The 137th Open Championship will be held at The Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
This will be the ninth occasion that Royal Birkdale has hosted the Open.
Royal Birkdale is a typical links golf course which runs along the sea on the self proclaimed 'Gold Coast' of English golf in Southport just outside Liverpool. It is a par 70 that plays 7,173 yards.
Birkdale has undergone a number of modifications since it last hosted the Open in 1998. There are six new championship tees on the third, sixth, eleventh, thirteenth, sixteenth and eighteenth and twenty new bunkers.
The most significant change has been to the seventeenth hole. In order to make the hole more challenging after advances in technology over recent years the green has been moved back twenty five yards.
The change has received mixed reviews as the severe mounding on the green is out of keeping with the other greens on the course.
The R&A aim to prepare Open golf courses that are 'brown' which translates as hard and fast.
The wet weather this summer has not been conducive to creating such conditions and Birkdale is green and therefore softer and slower than ideal.
The fairways will play wider as the ball will not go bounding into the rough. However they are not so soft that the ball stops instantly and downwind balls are still rolling up to fifty yards.
The verdant conditions mean the rough is thicker than normal so players will still need to drive the ball accurately.
Sergio Garcia pointed out; 'The greener it is, the better you're going to have to drive the ball because the thicker that high grass is going to get and then the more difficult it is to advance your ball from there.' He added; 'Driving the ball well is going to be important.'
There are three cuts of rough. The first two will not inconvenience the players but the third cut of rough is so thick that in most cases players will be forced to chip out sideways. In most extreme instances some balls will get lost despite the number of marshals.
The greens are typical links greens. They are open fronted, large and undulating defended by bunkers, little hollows and run offs.
The size of the greens means there will a strong emphasis on lag putting this week. As the greens are on the slow side short putting is not at premium which brings the field closer together.
This year the Open is 'more open' not just because of absence of Tiger Woods but the layout of the golf course.
The multiple doglegs and positioning of the fairway bunkers means most players will be forced to lay up to the same spots on many holes. Therefore length is not an issue which also brings the closer field together.
Ernie Els explained; 'The whole field in going to hit into those same areas. You've got to position your tee shots, but really your second shots are going to the scoring club this week.'
The key at any Open Championship is ball striking. Players are required to shape the ball both ways and control their flight trajectory and spin.
The par three twelfth is a classic example. It plays 184 yards to a raised green on the most exposed part of the course where the wind generally blows right to left. Ball trajectory will be all important as anything hit high will be taken on the breeze and to certain extent left in the lap of the gods.
A left pin requires a draw but any shot attempting to get close to pin on the right hand side will have to be a fade.
There are different ways to play the course and some players will be more aggressive and drive ball longer whilst others will lay up to avoid any danger. The first hole is a good example.
A bunker at 232 yards means a safe tee shot requires a semi blind second, where as a driver should carry the trouble and reward risk by presenting an easier approach.
Whichever strategy players adopt they will have to strike the ball brilliantly.
The Open Championship is often defined by the wind conditions. In practice there has been a strong westerly wind, which is the prevailing wind.
The 451 yard par four fourth plays driver three iron into the wind whereas the 572 yard par five seventeenth plays driver five iron.
Scoring depends on strength of the wind. If it blows up to 20mph the winning score will be close to par but with no wind the winning score should be around double digits.
On the windy Saturday in 1998 there was only one score of 70 but on the calm opening day two players shot 65.
The forecast is for 10-15mph winds on Thursday with gusts up to 25mph on Friday.
As Ernie explained; 'one of the big things at the Open, is the luck of the draw sometimes, especially the first couple of rounds.'
With the forecast wind expect the winning score to be around four under and those going out early on Friday maybe at distant advantage.
Card of course with the hole rankings from 1998.
The key scoring holes are the fifth, fifteenth and seventeenth.
The 345 yard par four fifth plays into wind but a three wood or long iron into the neck of the dogleg with leave only a short iron which must be hit with precision into the heavily undulating green.
The 544 yard par fifteenth requires a long straight drive and then only the longest hitters will get home with a three wood. For most this will be a three shot par five.
The 572 yard par five is a driver and five iron for the longer hitters but the extreme nature of the undulations on the green means that there maybe less eagles than in the past (27 in 1998).
The first and eighteenth holes of any championship are difficult and Birkdale will prove no exception but the most difficult hole on the course is the sixth.
Into the wind it is impossible to carry the bunker at 280 yards so players are left with a 220 yards shot into wind to a raised green. Mark O'Meara made two bogeys and two pars on his way to victory in 1998.
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