Royal Birkdale

• Location: Southport, England
• Open: 1897
• Designer: George Lowe
• Major Course Updates: Martin Ebert & Tom Mackenzie, Fred Hawtree, Martin Hawtree, John Henry Taylor
• Events Hosted: The Open Championship (10 times) Walker Cup, Curtis Cup, Women’s Open, British Masters, Ryder Cup (2 times)
• Key Rankings: 3rd best golf course in England, Top 100 Golf Courses (2022), 42nd best golf course in the world, Golf Magazine (2021)

 
Royal Birkdale is akin to an Oak Hill in the United States, where it has hosted every possible high-level event. Champions like Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, and Jordan Spieth have navigated these expansive dunes and sophisticated, small pot bunkers, and winds coming off the Irish Sea. Unlike other links golf courses, and closer to an Irish golf experience, Birkdale plays in the bottom of the towering dunes on either side, with relatively flat fairways providing a perfect canvas for tournament golf.​