand dog-leg. The drive must be placedbetween a mound on the left with a bunker in the face, known locallyas "Jutland", and Out of Bounds to the right. If the drive is good thenthe flag can be clearly seen over an intervening mound on the right.But is still a very demanding second shot.

2 - Hole 2



A straight hole played into the prevailing wind with two new bunkerson the right of the fairway. The green is well protected by bunkers andrough banks.

3 - Hole 3



The drive needs to favour the left side of the fairway to give a clearsecond shot to the green but with two new bunkers on the left this hasmade this demand the most accurate of drives. The green is protectedby bunkers and the re-contoured surround will leave a challengingrecovery from any wayward approach.

4 - Hole 4



The first of the splendid short holes. The tee is elevated and the greenhas been generously endowed with bunkers so that the tee-shot mustnot be off-line if the green is to be reached. A bold stroke is absolutelyessential.

A well-bunkered green does not gather the ball on this, the longest ofthe par threes on the course.

5 - Hole 5



This hole is a dog-leg right. No bunkers to worry you with your drivebut deep rough on either side awaits those who fail to hit the fairway.The second shot must be firmly hit.

The long narrow green is well protected almost surrounded bystrategically placed bunkers and sloping from back to front withdifficult borrows.

6 - Hole 6



The drive must avoid the bunkers on each side of the fairway. The holerequires a long second shot to an elevated green protected by bunkersto the front and surrounded by dunes. The green is large and wellcontoured with various difficult pin positions.

7 - Hole 7



This hole requires a firm shot over some rough country to an upturned saucer-shaped green closely protected by pot bunkers.

8 - Hole 8



The new and remodelled bunker flanking the fairway demand a veryaccurate drive, then the second shot is played to quite a large greenprotected by deep bunkers. The putting surface possessive some verydeceptive borrows.

9 - Hole 9



The blind tee shot needs to be placed correctly to find the fairwaywhich has been moved 25 yards left. The green is slightly elevatedmaking club selection important, anything short will be gathered bythe bunkers at the front and there is lots of trouble over the back

10 - Hole 10



The move of the left hand bunkers and the introduction of a newbunker on the far right of the fairway requires a well placed drive toopen up the green to this relatively short par four.

11 - Hole 11



This relatively straightforward hole has been made more demandingby tightening the fairway and introducing a new bunker on the left.Pin position makes the landing area on the green quite small and clubselection is vital.

12 - Hole 12



A great short hole once again played to a plateau green. There is littlemargin for error as there are bunkers on either side of the green andsand-hills covered in scrub tower over either side.

A very attractive short hole, long enough to make the green look quitetiny. Deep bunkers and banks of rough grass protect the target.

13 - Hole 13



This is a testing hole made more difficult by the changes to thebunkering at a drive length. It requires a long and accurate tee shot toallow a second shot to reach a beautiful green with its background oftall sand hills.

14 - Hole 14



This is the last of the par 3s played from an elevated tee which isprotected from the prevailing wind. The green surround has bere-shaped and several deep greenside bunkers wait to collect amisdirected shot.

15 - Hole 15



This is the longest hole on the course and one that is difficult toattack. There are now 15 bunkers to be negotiated on this long narrowhole. Any play-off would start here and continue over 16, 17 and 18.

16 - Hole 16



The members medal tee is now in line with the Championship teeand both demand a long carry over some very rough ground. Thesecond shot is played to an elevated green that is well protected byvery deep bunkers and hollows.

17 - Hole 17



Drives have to be hit between two large sand dunes avoiding the twonew bunkers on the right of the fairway. With the ground here firm thecorrect drive will normall get some run shortening the hole. The newand re-modelled two tier green has been pushed back some 30 yardsand is well protected by some severe bunkers and dramaticcontouring.

18 - Hole 18



One of the most famous finishing holes in the country. There is atendency to push the ball out to the right here and that makes theshot to the green very difficult. There are three bunkers guarding thegreen, affording a narrow entrance to the putting surface. An excellentbirdie opportunity to finish the round on this demanding links.

Scorecard

Holes 18 Yards 6305 Slope 0

SSS 72 Par 72 Par 72 - (Ladies & Juniors)

Playing Card - OUT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT HCP NET

Stroke Index 11 3 7 15 13 1 17 9 5

Hole Par 4 4 4 3 4 5 3 4 4 35 35

Par (Ld's/Jn'rs) 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 4 4 35 35

Playing Card - IN 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN HCP NET

Stroke Index 14 8 16 4 18 2 12 6 10

Hole Par 4 4 3 4 3 5 4 5 4 36 71

Par (Ld's/Jn'rs) 4 4 3 4 3 5 4 5 5 36 71

Tees Played

Championship Medal Regular C'ship Ladies Ladies & Juniors

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british open - royal birkdale golf club

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