Birkdale is about 20 minutes north of uptown Charlotte, just off I-77 to the west at NC 73.

The golf course is a parkland layout journeying through a residential development over rolling hills, with the homes primarily blocked by tall pines. The layout has slight elevation changes, and McDowell Creek traverses the middle in addition to several ponds, and a bounty of sand bunkers along the fairways and defending the greens. It can play to 7,013 yards from the tips, 74.1/138, course/slope with three shorter sets of tees down to 5,175 yards, an Arnold Palmer design.