Hole 17

17th Par 5 Championship tee 572 yards Medal tee 527 yards

Justin Rose says: The 17th is quite a tight driving hole, especially into the wind. There is huge bank on the right hand side which you need to avoid at all costs. Downwind the fairway plays a lot wider than it does into the wind as it opens up on the right hand side and it does give you the opportunity to go for the green in two. They have completely redesigned the green on 17 and it has a lot of humps and hollows and swails, which can actually feed your ball to the hole. Again if you get on the wrong side of the swail your going to have a very tough up and down to make your birdie. Come the end of the championship it's a hole that could provide a lot of drama.

Brian says: This is a great driving hole and it epitomises Birkdale, inviting you to drive between the imposing sand dunes. If you go too far left you'll be up a mound, which nearly cost Lee Trevino the Open in 1971. If golfers hit a good drive the green is reachable, even if the hole is a lot longer than it used to be. The green has been moved back, re-made, re-laid, re-contoured and so it is going to be very different, much tighter.

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