Golf in Lancashire: The Complete Guide
Lancashire means Royal Lytham and St Annes: 11 Opens, the most demanding finishing stretch in championship golf, and a Dormy House where you sleep yards from the 1st tee. Around it sit the Open qualifying links of the Fylde coast and the green sweep of the Ribble Valley, at fees that embarrass the south of England.
Photograph: Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, via Google
Why Lancashire
Because one of the great championship links of the world sits here behind a quiet seaside town, bookable by ordinary visitors. Royal Lytham and St Annes, founded in 1886, has hosted the Open Championship 11 times, from Bobby Jones in 1926 to Ernie Els in 2012, and unlike most courses of that rank it publishes its visitor rates and runs its own guest house. Around it, the Fylde coast holds a cluster of genuine links that the Open uses for qualifying, and inland the Ribble Valley offers handsome, cheap, uncrowded golf in some of the prettiest countryside in northern England.
A word on geography, because golfers blur it: the Southport links, Royal Birkdale, Hillside and Formby, have been Merseyside since 1974, though the golf world still calls the whole coastline Lancashire. We cover that stretch on the England Golf Coast hub; this page is the modern county.
The courses that matter
Royal Lytham and St Annes
A links without sea views, hemmed by red brick and railway line, and all the more fearsome for it: 200 odd bunkers, a par 3 opening hole unique on the Open rota, and a closing run through the wind that has decided championships since 1926. The published 2026 peak visitor rate is 460 pounds, indicative, with tee times released on the first Monday of each month for the following month and the club closed to visitors from November 2026 through February 2027. The shortcut is the club's own Dormy House: 16 en suite rooms beside the links, with discounted green fees for residents. Read our full Royal Lytham course profile. Always confirm directly before booking.
Fairhaven
Two miles from Lytham and a regular Open qualifying venue, Fairhaven is the round to book alongside the championship day: a flattish, beautifully bunkered test that championship fields have used to sharpen for the main event for decades. Visitors are welcome through the week at a fraction of the Royal Lytham fee.
St Annes Old Links
The other qualifying links of the Fylde, older ground than its neighbor's name suggests, with a string of strong par 4s into the prevailing wind and one of the best halfway houses in the north. With Fairhaven it makes the natural 36 hole warm up day before Lytham.
West Lancashire, Blundellsands
The county name survives at one of England's oldest clubs, though the course itself now sits in Merseyside at the southern end of the links coast. We include it for the golfer working the whole shoreline: a proper, underrated championship links with a published 2026 peak rate of 295 pounds, indicative. Always confirm directly before booking.
Clitheroe and Pleasington: the Ribble Valley inland set
Inland Lancashire is the value half of the trip. Clitheroe, a James Braid design under Pendle Hill, and Pleasington, rolling parkland and heath outside Blackburn, are the pick: both routinely host county championship golf, both welcome visitors for modest fees, and both put you in the Ribble Valley, the gastropub and walking country that makes the rest day worth taking.
Season and fees at a glance
| Course | 2026 peak fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Lytham and St Annes | 460 pounds | Monthly tee time releases; Dormy House discounts; closed to visitors Nov 2026 to Feb 2027 |
| West Lancashire | 295 pounds | Southern end of the links coast |
| Fairhaven / St Annes Old Links | Moderate | Open qualifying venues; easy visitor access midweek |
| Clitheroe / Pleasington | Modest | Ribble Valley inland golf; days of notice suffice |
Best months: May to September, with June and September the sweet spot. Check tee time availability or browse Lytham St Annes golf stays.
Getting there and where to stay
Manchester Airport is the gateway, about an hour from Lytham St Annes by motorway, with Liverpool a similar run to the southern links. Trains reach St Annes via Preston, but a car is the right call for the Ribble Valley leg. Stay at the Dormy House if Lytham is the centerpiece; it is the only booking that both lodges you and discounts the golf. Otherwise Lytham town has solid small hotels a short walk from three links, and the Ribble Valley around Clitheroe trades seaside bustle for countryside inns. Blackpool, ten minutes north, supplies the group trip's evening entertainment, for better or worse.
Plan your Lancashire golf trip
Tell us your dates, group size and whether Royal Lytham is the centerpiece or one stop on a links coast tour. One concierge works the monthly release, books the Dormy House and costs the trip to the head. No obligation.
Lancashire golf questions
How do visitors play Royal Lytham and St Annes?
Book through the club's bookings team, watch for the tee times released on the first Monday of each month for the following month, or stay in the club's own Dormy House, 16 en suite rooms yards from the 1st tee, which carries discounted green fees. The published 2026 peak visitor rate is 460 pounds, indicative, and the club is closed to visitors from November 2026 through February 2027. Always confirm directly before booking.
Is Royal Birkdale in Lancashire?
Historically yes, administratively no. Royal Birkdale, Hillside, Formby and Southport's other links sit in Merseyside since the 1974 boundary changes, though golfers still speak of the whole stretch as Lancashire links country. We cover that run on our England Golf Coast hub; this page covers the modern county, anchored by Royal Lytham on the Fylde coast.
When is the best time to play golf in Lancashire?
May to September for the links at full speed, with June and September the sweet spot for light, firmness and tee sheet space. April and October are honest links months at lower rates. Note that Royal Lytham closes to visitors through the winter, from November 2026 to the end of February 2027, so a winter trip means the qualifying links and inland courses instead.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Course access changes, openings and the trips worth taking. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Access, history and published fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.