Jordan Spieth donates club from famous driving range shot to Royal Birkdale

It’s a shot noone will ever forget, and now a replica of the three-iron Jordan Spieth hit from the driving range to the 13th green will take pride of place at Royal Birkdale.

The host of the 2017 Open tweeted on Wednesday that they had received a ‘special delivery’, in the form of Jordan Spieth’s three-iron. 

Don’t remember why it was so famous? It was the ruling that took over 30 minutes as Spieth looked on the verge of collapse having pushed his drive nearly 100 yards right of the fairway. His ball was found on the side of a hill and he elected to take an unplayable, which took him first inside a tour truck, before further relief let him play from the driving range.

Why could he play from the driving range? Because Royal Birkdale allows it to be in play for the members, and therefore they kept it in play for the players – not that anyone else needed it. Spieth’s caddie Michael Greller made the calculations, and the three-time major champion hit a miraculous shot from his position just short of the green – ending up with a bogey five. 

What happened next was even more impressive. Spieth had dropped out of the lead, but went on to finish five under for his last five holes (including holing a 50 foot putt for eagle on the 15th and a 30-footer for birdie on the 16th) to win the Open by three shots over Matt Kuchar. 

And now, the now famous three-iron will now forever reside in the clubhouse at Royal Birkdale – no doubt next to Padraig Harrington’s famous three-wood shot on the 17th hole during his victory at the same venue in 2008. 

Harrington once said that there should only be one plaque on a golf course. Currently, Arnold Palmer already has one on the 16th hole at Royal Birkdale – but we wouldn’t be surprised if they made an exception for Spieth, particularly as the driving range isn’t technically even on the course.