Golf: Why Birkdale can still measure up to the best

May 6 2008 by Richard Williamson, Liverpool Daily Post

PETER DAWSON surveyed the sweeping panorama from the clubhouse window overlooking the 18th green and declared: Royal Birkdale is ready for the Open.

It is 10 years since the only Major on this side of the Atlantic came to the famous Southport links.

The game of golf has changed a lot since Mark O’Meara lifted the Claret Jug after a dramatic play- off against Brian Watts.

But R&A Chief Executive Dawson is confident that the changes made at Royal Birkdale means it will still pose a stern test for the world’s greatest players.

Only 155 yards have been added to the overall length of a course, which now stands at 7,173, at a time when players are hitting the ball further and further, but under the watchful eye of golf architect Martin Hawtree and course manager Chris Whittle it has been tweaked so that only the players with the tightest of games will succeed.

Dawson believes the result will be a true test for Tiger Woods and company when they tackle the course from July 17 to 20.

"Royal Birkdale has always been regarded by the players as a great venue," said Dawson.

"What you see is what you get; it’s very fair. But things move on, and we did decide that some changes were necessary to meet the challenge of the modern-day player and we’re very pleased with the outcome.

"It is not a straight out and straight back links; the holes all go in different directions, which means that for any given wind, the players are going to be experiencing a whole variety of directions, which is always good to see."

Only two holes remain unchanged from the last Open at Royal Birkdale, the 7th and 12th, which are both par threes.

Elsewhere 20 new bunkers have been built, 14 removed and 27 either redesigned or repositioned. Six new Championship tees have nee created. Trees have also been removed to, in the words of Dawson, "open up the links aspect of the golf course."

The sheer number of changes at Royal Birkdale make it the most significant to an Open venue, but Dawson added: "We’ve been going through a programme at all our Open venues of some quite significant changes. You’re going to see a good deal at Turnberry next year, and you’ll probably see quite a few at Lytham in 2012, but this is among the more significant in terms of quantum."

The change that is arousing the most discussion is the par five 17th. An extra 25 yards have been added, so the hole now reaches 572 yards, by pushing the green further back. The resulting slopes mean it is a hard green to attack and any player losing position on the pin could be left with a very tricky putt.

However, Dawson defended the changes, while acknowledging that they would monitor reaction to it throughout the tournament.

"It is a par-5, so it’s not as if we’re expecting the green to be hit at with long irons," he said. "The type of green is one that the pros are accustomed to on many golf courses they play. If you look at Augusta, there’s probably 18 more sporty greens there than this one.

"But we are aware that it’s a green that could get away from us if we’re not careful, and we will be using conservative pin positions and taking great care with the green speed.

"If we weren’t aware of that, we could get into trouble, but we are and we won’t. We will be monitoring how this green performs during the Championship to see if anything needs to be done in the future.

"So we’re aware it’s controversial. We’ll have to see how it goes. But I think overall the 17th hole is a considerably stronger hole than the previous version."

He also insisted that there is still enough length to trouble the top players.

"I don’t think that this golf course you could accuse of being a short course or a course that intends to take the driver out of a player’s hands; far from it," he added. "Believe me, it will be long enough."