Royal Birkdale Golf Club — Play the Open Course

Royal Birkdale doesn't do much marketing. It doesn't need to. The club has hosted The Open Championship ten times — 1954, 1961, 1965, 1971, 1976, 1983, 1991, 1998, 2008, 2017 — and the course still looks exactly like a course that should host The Open. Willow scrub rough. Dunes visible from every hole. Fairways that sit in valleys between the sand hills rather than climbing over them, which is what gives Birkdale its particular character among links courses: the views are contained, each hole its own small world.

Visitor tee times are available on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from March through October, with the course closed from late June through late July for the 2026 Open. Peak green fee is £495 per person from May onwards. That is a significant sum. Whether it's worth it depends entirely on how seriously you take your golf — this is not a casual round or a casual layout.

A handicap certificate is required. Men need a maximum of 24, women 36. The club takes this seriously.

Caddies are available and worth the advance call. A single bag caddie costs £80 plus tip, paid in cash on the day. Forecaddies — one person carrying course knowledge for the whole group — cost £100 to £140 plus tip depending on group size. On a course where the wind shifts direction on almost every hole and the willow scrub is unforgiving, a caddie who knows where the ball goes when you miss left on the 12th is not a luxury. Book one when you book your tee time; they fill quickly on peak days.

The dress code is what you'd expect from a club founded in 1889: collared shirt tucked in, dimple-soled golf shoes, no jeans or round-neck T-shirts on the course. Golf shoes don't go in the main clubhouse lounge — use the Spike Bar.

If you want something more structured than a straight visitor round, the Birkdale Open Experience runs on Wednesdays from May through September and costs £565 per person. That gets you a meet-and-greet with staff, a gift pack from the club professional, a photograph with a replica Claret Jug, 18 holes, and a two-course bistro meal afterwards. In an Open year, with the course set up specifically for tournament configuration, the framing is more meaningful than usual.

There's also the Birkdale Ballot, worth knowing about for groups. The ballot offers fourballs at £396 — under £100 per player — but requires every player to hold an active WHS handicap and membership at a recognised club in England, Scotland, Wales, or Ireland. If your group qualifies, this is the best-value way onto the course.

The course itself: 18 holes, par 70, 7,156 yards from the championship tees. No two consecutive holes play in the same direction, which means the wind changes with every tee shot. The dunes frame the holes rather than border them, so errant shots disappear rather than bounce back. The willow scrub rough is the most distinctive feature — it looks like decorative planting until you're in it.

Allow four hours minimum, more likely four and a half. Buggies are restricted; trolleys are permitted. The club is a 15-minute walk from Birkdale station on the Merseyrail Northern Line from Liverpool Central.