Playing Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham as a visitor

The three venues, compared

All three are private members' clubs on the Lancashire and Merseyside coast that have hosted The Open (golf's oldest major, run by The R&A), and all three take visitors strictly by booking rather than on the day. Royal Lytham is next up: The R&A has named it host of the 156th Open in 2028 (championship week 30 July to 6 August), its first since 2012.

Figures and wording are each club's own, checked on its own site on 23 Sep 2026; see the sources below for where each one sits, since visitor terms change season to season.

Royal Birkdale

Photo to followThe clubhouse and closing hole at Royal Birkdale, host of The Open 11 times

Royal Birkdale takes visitors on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The 2026 fee is £450 in March and April, then £495 from May to October; Wednesdays from May to September are sold only as a £565pp package. The course is closed to visitors in January, February, November and December, and again from 22 June to 26 July 2026 around The Open itself. No handicap limit is published.

Book online at members.royalbirkdale.com/visitorbooking, by phone on +44 1704 552020, or by email to secretary@royalbirkdale.com. Full details, including dress code, are on Royal Birkdale's own Golf Metric guide.

Royal Liverpool

Photo to followThe clubhouse and links at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, an Open Championship venue

At the time of writing, Royal Liverpool's own booking page has moved on to its 2027 visiting golfer diary rather than pricing what's left of 2026: no current 2026 rate is shown. For 2027, the course is closed to visitors from November 2026 to February 2027, then £320 in March, £420 from April to September, and £370 in October, with a Tuesday golf-and-lunch package at £480 (April to September only).

Visitors play on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays in a normal week, subject to availability; the club's own page says weekend visitor play "is not normally allowed", and Thursday is kept as Ladies' Day. There's no numeric handicap limit, but the club expects visitors to "hold a current Club or Society handicap."

Book through Andrew Leadbetter on 0151 632 7772 or bookings@royal-liverpool-golf.com, or call the main office on 0151 632 3101. A single caddie costs £80 plus gratuity, a forecaddie £120 plus gratuity, booked in advance through the Head Professional, who also acts as caddie master.

On the course, shirts must be tucked in and shorts tailored and knee length; in the clubhouse, golf wear is fine until 6pm, after which jacket and tie are required upstairs. Jeans, trainers and round-neck T-shirts aren't allowed at any time, on the course or off it.

Royal Lytham and St Annes

Photo to followThe clubhouse and 18th green at Royal Lytham and St Annes, an Open Championship venue on the Fylde coast

Royal Lytham's published rate is £245 a round for the 2 to 31 March 2026 window, £400 from 1 April to 30 September 2026, and £280 for October 2026 and March 2027, all per person and all priced Monday to Friday; weekend and bank holiday rounds are offered "subject to availability" rather than at a set rate. The club is closed to visitors from 1 November 2026 to 28 February 2027.

There's no hard handicap rule, but the club advises visitors "get full enjoyment" by holding 21 or better (men) or 30 or better (ladies), and recommends playing from the Green markers (men) or Orange markers (ladies) rather than the championship tees.

Book online at brsgolf.com/royallytham, by phone on 01253 724206, or by email to bookings@royallytham.org. A single caddie is £80 plus gratuity, a forecaddie £120 plus gratuity, both by prior arrangement; an electric trolley is £25 and a pull trolley £10.

On the course, shirts need a collar or sleeves and must stay tucked in, and shorts must be tailored with long or short white ankle socks; jeans, tracksuits and shorts with external pockets aren't allowed. In the clubhouse, shorts and golf shoes are barred upstairs, and evening dining calls for a jacket and tie for men.

Caddies and dress, in short

All three charge around the same for a caddie: roughly £80 for a single bag and £100 to £140 (Royal Birkdale) or a flat £120 (Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham) for a forecaddie covering two bags, plus a gratuity paid in cash. Dress rules are broadly the same too: a collared or sleeved shirt tucked in, tailored shorts with proper socks, golf shoes, and no jeans, trainers or tracksuits. Each club's own page (linked above) has the exact wording, since the small print differs slightly club to club.

For juniors and older golfers

None of the three publishes a junior rate or a junior handicap allowance for visitors on the pages checked here; if you're bringing a junior player, ring the club directly before you book rather than assume. None mentions buggy access for older or less mobile golfers either, beyond Royal Liverpool's note that its buggy hire is "limited to medical certificate holders only," so check that in advance too if it matters to your round.