How to Play the Best Golf in Lancashire
Lancashire golf means the Fylde coast: Royal Lytham and St Annes, an eleven time Open venue defended by 174 bunkers, with two Open qualifying links, St Annes Old Links and Fairhaven, within ten minutes of its gates. This guide covers how the tee times are released, what they cost in 2026, and how to build the trip around them.
Photograph: Royal Lytham and St Annes, via Google
Start with Royal Lytham, then build outward
Royal Lytham and St Annes is the anchor round and the booking that sets your dates. Founded in 1886 and on its present site since 1897, redesigned by Harry Colt after the First World War, it has hosted eleven Opens, from Bobby Jones in 1926 to Ernie Els in 2012, plus Ryder, Walker and Curtis Cups. It is the only Open venue that begins with a par 3, and its 174 pot bunkers make it, hole for hole, perhaps the most exacting driving course in England. The championship card stretches past 7,000 yards, but visitors are pointed to the green tees at 6,346 yards, par 71, which is all the golf course anyone needs.
The supporting cast is the point of a Lancashire trip rather than an afterthought. St Annes Old Links, founded in 1901, is a championship links of 6,907 yards that hosted Open final qualifying as recently as 2022 and owns a ninth hole once voted the best in Britain. Fairhaven, a James Braid era inland links of nearly 7,000 yards, is an Open regional qualifying venue for Royal Birkdale in 2026. Up the coast, Fleetwood is the county's traditional out and back links, and inland the Ribble Valley hides Braid's Clitheroe and the heathland of Pleasington, fresh from a million pound upgrade and back in the national top 200.
The Lancashire courses that matter
Royal Lytham and St Annes
The hardest par 70 stretch in championship golf when the wind runs, ringed by red brick houses and a railway line rather than dunes, and all the greater for it. Seve won here twice, Bobby Jones announced himself here, and the closing run of bunkered par 4s decides everything. Book the moment times release, take a caddie, and play the forward tees with your dignity intact.
St Annes Old Links
The proper warm up for Lytham and a championship test in its own right, with Open final qualifying duty from 2018 to 2022 and a co hosting role in the 2022 Amateur Championship. The ninth, once voted Britain's best ninth hole, is the postcard. The club's latest published peak rates date from 2024 at around 110 to 150 pounds, so confirm the current figure when you book.
Fairhaven
An inland links five minutes from Lytham that has qualified Open fields for decades and does so again for Birkdale in 2026. Flattish, beautifully bunkered and far harder than it looks, it is the second round every Lytham pilgrim should book. Latest published rates, from the 2025 season, run 105 pounds midweek and 120 at weekends; 2026 rates were unpublished at our review, so confirm directly.
Fleetwood
Lancashire's honest seaside links north of Blackpool, an out and back routing where the wind decides the score. At 60 pounds for eighteen holes in 2026 it is the value round of the coast. Note the club restricts visitor windows from 12 July to 2 August 2026 while the Open is at Royal Birkdale down the coast, so book around the championship.
Pleasington and Clitheroe
Pleasington, twelve times an Open qualifying venue, mixes heathland and moorland west of Blackburn and has rejoined the UK top 200 after a million pound investment, with 2026 visitor rates from 80 pounds midweek. Clitheroe, a James Braid parkland of 6,532 yards under Pendle Hill, is the prettiest inland course in the county and the right rest day round on any coast trip.
Facts verified June 2026 from the clubs' own sites and championship records. Royal Birkdale, Hillside and Formby sit over the county line in Merseyside; we cover them in England's Golf Coast guide. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.
Getting on: fees, releases and the rules that matter
Royal Lytham releases a select number of visitor tee times on the first Monday of each month for the following month, bookable online or through the bookings office, and the Dormy House inside the grounds offers stay and play packages that carry their own guaranteed times. The club advises handicaps of 21 for men and 30 for ladies, caddies run about 80 pounds, and the course closes to visitors from November 2026 through February 2027.
| Course | Indicative 2026 visitor fee | Access notes |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Lytham and St Annes | £400 Apr to Sep (£245 Mar, £280 Oct), Mon to Fri | Times release first Monday monthly; Dormy House packages from £519 |
| St Annes Old Links | Latest published about £110 to £150 (2024) | Advance booking essential; confirm current rates |
| Fairhaven | Latest published £105 to £120 (2025 season) | Visitors daily; Open regional qualifying 2026 |
| Fleetwood | £60 (2026) | Restricted hours 12 Jul to 2 Aug 2026 |
| Pleasington | From £80 Mon to Thu, £100 Fri to Sun (2026) | Online booking up to fourballs |
Indicative visitor green fees as published by each club, verified June 2026; where a club had not yet published 2026 rates we show its latest published figure and say so. We are a guide, not an operator. Always confirm directly before booking.
Booking individual rounds? Compare live tee times through our partner: [TEE_TIME_AFFILIATE_LINK]. Hotels in Lytham St Annes: [HOTEL_AFFILIATE_LINK].
A three day Lytham plan
Fly into Manchester, about sixty five minutes away, or take the train to Preston and the branch line to St Annes on the Sea. Base yourself at the Clifton Arms on Lytham Green, the Grand in St Annes, or the Dormy House itself.
St Annes Old Links
Arrive, drop the bags and learn the wind on the Old Links, with the famous ninth the hole to photograph. Fish and chips on the front afterward is the local rite.
Royal Lytham and St Annes
The main event. Par 3 first, gauntlet of bunkers thereafter, and the Colt green complexes that decided eleven Opens. Take the caddie, keep driver in the bag on the tight closing run, and have lunch in the clubhouse under the honours boards.
Fairhaven, then home
The Open qualifying links five minutes away, then the drive home, or push north for a value finish at Fleetwood if the legs hold. Inland diversions to Clitheroe and Pleasington suit a four day version.
Plan your Lancashire golf trip
Lytham's monthly release, the right companion rounds and a base on the Green. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge secures the tee times and lodging and costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Lancashire golf questions
How do visitors get a tee time at Royal Lytham and St Annes?
The club releases a select number of visitor tee times on the first Monday of each month for the following month, booked online or through the bookings office. The 2026 weekday fee is 400 pounds from April to September, with March at 245 and October at 280, and the course closes to visitors from November to the end of February. The Dormy House stay and play packages are the other reliable route in. Always confirm directly before booking.
What handicap do you need for Royal Lytham?
The club advises a maximum handicap of 21 for men and 30 for ladies rather than enforcing a strict certificate rule, and it encourages visitors to play from the forward green or orange tees, which at 6,346 yards are challenge enough over 174 bunkers. Caddies can be arranged at around 80 pounds and are worth every penny on a course this strategic.
Which other courses should a Lancashire golf trip include?
St Annes Old Links and Fairhaven, both Open qualifying venues within ten minutes of Royal Lytham, are the essential companions, with Fleetwood's traditional links up the coast a fine value addition. Inland, Pleasington near Blackburn and James Braid's Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley are the pick of a strong county set.
When should you plan a Lancashire golf trip?
April to October is the season, with May, June and September the sweet spot for condition and daylight. Royal Lytham's March and October shoulder rates save up to 155 pounds on the peak fee. In 2026, note that the Open is at Royal Birkdale from mid July, which fills the whole coast, restricts visitor windows at clubs like Fleetwood and makes hotel rooms scarce. Always confirm directly before booking.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Links golf, the booking windows that matter and where to play next. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.