When The 146th Open arrived at Royal Birkdale in 2017, 235,000 fans showed up over the week, including foreign nationals, setting an attendance record. That number is now expected to reach 300,000 in 2026. And even nine years later, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) has yet to resolve how to make anyone’s stay or travel during the week a little easier.

Royal Birkdale has no parking options available on the property or in nearby places such as Hillside or Birkdale (exception: pre-booked Blue Badge parking). As per ITV News, a strict Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) is in effect. Illegally parked cars will be fined. The Open has set up two Park & Ride sites instead. Fans can leave their cars there and hop on a dedicated shuttle that takes them straight to the course.

Councillor Steve Foulkes alerted fans to plan accordingly in his statement:

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01/10

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Jack NicklausTiger WoodsTom WatsonNick Faldo

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“With services expected to be extremely busy, it’s important that spectators plan ahead, check routes and allow extra time for their journeys… we’d also ask people to be patient, follow travel guidance and be respectful of fellow passengers and the staff working hard to support this major event.”

Packed trains and reduced regional services mean long delays and sardine-can carriages for fans travelling from around the UK and beyond, while temporary road closures and parking restrictions around the course strip away the last-mile convenience many depend on. Could the fans leave earlier for comfort, as at the U.S. Open? Possibly—but unlikely given course schedules.

Fans traveling are advised to use public transport to avoid congestion. If you plan on taking the train route, here’s what you should keep in mind:

• Hillside station on Merseyrail’s Northern Line is the closest stop to The Open.
• Merseyrail has put on an enhanced timetable, with trains between Liverpool Central/Moorfields and Hillside (and between Southport and Hillside) running every 20 minutes.
• Seats cannot be reserved. Merseyrail is rolling out longer eight-car trains to add capacity.
• To skip the ticket-machine queues, fans can use the “Tap & Go” system at the start and end of their journeys.

If you have somehow secured a place nearby, walking or cycling to the course is advisable to beat the traffic. As per reports, there will be free cycle parking near the main spectator entrance. Since 2017, nothing has changed: the same parking shortage, the same congestion warnings.

In 2017, the council issued similar advisories. Greenbank High School served as overflow parking (£10–£15 per car).

Reports suggest fans inject £100 million into Merseyside’s economy, partially because of rising ticket prices. They deserve hassle-free travel. But with the raft of precautions being advised, many fans are likely to face disruptions instead. It is certainly going to be a messy week, especially for those who do not know the area very well.

In fact, it will be messy for everyone in the area, including the residents.

Liverpool councillor “fumes” as The Open traffic demands hit the rail system

With hundreds of thousands of fans descending on The Open, Merseyrail is adding capacity by running longer eight‑car trains. However, those can’t stop at Cressington—about 30 miles (roughly 50 km) away—because its platform is too short, so services there will be cut from every 15 minutes to around every 40 minutes. When Liverpool Councillor Richard Clein was notified of it, he seemed upset.

“Over a month ago, a resident got in touch with me to say they’d got on an eight-car train and they were told only four of them could be used. Listening to the Mayor yesterday, I was fuming,” Clein said, as per AOL.

Clein added he is fine since “Liverpool is a city now that hosts world-class events every weekend and that’s something that we should be encouraging,” but he doesn’t want people in his ward to be disturbed during such weeks.

He also shared that the railway initially ignored warnings about limited capacity. In December, services bypassed the station on two Saturdays during events at Aintree and the Hill Dickinson stadium. Merseyrail has trialled longer trains, but Clein says the trackside beacons to signal the rear-carriage doors to stay closed are still not working correctly.

Residents face a month-long disruption; fans pay premium prices for a degraded experience.