We used to say two things were certain in life: death and taxes. In golf there’s now a third – the increasing costs of playing the best courses in Great Britain & Ireland.
In what’s becoming a New Year tradition, we’ve scoured the websites of the most prestigious courses in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales to find out what they will charge you during peak times this summer.
If you’ve been following us for a few years, you will not be surprised by what we’ve discovered: prices continuing to rise and often above inflation.
Of course, good things cost money and golf courses are no different.
But what trends are emerging this year? What are the most expensive courses? And are there still ways to sniff out savings in a market which otherwise seems determined to get as much of your hard earned as possible?
To produce this list, we’ve used our rankings of the Top 100 courses in Great Britain & Ireland. So let’s get stuck into the details.
2026 green fee prices at Top 100 courses in Great Britain & Ireland
What are the 2026 headlines?
Turnberry remains the most expensive golf course to play in Great Britain & Ireland. The peak time summer green fee on the Ailsa is unchanged from last year, but is still £1,000. No other course comes close.
That eye-watering price can be reduced significantly to £475 by booking a stay at the hotel or by grabbing a late afternoon tee time (priced at £650), but a grand remains the published high-season rate on the website.
Royal Birkdale is close to hitting £500. The top fee has risen by £95 from last year to £495. Kingsbarns follows closely behind at £486.
Of those courses who have revealed their 2026 rates, Silloth and Goswick charge the least in our GB&I Top 100 list at £120.
But the number of courses charging £400 or more continues to grow. It’s now 15, up from eight last year.
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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.
Muirfield will be added to the list in 2027 when their peak green fee rises to £420. Others will surely follow.
Thirty of the top 50 courses on the GB&I list, and 42 of the top 100, now cost £300 or more to play.
But ten of the top 100 are under £150. They are: Silloth, Royal St David’s, Sherwood Forest, Aberdovey, Pennard, Trevose, Royal Worlington, Goswick, Seaton Carew and Conwy.
They will likely be joined by Machrihanish Dunes. Brora‘s peak May to September green fee is £180, but they do offer a rate to UK members of £120.
What are the green fee prices at the top 100 courses in GB&I in 2026?
- Royal County Down: £450
- St Andrews Old Course: £355
- Turnberry: £1,000
- Muirfield: £395
- Royal Portrush: £420
- Royal St George’s: £400
- Portmarnock: €475
- Sunningdale Old: £450
- North Berwick: £320
- Royal Birkdale: £495
- Royal Dornoch: £360
- Royal Lytham & St Annes: £460
- Lahinch: €450
- Rosapenna (St Patrick’s Links): €350
- Kingsbarns: £486
- Carnoustie: £360
- Sunningdale New: £450
- Woodhall Spa (Hotchkin): £245
- Skibo Castle: No tee times
- Waterville: €425
- Cruden Bay: £220
- Royal Cinque Ports: £285
- Swinley Forest: Price on application
- County Sligo: €320
- Ballybunion (Old): €450
- Cabot Highlands: £385
- Royal West Norfolk: Price on application
- Ganton: £235
- Royal Liverpool: £400
- Formby: £315
- Walton Heath (Old): £350
- Alwoodley: £230
- The Island: €325
- Loch Lomond: No tee times
- Gleneagles (King’s): £375
- Royal Troon: £395
- Western Gailes: £335
- Royal Aberdeen: Not yet revealed
- Prestwick: £380
- Saunton (East): £175
- St George’s Hill: £300
- Trump International (Old): £595
- Rye: Price on application
- Royal Porthcawl: £275
- Burnham & Berrow: £225
- Notts Golf Club (Hollinwell): £175
- St Enodoc (Church): £225
- County Louth: €325
- Hankley Common: £235
- Gleneagles (Queen’s): £375
- Old Head of Kinsale: €500
- The European: Closed for redevelopment
- Elie: £200
- Gullane (No. 1): £325
- The Machrie: £185
- Hillside: £335
- Silloth on Solway: £120
- Nairn (Championship): £350
- Trump Ireland: €550
- Ardfin: Price on application
- Machrihanish: £160
- The Berkshire (Red): £380
- West Lancs: £295
- Adare Manor: €550
- Ballyliffin (Glashedy): €330
- West Sussex: £200
- Hunstanton: £175
- Woking: £215
- Southport & Ainsdale: £300
- Prince’s: £215
- Royal St David’s: £145
- Dumbarnie Links: £350
- The Berkshire (Blue): £380
- Tralee: €450
- Walton Heath (New): £350
- Sherwood Forest: £145
- Liphook: £210
- Panmure: £195
- St Andrews (New): £155
- Luffness New: £210
- Machrihanish Dunes: Not yet revealed
- Aberdovey: £135
- Worplesdon: £220
- Parkstone: £200
- Moortown: £250
- Aldeburgh (Championship): £190
- Carne: €195
- Ballyliffin (Old): €300
- Pennard: £145
- Trevose: £140
- West Hill: £235
- Brora: £180
- Seaton Carew: £140
- Royal Worlington: £140
- Renaissance: No tee times
- Goswick: £120
- Ferndown (Old): £180
- The Addington: £175
- Wallasey: £255
- Conwy: £125
What are the trends?
Every year we wonder if green fees will reach a ceiling and every year they continue to go up.
Of those who have revealed their prices, most have chosen to increase them for 2026. Nine of the top 10 have gone up – with only Turnberry staying the same. A round at each of those courses in peak summer will cost a golfer just under £4,700 in total.
