Three holes the pros will fear at Royal Birkdale this week
The last will prove difficult due to pressure alone but it doesn't rank in the three trickiest holes on the course. Pic: David Davies/PA
Do not expect a gentle introduction to this classic English links on the north-west coast. Royal Birkdale may be considered the fairest test on the Open Championship rota but it packs a punch at the outset with what is considered the toughest opening hole on that same rotation.
With greenkeeper sheds down the left and out of bounds down the right, early aggression off the tee could prove costly. Padraig Harrington, Birkdale’s 2008 Open champion, recommends an iron off the tee, making par and moving on.
This left-to-right hole was the most difficult on the course during The 146th Open in 2017 and since then a new tee box has added 15 yards to it. The same pitfalls apply, with the two bunkers on the right side of the fairway and another lying in wait further along on the left.
“You could end up hitting a 3- or 5-wood off the tee,” Harrington said, "drawing off the right-hand bunkers , but it leaves a long way for in for the second shot, which provides another problem as it’s such a long hole… Again, make your par and walk off happy.”
Easily the most controversial hole before a competitive ball has been struck, this is a hole which didn’t exist when The Open last visited in 2017. The old par-five 15th has been transformed into a long par-five 14th while what was the par-three 13th is now part of a short-game practice facility.
“There may be a couple of hole locations on the green which the hole is a little bit long for (if it’s played to the full 240 yards),” Rory McIlroy said of the hole. “Like it’s a little bit silly to be hitting a three-iron into some of them. But if they moved up the tee box where you’re hitting like a six or seven-iron in, it’s good. I think it’s going to be a big talking point during the week.”
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