How to Play Royal Lytham and St Annes

The short answer

Royal Lytham and St Annes is a private members club on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, between Blackpool and the estuary of the Ribble, that welcomes visitors on limited days through the season. There is no ballot here as there is at St Andrews. You book a tee time directly with the club, through the visitor bookings office, and the single most important rule is to do it early, since visitor times are restricted and the best summer dates go many months ahead. The club also runs an on site Dormy House, which makes a stay and play package the most reliable way to lock in a confirmed round.

The indicative 2026 high season green fee sits roughly in the 295 to 380 pounds range per round through the spring to early autumn peak, with lower shoulder rates, and the links closes to visitors through the depths of winter. The club advises a handicap of no higher than 21 for men and 30 for women to play the course in full, so carry your evidence to check in. Always confirm current fees, opening dates and arrangements directly before booking, since rates vary by season and change without notice.

How to get on, step by step

Start with the date, not the tee time. Decide which days of your trip you want Royal Lytham, then contact the club as far ahead as you can, ideally many months out for a summer round, because the number of visitor times is small and they fill quickly. Book through the visitor bookings office and ask early about combining the round with the Dormy House, since a stay and play package is the surest way to hold a guaranteed tee time rather than chasing scarce day rates. If the round is the centerpiece of the trip, this is also where a specialist operator earns its fee, securing Lytham inside a wider Lancashire and Merseyside links itinerary.

Have your paperwork ready. The club advises a handicap of no higher than 21 for men and 30 for women to play the course in full, so confirm everyone in your group qualifies before you commit and carry your handicap record, paper or digital, to check in. Add caddies at the time of booking rather than on the day, since the good ones are in demand and a local looper is worth real shots on a course this strategic. Flag any buggy need early because access is limited, and dress to a smart golf standard on and off the course.

When to go, and playing the course

The Lancashire season runs roughly April to October, with the firmest turf and the longest light through high summer, which is also the busiest and dearest window. The shoulder months of April, May and late September trade a little weather risk for better value and easier dates. Whenever you come, Lytham will test you. It is the only Open venue that begins with a par 3, a deceptive opener that sets a pattern of small, well defended greens and a bunker count north of two hundred, the densest field of sand on the Open rota. There are no sea views and no dunes to frame the line, just flat looking ground that hides every contour, which is exactly why it humbles players who expect a gentle start.

The closing stretch is the stuff of legend. The long par 4 17th is where Bobby Jones played his famous recovery from sandy waste in 1926, a shot marked by a plaque to this day, and the 18th is a brute, a fairway pinched by bunkers all the way to a green hard against the clubhouse where more than one Open has slipped away. This is where Tony Jacklin won in 1969, where Gary Player closed his eyes and trusted his swing in 1974, where Seve Ballesteros conjured the title twice in 1979 and 1988, and where Ernie Els held on in 2012. Take a caddie to find the safe lines, favor the fat of those small greens, and treat the inward half with the respect the champions learned to give it.