John Wood on Royal Birkdale's Redesign and Reliving Spieth's 2017 Drama | 5 Clubs

Gary Williams opens Open Championship week at Royal Birkdale with a conversation built for anyone trying to understand what actually separates contenders from pretenders at Links golf. Course strategy at an Open venue is unlike anything else in the major championship rotation, and few people can speak to that with more authority than someone who has actually stood over the shots that decide these tournaments. Gary Williams is joined by John Wood, the longtime PGA TOUR caddie who carried the bag for Matt Kuchar during the dramatic final round of the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and now covers the game for USA Network and NBC Sports. Wood walks through how a caddie actually builds a game plan for an Open rota course, explaining why the shifting wind direction across the week forces players to plan for entirely different clubs off the tee on different days. He details how much thicker the fescue is this year compared to 2017, when players could find playable lies well outside the fairways, and breaks down the redesigned 14th and 15th holes, including new raised greens with steep fall-offs that will demand far more precision on approach and around the putting surfaces. The conversation turns personal when Wood revisits the 13th hole from that unforgettable final round in 2017, when Jordan Spieth's errant tee shot forced a lengthy search and a dramatic recovery that became one of the defining moments in Open Championship history. Wood recalls walking the ground behind that dune for the first time since the tournament, the confusion in real time as he and Kuchar waited to see what Spieth would do, and the private apology Spieth offered Kuchar before the round continued. He closes with a broader reflection on the mental toughness required to win an Open Championship, invoking the late Bruce Edwards, longtime caddie for Tom Watson, and his famous distinction between players who complain about a bad bounce and those who simply say, watch this. FOLLOW 5 Clubs: Instagram:   / 5clubsgolf   X: https://x.com/5ClubsGolf Facebook:   / 5clubsgolf   TikTok:   / 5clubsgolf   Want to wear Gary's Peter Millar fits from the show? Head to the link below and pick up the latest styles for on and off the course. https://www.petermillar.com/d/men