It’s considered one of the most famous bogeys in major championship history – Jordan Spieth’s chaotic, 29-minute scene on Royal Birkdale’s 13th hole during the 2017 Open that included Spieth taking an unplayable from the side of a massive dune and hitting his third shot from the club’s driving range.
But such a ‘5’ will never be emulated again – at least not this week.
As golf’s oldest major returns to the Southport links, the lay of the land at No. 13 looks markedly different following a significant renovation in 2024 that altered at least portions of every hole on the property.
Jordan Spieth of the US tees off on the 13th, during a practise round a few days before the start of the 2026 Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale golf course near Southport in north-west England on July 12, 2026. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE
AFP via Getty Images
New tee box
The differences start immediately on the 13th tee box, where that Sunday afternoon in 2017 saw Spieth, tied with playing competitor Matt Kuchar at the time, blow his drive nearly 100 yards right of the fairway. Upon making contact, Spieth’s hands immediately went to his head in disbelief before he gave a brief point with his right index finger.
There is now a new left tee box that changes the angle into a fairway that pinches tighter by new bunkering and a more prominent left ditch that runs along the hole.
Altered mounding
Spieth’s ball sailed into the crowd, striking a spectator and then ricocheting into a nasty lie near the base of seemingly the tallest dune on property.
“That is catastrophic,” the TV announced said in the moment, as fans scrambled to look for Spieth’s buried ball.
Some of the lasting images from that Sunday are of Spieth standing atop the dune, contemplating his next steps. Now, that landscape has been redone, with a new row of dunes separating the 13th hole from the practice range.
Speaking of the range…
Out of bounds and a fan village
Spieth’s line-of-sight relief took him into the edge of the range, where equipment trucks were still parked. Initially, he sought a spot behind the trucks before realizing that his nearest point was actually amid the trucks, specifically next to that of Spieth’s sponsor, Titleist. Late DP World Tour rules official John Paramor was alongside Spieth as he took the lengthy drop, which concluded with T.I.O. relief that left Spieth on flat ground and roughly 240 yards from the hole.
Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, said later that he intentionally told Spieth less yardage so that Spieth would hit 3-iron and not 3-wood.
“Give me a round number!” Spieth could be heard shouting at Greller as the bagman stood atop the dune so that he could see the green.
Spieth’s third shot left him just in front of the right greenside bunker, where he’d get up and down with a deft chip and subsequent holed 10-footer.
“I don’t think people can appreciate his being in the situation and for him to have the thought process to think, ‘Is the range in play or out of play?’” Greller said. “I mean, you would just assume it’s out of bounds. And he asked the question and found out it’s in play, and so he knew that he could go back as far as he wanted by taking an unplayable.”
Spieth’s play won’t be an option this week as not only is there a giant, white tent that sits where the trucks were in 2017 but that designated fan village (no longer the tournament range) is out of bounds, starting with the cart path that runs along the right of the dunes and left of the generators for the tents.
There is more room where Spieth’s third ended up, though, as that greenside bunker that Spieth had to carry with his chip has been pushed closer to the putting surface.
5-2-3 will be much tougher
Following his heroic bogey, Spieth’s momentum carried over to the par-3 14th, where he flagged a 6-iron to 6 feet for birdie. A few years ago, Spieth called it the best shot he’s ever hit. He followed by draining a 48-foot eagle – the famous “Go get that!” putt – at the par-5 15th, and after converting another lengthy putt, this time for birdie at No. 16, Spieth went on to beat Kuchar by three shots.
That 5-2-3 run at Nos. 13-15 will now require an albatross.
The old 14th hole was repurposed into a short-game practice area while the new 14th is a 602-yard par-5 with a new, perched green that sits about 70 yards from where the old 15th green was.
No. 15 is a completely new hole, a 241-yard par-3 – the longest on the course – that features a large green with a narrow entrance, steep runoff area on the right and bunkers on the left.
That reimagined stretch could still produce a spirited charge to the Claret Jug, though unlike Spieth nine years ago, no shots will be hit from the practice range.