Mackenzie & Ebert has completed major work on five holes at the 2026 Open Championship venue, and made smaller adjustments to the remainder. Here’s what to look out for
This time next week all eyes of the golfing world will be on Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, as it hosts the Open Championship for the eleventh time.
Mackenzie & Ebert has advised on a host of changes in advance of this year’s event, including the addition of a completely new hole, substantial redesign work, and several smaller tweaks.
Tom Mackenzie spoke with GCA about the work that he and colleague Mike Howard have overseen at Royal Birkdale. Here, we go through each hole and detail the changes made since work began in 2023.
Hole one: Par four, 447 yards
The bunker set into the dune on the left, known as ‘Jutland’, is now larger, albeit slightly less penal, and the dune itself has been softened and tied into the fairway edge. Rough beyond has been reprofiled with more uneven lies to ensure the fairway remains the preferred route from the tee. Around the green, a series of abrupt hills have been removed on the right, and a hollow has been created.
The bunker set into the ‘Jutland’ dune on the opening hole is now larger, but less penal (Image: Mackenzie & Ebert)
Hole two: Par four, 419 yards
Minor adjustments to the bunkering have been made and one greenside bunker has been replaced with a valley that feeds balls into the next bunker.
Hole three: Par four, 450 yards
Fairway bunkers on the left were raised and rebuilt. All tees were moved to the right – onto the same line as the championship tee – as this presents the fairway at the best angle. The surrounds to the green were extensively reshaped.
Watch flyovers of every hole at Royal Birkdale on the official Open Championship website
Hole four: Par three, 219 yards
A new back tee adds 16 yards to this par three, extending it to 219 yards. Subtle changes were made to the greenside bunkering to make the hole more playable when there is a strong following wind. The last bunker on the left was converted into a closely mown hollow.
Hole five: Par four, 321 yards
The fifth has been changed extensively, with a large bunker on the left now a focal point from the tee on this driveable hole. The green has been shifted left so it is more visible from the tee, with a series of bunkers protecting the right side. Rough to the right of the hole has been lowered, creating a dune slack feature that is valuable habitat and may flood in winter when the water table is high, “The fifth is now a genuinely driveable short par four, compared to a hole that was previously unforgettable and widely recognised as the weakest on the course,” said Mackenzie. “Some will have a go at trying to drive the green and may only need a three-wood, while there are multiple lay-up options for those who decide not to. As a spectator, it is also greatly improved, and it will be exciting to see how the world’s best choose to play it.”
The par-four fifth is now ‘genuinely driveable’ (Image: Mackenzie & Ebert)
Hole six: Par four, 514 yards
The sixth is played as a par five by the members but will be a four for The Open. The right of the dogleg was re-bunkered and a long-left bunker positioned to entice bigger hitters to take on the carry over the corner dune. At the green, a left greenside bunker was removed and the front-right bunker eased left, so that it guards the putting surface more.
Hole seven: Par three, 151 yards
“The shortened seventh from its high tee will play less than 150 yards on some of the days and, if the wind gets up and the conditions are firm, then there could be fireworks,” said Mackenzie.
Hole eight: Par four, 459 Yards
New fairway bunkering makes the hole more playable for shorter hitters and more demanding for longer hitters. The green surrounds were reshaped and bunkering adjusted to create more interesting flag positions, especially during tournament play.
Hole nine: Par four, 414 yards
“Decades ago, the hole played over a dune which was partially removed, leaving the fairway just hidden still and players out of view in certain positions,” said Mackenzie. “Further localised lowering was undertaken to give a glimpse of players on the fairway and of the fairway itself, allowing a prominent and unattractive viewing platform to be removed. The only other adjustment was to remove a left greenside bunker and to let the punishment for coming up short on that side to be that balls trickle back down the slope some 25 metres or so.”
There is now more visibility of the ninth fairway from the tee (Image: Mackenzie & Ebert)
Hole ten: Par four, 397 yards
Fairway bunkers have been reconfigured to offer more options from the tee. The green surrounds have been reworked, with the front-right bunker moved, a centre-right bunker reinstated, and the left surround widened, with a hollow created.
Hole eleven: Par four, 434 yards
Historical aerial photography showed an enormous cross-bunker beyond the landing area and this inspired re-bunkering work. A feature of similar character and scale was created on the right of the landing area, nibbling into the fairway ready to catch long, slightly off-line drives, while still leaving the option of playing aggressively from the tee. The area right of the green was extensively reshaped to create a series of wide, closely mown hollows. The greenside bunker was shifted to create more challenging flag positions.
Hole twelve: Par three, 186 yards
The left side of the green has been remodelled while the greenside bunker, as well as two in the approach, have been removed. A second bunker was added on the right to create a pair, which protects about a half of the green from the tee. The removal of the dune that hugged the back left of the green allowed the rear green surrounds to be reshaped as closely mown turf.
Hole thirteen: Par four, 502 yards
The right rough has been reshaped to create a strong dune feature, with a low valley to its right. Bunkers were rebuilt and repositioned to narrow the fairway, which has been extended to bring the ditch on the left more into play.
Hole fourteen: Par five, 602 yards
“The par-five fourteenth is the re-aligned version of the old fifteenth,” said Mackenzie. “Its new green position sits high on a dune with the ground dropping away steeply to the right. Peppered with bunkers, as the old hole was, there will be scope for birdies and eagles, but the potential for dropped shots at the same time.”
Hole fifteen: Par three, 241 yards
“The par-three fifteenth is new for Birkdale, encouraging shots to be dropped short or just on the front edge and running up the green which falls away softly to the back,” said Mackenzie. “It is the longest of the par threes, but it will often play downwind. Expect to see players hitting long irons or more, depending on the conditions.”
The new par-three fifteenth (Image: Mackenzie & Ebert)
Hole sixteen: Par four, 393 yards
Green surrounds were re-worked to make the putting surface appear smaller. Two bunkers were removed from the right of the landing area, along with another that sat a long way out into the approach, and a new bunker has been added on the left. The very longest hitters now have more encouragement to attempt to drive the green.
Hole seventeen: Par five, 566 yards
“As on the eleventh, old photos inspired the restoration of the sandy areas that are now set into the face of the dune on the left of the drive, with another right of the approach,” said Mackenzie. “The right drive bunkers have been raised and reshaped, so that they are much more in view from the tee and are definitely features to avoid. The single left approach bunker was split into two with the right one eating more into the line of play, so that those going for the green will have to play over it. At the green, the front-right bunker has been converted into a hollow to open up the entrance to the green a little more.”
Hole eighteen: Par five, 508 yards
“The high tee above the seventeenth green has been abandoned and the lower left tee has been adopted,” said Mackenzie. “The drive landing area is now stoutly bunkered on the right as well as the left and if a player needs a four to win on Sunday, then he will have to hit a brave tee shot and a good approach.”
New bunkering has been introduced on the closing hole (Image: Mackenzie & Ebert)