Future Open Championship Sites You Can Play

Q: What are The Open Championship future sites?

Future Open Championship venues include: 2025 – Royal Portrush Golf Club, 2026 – Royal Birkdale Golf Club, 2027 – The Old Course at St. Andrews. The 2028 and 2029 venues are yet to be announced, but Muirfield, Carnoustie, or Royal St. George's are likely candidates.

Q: What courses host The Open Championship?

The Open rota currently includes 10 courses: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Muirfield, Royal Troon, Carnoustie, Turnberry, Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool, Royal St. George's, and Royal Portrush.

Upcoming Host Venues for The Open

For many travelers planning golf trips to Scotland, Ireland, and England, the first priority is clear. They want to play the courses that have hosted The Open Championship.

Unlike most major championship sites in the United States, all of the Open Championship venues offer at least some access for visiting golfers. And while any round at a major host is memorable, playing these courses in the lead up to or following The Open adds a little extra excitement to the experience.

Here is a look at the future Open Championship sites, along with a few notes to keep in mind as you plan your trip.

2026 - Royal Birkdale Golf Club

The Open Championship owes a debt of gratitude to the history forged at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. Arnold Palmer's win in 1961 marked an important turn of fortunes for the tournament. Until then, few Americans made the journey across the Atlantic to play in golf's oldest major. But the news of his victory and the popularity of The King enticed more players to follow his lead.

In the decades since, Royal Birkdale has crowned a notable list of champions. Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, and Johnny Miller all won here. So did Jordan Spieth in 2017, thanks in part to his miracle recovery from the driving range. The 2026 Open Championship will be held at Royal Birkdale, where more history is certain to be made.

Compared to other future sites for The Open, Royal Birkdale offers a few notable perks. First, England's Golf Coast is home to not one, but three Open Championship courses. But unlike other popular destinations for golf, a great trip to this region can usually be planned with just 9-12 months notice. Best of all, you can play all three of The Open venues, plus several other great courses, without ever changing hotels.

2027 - The Old Course at St. Andrews

No venue has hosted The Open Championship more times than The Old Course at St Andrews. When The Open returns in 2027, it will mark the 31st time the game’s oldest major has unfolded in The Home of Golf.

Each time The Open comes back to St Andrews, the attention of the entire golf world follows. For golf travel, St. Andrews doesn't just move the needle, it is the needle. And the impact of the 2027 Open Championship is already being felt.

If you're hoping to play The Old Course in 2027 or beyond, here's what you need to know...

The Old Course typically closes for several weeks in advance of The Open to allow for tournament preparations. In 2027, that closure will likely remove about 20% of the peak golf season. Fewer available tee times combined with overwhelming demand will mean that guaranteed Old Course tee times will be exceedingly scarce.

As a result, our advice is pretty simple: the time to begin planning 2027 is already here. And as we’ve seen after past Opens at St Andrews, the ripple effects will continue well into the seasons that follow.

2028 - Royal Lytham & St. Annes

Royal Lytham & St Annes has been part of The Open Championship's history for over a century.

When Bobby Jones won the first Open ever held at Lytham in 1926, he did it as an amateur. His recovery from the sandy scrub on the 17th hole that week remains one of the most celebrated shots in championship history. Jones would go on to win two more Claret Jugs and complete a Grand Slam that has never been matched, but it started here. The club received its Royal designation from King George V that same year.

In the century since, the course has crowned champions worthy of that pedigree. Tony Jacklin, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros (twice), Tom Lehman, David Duval, and Ernie Els have all lifted the Claret Jug here. Els was the last to do so in 2012, and for a while it looked like that might be the end of Lytham's run.

Limited spectator capacity and tight infrastructure made hosting a modern Open difficult. But the club went to work, building a brand-new 11th hole to free up space for a championship-scale practice facility and the infrastructure today's Open demands.

The hard work has paid off.

The 156th Open will be played at Royal Lytham & St Annes from July 30 to August 6, 2028 (shifted later than the typical mid-July window to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Los Angeles Olympics). It will be the 12th time the championship has been staged on these famous links.

For golf travelers, the timing creates a compelling story along England's Golf Coast. Royal Liverpool hosted The Open in 2023. Royal Birkdale hosts The Open in 2026. Royal Lytham follows in 2028. That's three Open Championships on the same stretch of Lancashire coastline within 6 years.

And unlike some of the more logistically complex destinations on The Open rota, a great trip to this region can typically be planned with 9-12 months of lead time. You can play all three Open venues, and several other outstanding courses, without ever changing hotels.

Golfers at Royal Lythan 2028 Open Championship host

Beyond 2028, which courses will host future Open Championships is anyone’s guess. Our money is on Muirfield in 2029. The current 16 year gap between championships is much too long. From there, Royal St. George's or a return to a reimagined Carnoustie Golf Links wouldn't surprise us in 2030. Wherever the Claret Jug goes, however, one thing will remain the same...

You can walk in the footsteps of history.