Sunningdale Tee Times and Booking

The short answer

Sunningdale welcomes visitors Monday to Thursday from May to October, on the Old course and the New course. It is a private members club, so visitor play is by arrangement rather than walk up, and the prime weeks fill a long way ahead. All players must hold a current valid handicap index, with a maximum of 18.4 for men and 24.4 for ladies, and a handicap certificate must be produced when signing in at the pro shop. The currency here is planning: get your dates in early, because a popular season can sell out.

Tee times are arranged through the club directly, by email or telephone to the reservations team during office hours. When a year is full, the club runs a request list for the next season, asking for your preferred dates, group size and course, and a new diary opens months in advance, for example a 2027 diary opening from November 2026. For the green fee detail, see our dedicated guide; the figures are premium and move year to year, so we always point you to confirm directly. The reward for the effort is two of the finest heathland courses in the world.

How visitor access works

Sunningdale is first a members club, and visitor golf sits around the membership, which is why play is concentrated on Monday to Thursday through the summer half of the year. The handicap requirement is firm: bring a current valid index inside the limits, 18.4 for men and 24.4 for ladies, and be ready to show a certificate when you sign in. There is no resort tier or public route here, so the levers that matter are timing and a recognized handicap, not status. Plan around the visitor days and you are most of the way there.

What makes Sunningdale hard to get on is simply demand against a limited diary. The famous Old course in particular is one of the most sought after inland rounds in Britain, so the best dates go quickly once the diary opens. If your first choice is full, the New course is a magnificent companion and often a touch easier to secure, and the wider heathland has superb alternatives nearby. For the fee detail, see our guide to Sunningdale green fees, and for what to wear, our Sunningdale dress code guide.

How to book a tee time

Contact the club directly to request a visitor time, by email or telephone to the reservations team during office hours, giving your preferred dates, group size and course. The diary is managed on a request basis, and when a season is full the club takes a request list for the following year. The moment a new diary opens, often months in advance, is the moment to act for the prime summer weeks. If you are arranging a group or a heathland trip, our concierge can pursue the Sunningdale time and build the surrounding days around it.

Whichever route you take, plan early and stay flexible. Have backup dates and be open to the New course as well as the Old, because availability on the most popular days is the binding constraint. A weekday in late spring or early autumn often gives the best mix of access and conditions, with the heather and the turf at their finest.

When to play, and what to expect

The Old course is a Willie Park Jr design from 1901, a par 70 of about 6,627 yards that set the template for great heathland golf, with Harry Colt's New course a worthy and slightly sterner companion laid out through the same heather and pine. The visitor season of May to October gives the best of the turf and the weather, with the heather in color through high summer and firm, fast conditions when it is dry. Pack a sweater and a light waterproof whatever the month, because this is England and the weather turns.

Most visitors pair Sunningdale with the wider Surrey and Berkshire heathland, where Wentworth, Swinley Forest, St George's Hill and Walton Heath are all within easy reach for a complete inland trip. Whether Sunningdale is the single round that drew you or the anchor of a heathland tour, secure the time first and build the rest of the days around it. For more, see the best heathland courses in England.