The Royal Birkdale

Published:

Southport, Merseyside

DESIGNER: Lowe, 1889
YARDAGE: 7,173
PAR: 70

GREEN FEES: Mon-Fri £180; Sat-Sun £210
CONTACT: 01704 552020, www.royalbirkdale.com

With a new No.1 some may have expected to see Birkdale rise to the top, but Royal County Down’s “X Factor” saw it leapfrog from third place to the summit. Man of the moment Martin Hawtree’s alterations to the course prior to the 2008 Open were popular – the only gripe, the 17th green, is now softened – and it is a consistently outstanding links of indisputable class.

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