Everyone knows immediately when they're watching The Open Championship, especially at a place like Royal Birkdale Golf Club. The browned fairways, the crisp and firm conditions, and the links-style golf with undulation galore, huge greens and so on always catch your eye. However, one thing that golf fans might not recognize or know is exactly where in the United Kingdom or England that courses like Royal Birkdale are located.
Don't worry, though — that's where we've got you covered. Let's dive into Royal Birkdale Golf Club and everything that fans need to know about where the course is, what the scorecard looks like this week for The Open, and more about the history of the course.
Where is Royal Birkdale Golf Club?
Royal Birkdale Golf Club and this year's Open Championship are taking place in Southport, Merseyside, England. If you're like me and struggle with geography, the course is located right on the northwest coast of England, almost directly north of the border with Wales. It's about 20 miles north of Liverpool and some 45ish miles to the west of Manchester, to further orient yourself about where the course and the town are in relation to other notable places in the country.
Royal Birkdale scorecard, par and yardages for The Open
Hole Number | Par and Yardage |
|---|---|
No. 1 | Par 4, 447 Yards |
No. 2 | Par 4, 419 Yards |
No. 3 | Par 4, 450 Yards |
No. 4 | Par 3, 219 Yards |
No. 5 | Par 4, 321 Yards |
No. 6 | Par 4, 514 Yards |
No. 7 | Par 3, 151 Yards |
No. 8 | Par 4, 459 Yards |
No. 9 | Par 4, 414 Yards |
No. 10 | Par 4, 397 Yards |
No. 11 | Par 4, 434 Yards |
No. 12 | Par 3, 186 Yards |
No. 13 | Par 4, 502 Yards |
No. 14 | Par 5, 602 Yards |
No. 15 | Par 3, 241 Yards |
No. 16 | Par 4, 393 Yards |
No. 17 | Par 5, 566 Yards |
No. 18 | Par 4, 508 Yards |
- Out: Par 34 | 3,394 Yards
- In: Par 36 | 3,829 Yards
- Total: Par 70 | 7,223 Yards
While Royal Birkdale is a traditional Par 70 course with four Par 3s and only two Par 5s, the layout of the course is unique in terms of the dispersion of those holes. The front-nine features two of the Par 3 holes, but the rest is seven Par 4s with no proverbial scoring opportunities from the longer holes on the course. As such, the back-nine hosts both Par 5s on the course and, as such, plays over 400 yards longer than the front-nine on the scorecard.
The course, which was originally established and opened all the way back in 1897, has undergone numerous redesigns and re-routings over the years. That includes significant changes that were made for The Open Championship between 2017, when Jordan Spieth surged to his victory in the British Open, to the 2026 tournament as well.
Open Championships hosted at Royal Birkdale
Year | Champion Golfer of the Year |
|---|---|
1954 Open Championship | Peter Thomson |
1961 Open Championship | Arnold Palmer |
1965 Open Championship | Peter Thomson |
1971 Open Championship | Lee Trevino |
1976 Open Championship | Johnny Miller |
1983 Open Championship | Tom Watson |
1991 Open Championship | Ian Baker-Finch |
1998 Open Championship | Mark O'Meara |
2008 Open Championship | Padraig Harrington |
2017 Open Championship | Jordan Spieth |
2026 Open Championship | TBD |
Despite the fact that it didn't host The Open for the first time until 1954, Royal Birkdale has become one of the most popular host sites for the major championship over the years. The 2026 tournament will be the 11th time that it's hosted the event, which will tie it with Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club for the sixth-most tournaments hosted all-time.
Beyond The Open Championship, though, Royal Birkdale has also hosted numerous other big events in its history. Its first major event was in 1946 and The Amateur Championship (also known as the British Amateur), and then hosted the Curtis Cup and Walker Cup before The Open came to its shores. Beyond that, it's also hosted two Ryder Cups, going back-to-back on European soil in 1965 and 1969, the latter being the site of Jack Nicklaus's famous concession to Tony Jacklin.
In more recent years, Royal Birkdale has hosted the 2013 Senior Open Championship and, in its history, has hosted the Women's British Open six times: 1982, 1986, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014.
More Open Championship news and analysis
Add us as a preferred source on Google