North Berwick – for many years considered a steal among the elite courses – has now passed the £300 barrier. The lowest priced course in the top 50 is Saunton (East) at £175.
With a selection of golf courses either not advertising their summer green fee, not available for visitor play, or inviting applications to discover green fee rates, it would set a player back just over £25,000 to play the 90 courses currently advertising their 2026 prices.
Within the regions, North Wales continues to be competitively marketed compared with elsewhere in GB&I (Conwy £125, Royal St David’s £145, Aberdovey £135), while Ireland continues to be a pricey excursion.
How do the figures stack up overall? While golf clubs raise their prices for many reasons, such as cost of services and materials, employment costs, as well as market forces and demand, some of the increases levied are running much higher than the rate of inflation, which was 3.4% in the 12 months up to December 2025.
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Increased international demand, alongside a summer heatwave last year, and more limited provision of tee times will also have played a part. But for the regular golfer, the cost of playing some of the best courses is rising faster than everyday living costs.
When should you play to get the best value?
These green fees are as expensive as it gets. They are often weekend tee times in high summer. If you’re not willing to open your wallet at these prices, however, there are options.
It is often better value to play these courses during the week, and if you’re prepared to show more flexibility about when you can tee it up you can also make further savings.
Longer summers and warmer winters are more common and many of the clubs on this list offer out-of-season and shoulder season prices. You might need to rely on a favourable weather forecast, but you can reap the benefits.
Take the Old Course at St Andrews. A green fee is £355 between April 20 and October 18. But you can play it until the end of March, albeit from fairway mats and with some hole restrictions, for £128.
Royal St George’s can be played on a Tuesday until March for £215, with the famous lunch included.
Prestwick, priced at £380 from May to September, can currently be enjoyed for £170 on Mondays to Thursdays.
Some of you may still consider those fees to be on the high side. But those who are looking for a bucket list trip and don’t want to play at the most expensive times, there are big discounts to be had on peak summer prices if you can be flexible with your dates.
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What do I think of the green fee debate?
Peak green fee prices are always controversial, but it feels like we’re getting into new territory now. I’ve been trying to pick out which of these courses I’d willingly fork out to play. It isn’t many. Can many of us justify shelling out up to £500 for a summer round of golf – lifetime experience or not?
Yes, these are world class venues and clearly demand is still outstripping supply. But the gap between what’s being charged and what parts of the golfing public may be able to afford must be widening.
Of course, no one forces us to pay. We can always go to McDonald’s if we don’t want to eat at The Ritz.
And some of these prices seem aimed at an international market whose propensity to spend appears unlimited right now. While that demand remans there is no incentive for businesses not to take advantage. That’s economics.
But for those of us on more of a budget, it’s hard to swallow being asked to pay many hundreds of pounds.
Demand can change, of course. The dollar may not always be high and the global situation is volatile. Here lies a danger for those who have been reaching for the stars in the price stakes.
One crash, and it doesn’t have to be on the scale we saw during Covid, and would the domestic market step up again? Social media might tell a story.
We’re lucky in Great Britain & Ireland that the game’s very best courses remain accessible. But are they’re in danger of becoming museum pieces?
For now, though, the only way is up. But it feels inevitable that next year we will be talking about green fee prices that have risen yet again.
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For surefire savings play the best courses on the NCG Top 100s Tour
NCG Top 100s Tour offers some of the biggest savings available on the best courses in Great Britain & Ireland.
Right now, we’re off to 25 of the courses in our Top 100 list in 2026 and tee-times are selling quickly.
NCG Top 100s Tour is the UK’s leading series of competitive events for amateur golfers and, as well as visiting some of the best layouts, you can bag substantial reductions compared to a peak green fee.
At the top end, a round at Royal Lytham is £460 on a weekend, but you can play it on the tour on April 16 from £349.
Western Gailes will set you back £335 during peak times but can be booked from £175 on May 6. A round at Nairn, weighing in at £350 in high summer, starts at £195 on the NCG Top 100s Tour on May 19.
And it’s not just at the most expensive courses where you can save money. You can play Sherwood Forest from £99 on May 14 (peak price £145) and Saunton (East) on April 30 from £149 (peak price £175).
Golfers who sign up to NCG Top 100s Tour events get a welcome gift and bacon roll on arrival, as well as a one-course meal following play. They also compete for fantastic prizes from TaylorMade with the chance to compete at a prestigious Grand Final at the end of the season.
There are further savings for golfers who book multi-events as we take on various swings, book in groups of four or more players, or who sign up for our membership package.
The courses from our GB&I list than you can play on the NCG Top 100s Tour in 2026 are: Royal St George’s (sold out), Royal Lytham, Woodhall Spa, Royal Cinque Ports, Alwoodley, Western Gailes, Saunton East, Trump International, Royal Porthcawl (sold out), Gleneagles Queen’s, Elie, Nairn, Machrihanish, West Sussex, Prince’s (sold out), Royal St David’s, Sherwood Forest, Machrihanish Dunes, Aberdovey, Moortown, Pennard, Trevose, Seaton Carew (sold out), Wallasey and Hollinwell.
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To see the full list of events and to book a spot, visit our NCG Top 100s Tour website.
Now have your say
What do you make of this year’s Top 100 green fee prices? Are you willing to pay some of the figures the top clubs are asking? What represents value on this list and what is overpriced? And is the average golfer being priced out of a memorable day out? Let us know in the comments, email me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com, or get in touch on X.