I Played Royal Birkdale Off 24. Here's What Happened.

I'll be upfront about something: I built SeftonLinks.com: a site dedicated to championship links golf on the Sefton Coast: before I'd actually played Royal Birkdale. I know. I know. In my defence, I'd walked the course as a spectator during the 2017 Open, I'd researched it obsessively, and I genuinely believed I understood what the course was like. I did not understand what the course was like.

Getting on the course

Booking a visitor tee time at Royal Birkdale is not simple. There's no casual phone call on a Wednesday morning. You need a handicap certificate, you need to book well in advance, and you need to accept that the green fee: £320 when I went: is not for the faint-hearted. I booked three months ahead. Got a Tuesday morning slot, which is about as good as it gets for visitors.

I drove there from Churchtown, which took about eight minutes. I've driven past the gates hundreds of times. Walking through them as a player feels genuinely different. The clubhouse is exactly what you'd expect: old, oak-panelled, photographs of Open champions on every wall. There's a framed photograph of Arnold Palmer's famous 1961 recovery shot from a gorse bush on the 15th. They're very proud of that photograph.

The first few holes

The opening holes at Birkdale run through the valleys between the dunes rather than over the tops of them: this is what makes it unusual compared to most links courses. The fairways look generous from the tee. They are not as generous as they look. The wind was relatively calm by Southport standards (maybe 15mph), and by the 3rd hole I'd already found willow scrub twice.

Willow scrub is a genuine hazard. At other links courses, rough is rough: you can usually find your ball and hack it back to the fairway. At Birkdale, the willow scrub is a dense, chest-high mass of vegetation that simply swallows golf balls. I lost four balls in willow scrub. Four. My playing partner, a regular Birkdale member, didn't find this surprising.

By the back nine

I was playing for fun at this point, not score. The back nine at Birkdale is where the course really opens up: the dunes are more dramatic, the holes more exposed to the elements, and the views across to the Irish Sea are genuinely beautiful on a clear day. The 18th green, sitting below the clubhouse, is one of the finest finishing holes in championship golf.

My final score was not something I'm going to publish. Let's say I played to my handicap on about six holes. On the other twelve, I did not play to my handicap.

Was it worth £320?

Yes. Without hesitation. Royal Birkdale is genuinely one of the great golf courses. The condition was impeccable: fairways firm and fast, greens smooth and quick, rough well-maintained. The course management is outstanding. For a golfer who cares about playing courses that matter, this is one of the best you'll ever play.

Is it the right course for a 24-handicapper who wants a good score? Probably not. You'll enjoy it more if you go in expecting to be humbled and come home with stories rather than a card. Which is exactly what happened to me.