What's changing in UK golf: autumn 2026

Participation: a record year to live up to

England Golf's 2025 figures, released in January 2026, told a good story: 11.83 million scores submitted through the World Handicap System over the year, up 16% on 2024 and the highest annual total since WHS began. That set a high bar for 2026 to clear.

It hasn't quite cleared it. Sporting Insights, which tracks rounds played across Great Britain, recorded Q1 2026 down 14.5% on the same period in 2025, though March still ranked as the second-strongest March of the past five years. The pattern held through the first half of the year: nine and 18-hole rounds ran about 9% behind 2025, and Q2 alone was down 7%. Sporting Insights' John Bushell put it well: strong performance measured against every year this decade except the record-breaking one just gone, not a sign of a game in decline.

Handicaps: England holds off, Scotland and Wales move

Golf Ireland piloted giving clubs more choice over Playing Handicap Allowances, the slice of a player's handicap that counts in a competition, across singles, fourball stroke play, Stableford and V-Par formats. England Golf, Scottish Golf and Wales Golf had all been due to adopt the same flexibility from 2026.

Only two did. Scotland and Wales brought in the changes from 1 April 2026, letting clubs pick allowances, 100%, 95%, 90% or 85%, for singles play to suit their own competitions. England Golf announced in December 2025 that it would hold off until 2028, in line with the wider World Handicap System review cycle: more evaluation first, change later. If you play mostly in England, nothing about your allowance changes for the 2027 season; over the border, your club may already have set its own figure.

Rules and equipment: no new rulebook, but a ball change is coming

We couldn't find an announcement of a new edition of the Rules of Golf beyond the one that's been in force since January 2023. What is confirmed, and easy to mix up with a rules change, is a change to how golf balls get tested. From January 2028, The R&A and the USGA test balls for the Overall Distance Standard at a higher clubhead speed (125mph rather than 120mph), with different spin and launch settings, aimed at reining in the ever-increasing hitting distances of the modern game. Balls that already pass the current test stay legal for club golf until 1 January 2030, so nothing changes at your own course for a while yet.

Apps: HowDidiDo becomes one platform

The new HowDidiDo app and website rolled out to existing users from 12 January 2026, folding three separate systems, HowDidiDo, ClubV1 Members Hub and igMember, into a single login. It found an audience fast: over 100,000 registered users in the first week, past 200,000 inside six weeks, across roughly 2,000 clubs and a million active golfers in the UK and Ireland.

The website stays free to use, adverts and all. The standalone app doesn't: £2.99 a year per golfer, or £9.99 for an ad-free version, unless your club opts to cover every member's subscription at a flat annual rate. Which applies to you comes down to what your own club decided, so check with the office if you're not sure.

Disability golf: England Golf's five-year plan

England Golf counts 9.32 million people in England living with a disability or a long-term health condition. Of those, its own figures show over 700,000 have played some form of golf and close to 200,000 have played a full-length course. Its Disability Golf Plan, running 2025 to 2030, commits to three areas: elite performance and a talent pathway, classification and competition, and helping clubs become more inclusive. England Golf works with the European Disability Golf Association (EDGA) on classification and eligibility for competitive disability golf; see our North West golf organisations page for what EDGA does.

North West: an Open legacy fund, and a Cheshire pro in the PGA chair

Royal Birkdale hosted the 154th Open in July 2026, and Southport felt it long before a ball was struck.

Photo to followSpectators lining a fairway at Royal Birkdale during The Open, July 2026

The Open Legacy Fund launched in the town in March 2026, ahead of the Championship, offering local community and voluntary groups grants of up to £20,000 for projects covering low carbon solutions, the circular economy, nature protection and social value, reviewed by a panel including The R&A and Sefton Council. The last time Royal Birkdale hosted, in 2017, legacy money paid for improvements to Southport Pier and Birkdale Common. Golf Business News also reported forecasts of a significant economic boost for Merseyside from Championship-week visitor spending.

Away from the coast, David Llewellyn, Executive Head Professional at Carden Park in Cheshire, took the PGA captaincy in late March 2026, becoming its 86th captain and succeeding David Scott. He manages and mentors six professionals at the club and, outside the day job, supports the On-Course Foundation's work with injured servicemen and women.