Host venues of The Open that you can play

One of the best things about the game of golf is the ability to walk in the footsteps of the game’s greatest players by taking on the same courses which staged some of their most memorable moments. There’s no older or more prestigious championship than The Open, and Golfbreaks customers are able to take on almost all of these iconic venues. Check out some of our favorites below and begin to make your own mark on some of golf’s most historic layouts.

Open history can be found in abundance in Ayrshire with current Open roster favorites Turnberry and Royal Troon supported by the founding father of The Open, Prestwick, which hosted the first Championship in 1860. Nowadays, the course doesn’t haven’t the infrastructure to host a modern Major Championship, but it’s definitely still well worth a visit when heading over to Scotland’s West Coast.

Conversely, both Royal Troon (with it’s famous ‘Postage Stamp’) and Turnberry have been frequent hosts of The Open over recent decades. Who can forget the epic tussle between Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson in 2016 along the coastline at Royal Troon, which mirrored Tom Watson’s ‘Duel in the Sun’ with Jack Nicklaus almost 40-years earlier just 25 miles further down the coast at Turnberry. The latter has undergone extensive restoration over recent years, notably turning its famous lighthouse into one of the coolest Halfway Hut’s in golf – simply a must visit on any trip to this part of the British Isles.

Perennial hosts of The Open, these three giants in the North West of England have hosted The Open more than 30-times between them and are the sites of some of the sport’s most memorable Open moments. From Jordan Spieth playing Royal Birkdale from the driving range in 2017, to both Tiger Woods & Rory McIlroy winning emphatically at Royal Liverpool (also known as Hoylake) through to the inimitable Seve Ballesteros securing his third Open victory at Royal Lytham.

These courses come together to make up one of the world’s greatest golf trips, and with bundles of other Top 100 courses along this stretch of coastline (England’s Golf Coast), you can add additional venues to the itinerary with no negative impact whatsoever on the quality of layouts you’ll face!

When you think of The Open, it’s quite possible that both the Old Course and Carnoustie are the first two venues which spring to mind. Let’s tackle the big question first, yes, we can help secure tickets to The Old Course – however, itineraries which take in The Auld Lady may rely on a ballot or lottery system for tee times. If you are looking to add this course to your trip, speak to your sales expert who can talk you through all the options.

Carnoustie is a different story and can be added with relative ease to your Scottish trip! However, this may be where the ‘ease’ stops, as ‘Carnasty’ as it’s become known has a fearsome reputation – no doubt helped by Jean Van De Velde’s meltdown in 1999 which eventually saw Scotsman Paul Lawrie claim his only Major Title. Carnoustie’s winners also include Tom Watson, Ben Hogan, Francesco Molinari, and Padraig Harrington, all thought of within the very upper echelons of ball-strikers … to put it simply, you can’t ‘fake it’ around this course!

The Open returned to Northern Ireland in 2019 for the first time in almost 60 years, with popular Irishman Shane Lowry gritting it out in tough conditions. The course is hotly-tipped for hosting duties again in the near future, thanks in no small part to the abundance of fans which turned out to watch the best golfers in the world.

A stunning venue which underwent some tweaks before hosting the championship, Royal Portrush is more than worth the trip across to Northern Ireland for alone, however, with some incredible courses to discover across the whole of Ireland – why not extend your trip and head down the famed Wild Atlantic Way!

After a one-year delay, The Open returned to Royal St George’s in 2021, playing host to the game’s oldest major for the 14th time! Often thought of as the home of The Open in England, it hosted it’s first tournament in 1894 which was won by JH Taylor, five-time Open Champion, and father of the British PGA. Sitting on a splendid part of the Kent coastline, it is no coincidence that the course borders another past Open venue (Princes) and is just a five-minute drive from Royal Cinque Ports, which itself has hosted the event on two occasions.

Although neither of these venues remain on the roster, again mainly due to the infrastructure needed for the modern game, they both remain comfortably within the Top 50 courses in the UK and are always presented in incredible condition for visitors. We’d thoroughly recommend treating yourself to a stay at The Lodge at Princes, and taking in all three of these Open host venues on one magnificent trip!