Royal Birkdale Golf Club Hole By Hole Guide: Hole 18

A guide to the final hole at Royal Birkdale ahead of the 146th Open Championship

Royal Birkdale Golf Club Hole By Hole Guide: Hole 18
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A guide to the final hole at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England ahead of the 146th Open Championship

Royal Birkdale Golf Club Hole By Hole Guide: Hole 18

Hole 18 - Par 4 - 473 yards

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

The 146th Open Championship takes place at Royal Birkdale this month, here is a guide to the eighteenth hole.

Related: Royal Birkdale Golf Club Course Review

Some courses feature simple closing holes to ease competitors home after a tough battle on the links. Not at Royal Birkdale.

The par-4 18th is one of the hardest holes on the course, playing 473 yards from the back tees with a testing drive.

There are three bunkers in play off the tee, one at 278 yards, one left at 306 yards and one further down at 349 yards.

Royal Birkdale Golf Club Hole By Hole Guide: Hole 18

Looking down the 18th at the 2008 Open Championship. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

If you manage to miss these and find the fairway, a par is on the cards. However, don't go right as out of bounds will be waiting.

The green, directly in front of the beautiful Art Deco Birkdale clubhouse, is a tough one too.

Two bunkers short and left are waiting as is a bunker to the right.

With thousands packed into the grandstands down 18, precision is required under the most intense pressure.

The 18th truly is a fantastic Open Championship closing hole.

Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!


Elliott is currently playing:


Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV