There are few golf courses that have received such universal praise from players, golf fans, architects and spectators like Royal Birkdale.
The Southport links has undergone extensive changes since Jordan Spieth lifted the Claret Jug there in 2017. But it’s a place that offers the R&A more than just championship golf. Many of the changes have also helped future-proof the venue.
With the Open constantly growing in size – record crowds are expected at this year’s tournament -host venues now need to accommodate more than ever. Whether that’s huge spectator numbers, hospitality villages, broadcast equipment and the infrastructure required to deliver one of the biggest events in world golf.
As preparations continue for the 2026 edition of the final men’s major of the year, the NCG Top 100s Podcast explained why Birkdale has become one of the R&A’s most valuable venues – and why it may be the ideal home for modern major golf.
Speaking on the podcast, Tom Irwin and Dan Murphy spoke about its championship pedigree, logistical practicality and spectator experience, debating whether it is the ideal stage to host a modern major.
“Birkdale is an absolute jackpot of a venue,” said Murphy.
“There’s absolutely no doubt that that the R&A love going to Birkdale, love going to the North West. It works. Birkdale is of such a size that they can move this enormous number of people on.
“Royal Lytham is returning to the open rotor, which is fantastic in golfing terms, but they’re saying that it can accommodate, let’s say, roughly three quarters of the capacity of Birkdale.
“So they want to go there every year. Birkdale is an absolute jackpot of a venue, I would say, for them, in terms of the amount of revenue that they can, that they can derive from it.”
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The Open Championship is the R&A’s biggest chance to generate revenue.
Irwin suggests that if the R&A could design the perfect Open venue from scratch, many aspects of it would look remarkably similar to that of Royal Birkdale.
He believes that: “If the RNA could have a purpose-built Open Championship venue, which had 14 car parks surrounding it and grandstands that were permanently there, and they could effectively just mothball it from one year to the next, that would be jackpot.
“On the current rotor that’s not a rotor, the closest we’ve got to a purpose-built venue is probably Birddale. Just on scale, on location, and on size of dunes and therefore the impact on the spectator experience.”
Larger crowds bring a greater need of infastructure. The championship has effectively become a temporary mini city that requires grandstands, spectator facilities and cater towards hospitality.
“We’re talking about 300,000 people being on the course over next week, which is just an immense number of people,” Murphy noted.
“I was there in April, that was really, that was really my takeaway. I felt like I was playing golf in a small town, with the amount of building and infrastructure.
“You realise that it’s all the things that you need. It’s not just a case of some seats and some gates, it’s all those facilities, especially as the Open commercialises.”
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