How to Play Royal Troon: Tee Times, Ballots and Booking

The short answer

Royal Troon welcomes visitors on the Old Course on most weekdays within set windows, typically Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with members holding priority at weekends and on Wednesdays. The indicative 2026 single round green fee on the Old Course is around 400 pounds in the April to October season, with cheaper winter rates and a far less expensive companion round on the Portland Course. A day ticket, covering both the Old and the Portland, is also offered.

Demand is heavy, especially in summer and in the wake of the 2024 Open, so book as far ahead as you can, online or through the club. Men are asked for a handicap under 20 and women under 30, and you should be a member of a recognised club able to show a current handicap. The table below sets out the access and fees; the sections beneath explain how to book and what to expect from the links.

How to book, step by step

Start early. Royal Troon releases visitor tee times well in advance and the prime summer slots on the Old Course go quickly, more so since the 2024 Open. Decide your dates around the visitor windows, typically Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, then enquire through the club's visitor booking, online or by phone and email, with your preferred date and group size. Be ready to confirm that each player is a member of a recognised club and to provide handicaps, men under 20 and women under 30, when asked.

Consider the day ticket. Because the green fee is significant, many visitors make a full day of it, playing the Old Course and then the Portland, the club's very good second links, on a combined ticket. Green fees are generally payable at the time of booking and are typically non refundable, so be sure of your dates and your group before you commit. A caddie, requested in advance, is money well spent on a first visit to read the lines and the wind.

When to go, and what to expect

The links season runs roughly April to October, when the course is at its best and the green fee at its highest; winter brings lower rates and a different, rawer experience, with mats sometimes in play. Royal Troon runs out along the Firth of Clyde and back, a classic out and back links: the outward nine, downwind, is where you must score, before the brutal homeward stretch into the prevailing wind. The eighth, the Postage Stamp, is barely 120 yards to a tiny green ringed by deep bunkers, a hole that has wrecked cards in every Open it has staged.

Pack for wind and weather whatever the forecast, and treat the back nine with respect, the eleventh and the closing holes are among the hardest finishing stretches in championship golf. Pair Troon with the Ayrshire coast's other riches, Prestwick next door, Western Gailes and Dundonald nearby, and you have one of the great links weeks anywhere. We can build that itinerary, tee times, caddies and base, around your dates.