The Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale this month nine years on from last staging of golf’s oldest major.
In 2017 it was a 23-year-old Jordan Spieth that picked up his first and only Claret Jug at one of England’s great links courses. Back then the course looked a lot different to what it does now. Recent extensive renovation work that has re-sculpted many of its holes.
The same towering dunes and the same Art Deco clubhouse prevail, but this is now a course quietly re‑engineered in the years since Spieth’s wild Sunday and Brandon Grace’s record 62.
In that time, ball speeds have spiked, golfers now live in the gym, and tour pros are even more fearless in how they attack a course. As so, questions remain over whether these sweeping changes will be enough to keep Rory McIlroy and co in check.
Speaking on the NCG Top 100s Podcast Tom Irwin and Dan Murphy discussed whether Royal Birkdale has what it takes to cope with today’s big hitters after undergoing significant changes.
“I feel like we have moved on a couple of notches in terms of distance hitting and the distance the ball’s traveling,” Irwin noted.
“Technology has been tweaked and people have been in the gym that much longer. TrackMan technology is bedded in that much further and data has become that much bigger of a thing. So I wonder whether that will be a factor this year.”
That evolution has forced golf course architects to rethink how championship courses are laid out. Inevitably, time has seen many courses being lengthened continuously. Tee boxes have been pushed back to the absolute limit.
Discussing Royal Birkdale’s rebuilt par-five 14th, Irwin said: “The old par five was kind of a benevolent links par five. Now we’ve got what is a very prototype championship links par five… a bang straight par five with a slightly elevated green and just a gazillion bunkers on the way down.”
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Murphy believes the redesign reflects the reality facing Open venues.
“It’s a longer hole, it’s a straighter hole,” he said. “To my eye, having played it once, it was probably a little lacking in artistry.”
Despite the renovations, Irwin is fearful the world’s best are simply hitting the ball too far. The typically tricky and unpredictable British weather may need to play its part in toughening up Royal Birkdale.
“It has got gettable fours, and I just think that I’ve been playing a lot of golf recently at Firm Heathlands, and the ball goes a very, very long way if you get it going,” he explained.
“So, it’s just increasingly hard to defend against.”
With relatively calm conditions forecast, Murphy believes low scoring could be possible despite Birkdale measuring more than 7,200 yards.
“I think you’re right that, unless the weather is particularly testing, you’ll see some low scores at Birkdale and we haven’t in the past,” he said.
LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST
- NOW READ: Inside Royal Birkdale’s changes ahead of The Open’s return
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- NOW READ: How golf course rankings have evolved over the last two decades
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