2006 British Open

Dates: July 17th to July 23rd, 2006.

Location: The Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Meols Drive, Hoylake, Wirral, CH47 4AL, UK. Tel: +44 (0)151 632 3101

The tournament is held under the aegis of the R&A...Fife, Scotland, KY 16 9JD, UK, Tel: +44 (0)1334 460000, Fax: +44 (0)1334 460001

Ticketing: British Open tickets for 2006 are now available online from the organizers.

Road: See the driving directions from the Royal Liverpool site. The course is on the west coast of the UK, on the Wirral peninsular just below the major city of Liverpool, and west of Birkenhead.
Rail: The MerseyTravel website has details of local bus and rail services connecting Hoylake to Liverpool, Manchester (and their airports) and other major towns; look for the Mersey Journey Planner link. It's a 27 minute train journey from Liverpool Central station to Hoylake Station, for example. For info on getting to Liverpool or Birkenhead in the first place, use the National Rail Enquiries site.
Air: Liverpool's John Lennon airport is nearest, but has limited international flights and domestic flights to London City Airport only. There are shuttle buses to the local rail network (Garston station would be your best bet or take a bus to the city center stations). The nearest international airport is Manchester International - some 45 miles away - which serves worldwide destinations and domestic shuttle services to all of London's main airports.

Accommodation and facilities: The Clive Watkin Partnership is the official estate agent for the 2006 Open and there's a hotels page at the golf club's own site. The Birkenhead Tourist Information Center also offers a telephone or email accommodation service. The Liverpool tourism site has an accommmodation search service which also covers the Wirral. Given how easy it is to reach Hoylake from the city, you might consider staying in Liverpool itself.

Local sights and sounds: There's an official online guide to the Wirral area here. Two major tourist destinations are also within close reach; Liverpool (home of the Beatles and Europe's cultural capital for 2008) and Chester (a Roman town with a famous zoo).

Tournaments before and after: John Deere Classic ... US Bank Championship

Location and event tips: The Open return to Royal Liverpool after a 39 year absence. Let me know if you have any tips.

Links:
Official British Open website which will eventually have all the information you need as a spectator.
Royal Liverpool Golf Club