Brief Description the Royal Birkdale

At Birkdale it is easy to believe that you're on your own when you play the course. Hemmed in by sand dunes, the outside world seems a long way away. Among the British links courses. to have staged the Open, Royal Birkdale is unusual in being relatively smooth and flat. From fairway positions there are few blind shots to the green. It does not have the undulating fairways, difficult sloping lies, humps and hollows, and uneven bounces common on links courses.

It is also different in that Birkdale is as much man-made as sculptured by the elements. This is in stark contrast with St Andrews and most other British links which have been shaped mainly by the elements.