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As this year's British Open Championship
site shows, golf courses in England should
be considered for golf vacations.
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We Americans tend to gravitate to Scotland and Ireland when we cross the pond for golf vacations, but there are some equally great golf courses in England that deserve consideration. One of them is this year's British Open Championship site, Royal Birkdale Golf Club, which is not only the best golf course in England, but one of the top-five links in the entire UK and Ireland. When the Open Championship begins today, you'll be able to see it in all its glory.
A superlative course by any standard, Royal Birkdale's towering, tumbling sandhills frame virtually every hole. Its greens are either notched into the dunes or sit boldly on plateaus exposed to the wind, making only the most precisely struck iron shots capable of holding their lines and finding the putting surfaces. A quirky course this is not, which is why Birkdale is a strong favorite with professionals.
There is not a weak or indifferent hole among the entire layout, but three Birkdale holes arguably rate among the world's greatest, and should be noted during the telecast. They are: 12, 15, and 18.
The 183-yard 12th is a picture-book one-shotter across an intimidating valley of doom; only a truly confident swing will produce acceptable results. The same can be said of the 544-yard 15th, played into the prevailing sea breeze. In this case, however, it requires three bold swings, with a minefield of 15 bunkers to be negotiated between tee and green.
As for the 18th, a twisting 472-yard par four, two exacting shots are needed to elude all the sand and reach a green that is constricted by bunkers on both sides. If it's a close race on Sunday coming into this hole, there will assuredly be high drama.
Since 1946, Royal Birkdale has hosted 44 championships, including eight British Open Championships, the winners of which read like a who's who of golf: Arnold Palmer in 1961, Peter Thomson in 1965, Lee Trevino in 1971, Johnny Miller in 1976, Tom Watson in 1983, Ian Baker-Finch in 1991, and Mark O'Meara in 1998 (with Tiger Woods finishing one stroke out of the playoff).
It is with winners like this that Royal Birkdale has established itself as a great golf venue likely to produce another great champion this year.
If you'd like expert advice on playing Royal Birkdale, other great golf courses in England, or other British Open venues, I'd recommend taking a free, two-issue trial to Golf Odyssey, our flagship publication. Not only will you get the next two issues, you'll get instant access to our online, back-issue archive, which contains every unbiased review we have published since the year 2000! There is no better resource for researching golf vacations, whether you're going across the country or across the world. Click here to try it for free..
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