Royal Birkdale is primed and ready to host The Open Championship for the 11th time in 2026.
The course looks very different now than it did when the event was last held in Southport in 2017. The 5th hole has been transformed, and there are new 14th and 15th holes, too.
For those of you lucky enough to have trodden the famous northwest links on several occasions, you are very much paying for a new experience in Birkdale’s new era.
Speaking of eras with immense difference, this brings us to green fees. Year after year, the will of recreational golfers is being tested more and more with course rates, and how much you are prepared to pay for 18 holes of golf.
This is truest when venues like Birkdale enter the discussion. The theatre you see providing a stage for the best golfers in the world this week requires world-class maintenance and tireless work from dedicated greens staff.
Throw in the sport’s growing popularity and the great migration of foreign visitors coming to enjoy England’s most famous golf courses, and you have a green fee that might be harder to stomach, but one that reflects the current climate and demand to play venues like Birkdale.
ALSO: Can Royal Birkdale still stand up to modern power ahead of the Open Championship?
In March and April of 2026, it was £450 for one person to play. From May to October, it is £495. The top fee has risen by £95 from last year and is approaching the £500 threshold. According to Birkdale’s website, these fees will remain the same for 2027.
Within NCG’s rankings of the Top 100 courses in Great Britain & Ireland, there are now 15 golf courses that charge £400 or more, and that has increased by eight from 2025:
They are: Royal County Down, Turnberry, Royal Portrush, Royal St George’s, Portmarnock, Sunningdale Old, Royal Birkdale, Royal Lytham & St Annes, Kingsbarns, Sunningdale New, Royal Liverpool, Trump International (Old), Old Head of Kinsale, Trump Ireland and Adare Manor.
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While Birkdale asks you to burn a significant hole in your wallet for the privilege of one round, ahead of the 154th Open in July, the course held the Birkdale Ballot – a scheme that allowed players to apply to play the course for an exceptional rate.
The Birkdale Ballot was a limited ballot offering UK golfers the chance to play at a preferred fourball rate of £396, equating to under £100 per player.
The ballot was open to golfers holding an active WHS handicap and membership at a recognised club in England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland. Entrants could nominate two preferred tee times from a published list, with successful applications drawn at random.
Initiatives like this go a long way to providing golfers with opportunities to play the very best courses in Great Britain and Ireland, without having to fork out a small fortune.
NOW READ: How much are the green fees to play top 100 courses in Great Britain and Ireland in summer 2026?
NOW READ: Why Royal Birkdale is the perfect Open Championship venue – and why the R&A can’t get enough
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