THE OPEN HOUSE

The only thing more steeped in tradition than the majestic Royal Liverpool clubhouse might be the course itself, the host of this year’s Open Championship, where the holes have names—and secrets to unlock

- James Colgan

AS IT TURNS OUT, the road separating the Beatles and major championship golf isn’t long or winding. Most days, you can drive it in less than an hour. The birthplace of the Fab Four—the Cavern Club in central Liverpool—is only about a dozen miles from the first tee box at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, host of the 151st Open Championship this summer. And, like the band, the course registers as classic and somewhat traditional— until it shows its devilish side.

“Ultimately, I would describe it as a very honest golf course,” says John Heggarty, the club’s longtime head pro. “Although, at first glance, a lot of the holes appear to be flat, you very seldom find flat land. It’s a relatively straightforward path, but there’s always ups and downs.”

Heggarty knows the golf—and the area—better than anyone. In his four decades at RLGC, he’s watched legions of golfers visit in pursuit of both fairways and Strawberry Fields. In that time, he’s seen only one constant: change. “The routing here means that if there is any wind at all, you play the holes in a variety of wind directions,” Heggarty says. “It is not a straight-out, straight-back golf course. Holes move in very different directions.”

This year, changes at RLGC—which has hosted the Open 12 times in a span of 12 decades (p. 66)—will take on their most menacing form yet. The routing has shifted from the last Open held here, in 2014, an effort to make the course’s strongest stretch of holes also its final stretch of holes. Nos. 14 (named Lake), 15 (Little Eye) and 16 (Dun) for the membership will play as Nos. 16, 17 and 18 for the championship, including the debut of the fully redesigned penultimate par 3.