Going to the British Open 2017 Royal Birkdale

[cantcountstrokes]

Guys, I could really use some advice and this seems to be the most appropriate place to ask. I'm staying in London during the week of but have convinced my friend to maybe go see the Final Round. Come hell or high water I will be there.

What do I need to know? I've never been to a golf tournament and could use pointers on how to position myself, what to prepare for, what to do, what not to do etc. The search function gave a lot of noisy results so I defer to your wisdom. Thanks in advance!

[soccerguy1961]

Very jealous. Have fun.

[Hugh Jass]

Nice one.

What you do depends on what YOU want to see. Do you want to see some of the biggest names or are you happy with seeing a mix of everyone playing?

The big names draw the biggest crowds, especially if they're in contention. So you can follow them around with the herd but you have to jostle for position just to see their shots and even then it's hard to see everything.

I prefer to find a good vantage point and sit myself there for a period of time and then move onto the next one. This way you can get there before it gets busy for the big names/leaders and when they do come through, you already have a decent spot. Just make sure you're somewhere where someone can't just stand in front of you and wreck your view.

Those links courses don't really offer too much shelter from the elements, so check the forecast and dress accordingly.

Give yourself plenty of time at the end of the day to leave the venue as it's extremely slow getting out of those places, traffic will be a nightmare, esp on the Sunday.

[cantcountstrokes]

Thanks Soccerguy! I'll post pictures when I return

HughJass, thanks for the rundown - I guess it will depend on who makes the cut and is in contention. If it's Spieth I'll likely be part of the herd but otherwise will do as you say and park my butt off the fairway somewhere. Yeah I figured the drive back will be difficult. We would have approximately 4 hrs back to London on Sunday night traffic, might explore the possibility of taking a train.

Thanks for your input guys, if anyone has any other tips I'd appreciate it. Especially with regards to etiquette, rules, etc.

[Hugh Jass]

Fairways are pretty boring to be on for tournament watching. Park behind a green and see the approaches and the putts. Sometimes you can even get a spot on a hill with a view of the next tee also

Trains are great in the UK. I've got Virgin trains from Lime St in Liverpool to London and it only takes about 4hrs, but you have to get from Birkdale to Liverpool first. I dont think there's any way you'll get from Birkdale to London in 4hrs on Sunday evening.

[cantcountstrokes]

Thanks Hugh Jass for the pointers - I ended up taking the Virgin trains (same day return). MerseyRail took me to Royal Birkdale (Hillside) pretty seamlessly. The system was well prepared for the travelers heading north that day.

I got there too late to get on a nice green so was content with spending a load at the gift shop and following Spieth and Kuchar. I also got to see DJ, Mats, Connelly, Kuch, Spieth warm up (within 10 yards of me!) What a first nine that was for Spieth fans. I was on the green on a hill when Spieth shot from the 13th, we waited for 20 mins with no idea what was going on. All we could see was MikeG and Jordan climbing up and down the hill. Where I stood we were on direct line of being hit by the ball. Not sure I could have gotten much closer to the action than that! The day was beautiful until the turn when we got rain and wind. I parked at a bench and ate a cold Scotch Egg from M&S before following the action once more. I found that walking ahead of the ball was a decent way to balance a good view and being close to the action. All in all I had a blast and I was mighty happy Jordan pulled off the win in the end. I still ended up watching extended highlights when I got home as in person isn't the best viewing experience but nothing beats running onto the course as a horde as tides changed on the 15th fairway.

[elmeroil]

Thanks for sharing that sounds like a pretty cool experience.

[Hugh Jass]

Thanks for the update. It's been a number of years since I was at the open, but it's totally different ( and bigger) than anything else I've ever been to. Would like to go again someday, wanna hit Augusta first.

[duffer_mcmulligan]

Awesome experience that! . I have been to two Canadian Opens, two Canadian Women's Opens and now four Shaw Charity Classics at my home course. What I have typically done is look for a string of groups I want to see, camp out at an early green and watch them go through, then make my way around to different holes and pick up on other players I want to see. Since the Shaw is at my home course, I have a few favourite holes I migrate around. I like to start at the 4th green as you see players coming into the green of the par 5 4th hole, and see the occasional tee shot on the par 3 5th hole. Then I'll make my way across to the 7th, 17th and 15th to watch the approaches on 15 ( par 5 for members, par 4 for the Champions Tour).

Not it a British Open experience by a long shot ( tho we do have Monty now) but the way I love to see a tournament live. That was a heck of a last round to be in attendance of. Well played!