The R&A runs the greens at The Open Championship at around ten feet on the Stimpmeter — slower than your municipal course on a good Saturday — and it does it on purpose. At Royal Birkdale for the 2026 Open, the surfaces are set up for firmness measured in gravities off a Clegg hammer, not for speed, because on an exposed links the fastest green in the world becomes unplayable the moment the Irish Sea wind arrives.
The R&A and STRI target a championship links at roughly 120 to 140 gravities of firmness, soil moisture around 15 to 25 percent, and trueness measured by an STRI Trueness Meter — speed comes out around ten on the Stimpmeter almost as a byproduct. (These are the governing body's program-wide setup targets, not Birkdale's published 2026 readings.) The philosophy is firm over fast, "prepare for the worst, because Mother Nature always wins."
Royal Birkdale proves it every time the championship returns. When the wind drops, the same greens surrender a 28 on the front nine (1983) and a 64 and a 63 on the weekend (1991). When the 1998 gale arrived, the same well-drained course — which never flooded; the links drained and the only stoppage was for wind, not water — sent the field into the high seventies. The constant is the maintenance. The variable is the weather.
Watch the full documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmmmCoMLxeo