The second phase of renovation work at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, is nearing completion.
Mackenzie & Ebert has advised on a host of changes to the 10-time Open Championship venue, including redesigning the fifth and seventh, the removal of the existing fourteenth, the alteration of the existing par-five fifteenth to become the new fourteenth hole, and a completely new par-three fifteenth hole.
The first phase focused on new greens – the practice putting green, fifth and seventh, all in their existing locations, as well as the fourteenth and fifteenth, in new locations. “All the tees and green surrounds on these holes, plus sixteen to eighteen, where the bunkering layout has been adjusted, have been worked on as well,” said Neil Cruickshank, chair of course at Royal Birkdale. “This work also included additional drainage either through pipe installation or raising greens and bunkers to improve conditions for members through the winter.”
The new par-three fifteenth plays in a completely different direction to the club’s other par threes (the fourth, seventh and twelfth). “The course lacked a par three where players could run the ball onto the green, so the new fifteenth is a longer par three, often played strongly downwind to a long green,” said Cruickshank. “The seventh has been shortened to 150 yards, creating a different targeted challenge. Therefore, the par threes are now set for a varied test and well equipped for major championship play and will range from 150 to 240 yards.”
The new fourteenth plays over land a fairway’s width to the right of the former par-five fifteenth, to a green set on higher ground. “The old green was the most undulating of all of the putting surfaces, but a high proportion of it could not be used for flag positions,” said Cruickshank. “The new green is heavily influenced by the shape of the old green, but it now has a greater variety of pin locations.”
The second phase covers the remaining holes and includes the enhancement of green surrounds, subtly adjusting fairways, rebuilding all the tees and removing hard paths.
“All the tees have been arranged so that golfers of all abilities will have a great playing experience,” said Cruickshank. “This has involved adding some new forward tees to cater for players with slower swing speeds and we have been working with Sharon Eales (soon to be elected chair of course) and Fiona Womack, recent recipients of the ‘Trailblazers’ award from Women in Golf, for their pioneering analysis of how women play the game and how much better their enjoyment would be if courses were set up more thoughtfully.”
Contractor GolfLink Evolve completed the first phase between autumn 2023 and spring 2024 and the second phase in the same timeframe a year later. All work is set to be finished and grown in for the club to host the Open in 2026.
“At its core, Royal Birkdale remains a members’ club, and the recent changes were driven by the members themselves,” said architect Tom Mackenzie. “The club created a detailed and well-considered brief of the aspects that they wished us to consider, which is what directed the design study. We began our work as we always do with a thorough historical research study that highlighted how much the bunker style had altered over the decades from huge, ornate bunkers to small revetted pot bunkers. It also showed that the current twelfth hole was built in the 1960s to replace the par-three seventeenth, which was abandoned because it made hosting the major championships so difficult.
“The proposals were driven by the member’s brief. We knew that the proposals would seem radical, but the club asked us to look closely at the direction of the par threes as the addition of the twelfth had left three par-three holes of similar length playing in the same direction. They also wanted to improve the members’ practice facilities – our layout adjustments resulted from looking at how to address these requirements from the club.”