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What is the most money you would pay to play golf?
This question has always lingered in the minds of golfers planning their next trip, but it has never been more relevant than in 2025, as green fees at top-end courses climb to ever more eye-watering levels.
A recent report from David Jones, who runs the UK Golf Guy blog and group travel service, sheds light on the major downside of golf's post-pandemic bull run: skyrocketing green fees in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Jones has tracked green fee increases for five years. In 2021, the average across the annual list of the top 100 U.K. golf courses (Ireland excluded) compiled by Today's Golfer and Golf Wold Great Britain & Ireland was £161. In 2025, it's £237, or $306.63 according to currency conversion rates as of this writing (£1 = $1.29 USD). It represents more than a 10% bump from 2024's average of £214.
Want to play top-ranked Old Course at St. Andrews? If you can get a tee time, the green fee is up to £340. It's not the most expensive course in Fife, though, believe it or not; that honor goes to Kingsbarns, at £448. Nor is the Old Course the most expensive member of the current Open rota. That distinction goes to Royal Lytham & St. Annes, at £410, which just beats out 2026 host Royal Birkdale, at £400. The priciest round on the entire list: Turnberry's Ailsa course, which is up to an insane £600.
As of this year, only one golf course in UK Golf Guy's top 100 list costs less than £100 to play: the 12-hole Shiskine Golf Club on the island of Arran off Scotland's west coast, at just £40. Fewer than a quarter of the courses - 23 to be exact - have green fees of £150 or less. Only seven - Ganton (31), Hankley Common (43), West Sussex (45), Machrihanish Dunes (57), Castletown (74) and Southerness (75) - have elected not to increase their visitor green fees from 2024, while one, Royal North Devon, actually lowered theirs, but removed Sunday from the list of visitor-accessible days. By contrast, 10 courses have hiked their green fees by 20% or more for 2025, with Castlerock Golf Club, located near 2025 Open Championship site Royal Portrush, asking for £270 for rounds in July, a 69% increase over a year ago.
Where is the remaining high-quality 'value' golf overseas?
For years, avid travelers and writers have loved cluing their fellow golfers in on various hidden-gem golf courses scattered throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland. If Jones' research is any indication, it seems the secret is well and truly out when it comes to the many worthwhile golf courses outside of the most sought-after Open Championship rota venues. The bench of compelling courses in that part of the world is deep, but price hikes even at inland courses like Huntercombe an hour west of London (up 25% to £150) or lesser-known links like Nairn (up 30% to £300) between Aberdeen and Dornoch suggest far fewer golfers are overlooking these courses than used to.
Another factor that affects these elevated green fees is the fact that the dollar has enjoyed a more than eight-year run of strength against the pound. In 2008, the pound topped $2, where as of this writing, it sits just below $1.30. A re-strengthening of the pound could make green fees in Scotland and England even more onerous.
So is it curtains for the notion of a value-packed golf trip to the U.K.? Not quite, or at least not yet. One golf experience that I personally consider essential when flying into or out of Edinburgh is a 36-hole loop with a wedge and putter around the Bruntsfield Links Short Hole Golf Club, a lumpy pitch-and-putt delight through a city park that remains nominally free of charge. And rising green fees and overstuffed tee sheets elsewhere seem likely to drive intrepid golfers to discover a group of courses that might not be big names, but still bring a strong flavor of the local golf culture and fun playing experiences. If £300 for a round at Gullane Golf Club's No. 1 course is deemed too steep, golfers may be surprised at just how much they enjoy the No. 2 course for £120 or the sporty No. 3 for £85.
This trickle-down effect of new attention on hidden-gem courses can have a transformative effect. Ardglass Golf Club, located on Northern Ireland's southeast coast, used to be bypassed by golfers intent on playing Royal County Down and Royal Portrush. But once word of its stunning coastal site and charming clubhouse dating to the 13th century got out, visitors flooded in. Revenue generated from its newfound fame has been reinvested into the course, making it more and more appealing each year. Now, it's a must-play on any trip that includes Northern Ireland's most prominent links, with its peak-season green fees having risen to £220 for 2025.
Is there a next Ardglass out there? One candidate, just less than an hour up the coast, is Kirkistown Castle Golf Club, with a compact, quirky links course laid out by James Braid and home to 2024 Curtis Cup player Beth Coulter. Green fees barely top £50, even in the summer months when visitors dominate the tee sheet (it's primarily a winter club for its members, thanks to its relatively dry weather). While it may not be blessed with the same cliff-hanging holes that make Ardglass so stunning, Kirkistown Castle has its own charms and is poised to be discovered by visiting golfers looking for adventure. I stopped by last summer (didn't have time to play, though) and liked what I saw very much.
"Having never played this course before, it was a gem to behold," reads a GolfPass review of the course from last June. "The course was in amazing condition, and we were welcomed by name (however the Pro Shop guessed it) as we walked through the door. Each hole was a serious challenge, with a strong wind and natural links grass."
What more could visiting golfers ask for?
The current heat in the golf travel market will reward those who do a little extra homework ahead of their next trip. Although the UK Golf Guy-assembled top 100 list does show high green fees in absolute terms, there are some relative bargains that can be grouped into discrete destinations. One of them seems to be Wales, whose five courses in the top 100 - Royal Porthcawl (25), Royal St. David's (44), Pennard (53), Aberdovey (56) and Southerndown (93) have green fees that average out to £159, or 33% less than the overall average green fees of the top 100. That seems like strong value in the current golf travel climate.
Comments (3)
Our annual pilgrimage to Great Britain and Ireland has more than doubled in the past 7 years. Still, when compared to the likes of Pebble Beach or TPC Sawgrass, these courses are somewhat reasonable. Supply and Demand ... who knew?
Bumped into a group of US visitors playing a prestige course in Scotland last year and asked them how they planned which courses to play on visits to the UK. They replied that they wouldn’t consider any course where the green fee was less than £300.
Such a bizarre attitude! I guess it keeps the hidden gems available to the rest of us, at least...