The fee ledger
What it costs to play the world’s top 50 bucket-list golf courses
Every fee below comes from the same research behind our Top 50 Guide: the stated visitor rate, the season it applies to, and the courses where no public fee exists at all. 17 of the 50 have no tee sheet you can buy into — and knowing which 17 is worth as much as knowing the prices.
17 of 50
have no public tee sheet at all
26 of 50
have a stated visitor fee in our research
14 countries
across six continents, researched first-hand
How to read this
The lowest stated fee on the board is $130 at Pacific Dunes — a low-season or resident rate, and the note beside it says exactly which. The highest stated visitor fee we found is R8,500 at Leopard Creek Country Club. Where a club publishes no fee, we say so rather than guess.
Everything here was checked in September 2026 against club and resort sources while building the Top 50 Guide, and each note quotes or paraphrases that source. Fees and visitor policies change without much announcement, so treat every number as the start of the conversation with the club, not the end of it.
The full table
50 courses, sorted the way you need them
Filter by how each course admits visitors, or sort by fee to see where a bucket-list round is cheap and where it is quietly the most expensive line in the trip.
01
Pine Valley, New Jersey, USA
No public tee sheet; play only as a member's accompanied guest.
No public fee
Members only
02
Augusta, Georgia, USA
Membership is by invitation only; outside Masters week you play only as a member's personal guest.
No public fee
Members only
03
Pebble Beach, California, USA
Fully private with no public tee sheet; play is limited to members and their accompanied guests.
No public fee
Members only
04
St Andrews, Scotland
Advance tee times via the Links Trust, the daily ballot (groups of 2-4) or the singles route; closed Sundays.
No public fee
Ballot or window
05
Newcastle, Northern Ireland
The 2026 visitor green fee on the Championship Course is £450 for 18 holes, from April 20 to October 16, 2026.
£450
Ballot or window
06
Royal Dornoch Golf Club - Championship Course
Dornoch, Highland Scotland
Visitors welcome seven days a week through online booking, with no ballot for a standard round.
No public fee
Bookable
07
Pebble Beach, California, USA
Resort guests book up to 18 months ahead; non-guests can book the Links only 24 hours ahead.
No public fee
Resort public
08
Ballybunion Golf Club - Old Course
Ballybunion, County Kerry, Ireland
Green fees are €400 from April 13–30, 2026 and €450 from May 1 to October 2, 2026, prepaid in full at booking.
€400
Ballot or window
09
Royal Melbourne Golf Club - West Course
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Strictly private; access only via a member's invitation, a reciprocal arrangement or an operator allocation.
No public fee
Members only
10
Southampton, New York, USA
Private with no public tee sheet; every guest must be signed in by the accompanying member.
No public fee
Members only
11
Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland
The green fee is £395 for 18 holes in 2026 and £420 in 2027.
£395
Ballot or window
12
Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada
Peak-season Links and Cliffs rates start around CAD $450, falling to roughly CAD $220 in the early and late season, plus 14% HST.
CA$220
Resort public
13
Miki, Hyogo, Japan
All outside play runs through members; not open to general inbound reservations.
No public fee
Members only
14
Mullen, Nebraska, USA
Private and remote; access realistically means a member's invitation.
No public fee
Members only
15
National Golf Links of America
Southampton, New York, USA
Play by member introduction or accompaniment; no published green fee or public booking.
No public fee
Members only
16
Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA
Private; play is by member invitation with no unaccompanied public route.
No public fee
Members only
17
King Island, Tasmania, Australia
For 2026, domestic 18 holes is $235 and all-day $335 (hotel guests $235 all-day); international 18 holes is $315 and all-day $435 (hotel guests $315 all-day).
A$235
Bookable
18
Turnberry, South Ayrshire, Scotland
2025 reporting put non-resident peak-season mornings as high as £1,000, about £545 after 1pm and around £315 in shoulder season; current-year rates are unconfirmed.
£315
Resort public
19
St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
Green fees from May 1 to November 8, 2026 are £486 for the round, with a replay inside 7 days at £292; 2027 bands run to £590 in the July peak.
£486
Bookable
20
North Berwick Golf Club - West Links
North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
Green fees are £220 in March 2026 and £320 from April 1 to October 31, 2026; Scottish club members pay £165 in March and November.
£220
Ballot or window
21
Los Angeles Country Club - North Course
Los Angeles, California, USA
Strictly private; a member must host all guest play, with no published visitor fee or public tee sheet.
No public fee
Members only
22
Merion Golf Club - East Course
Ardmore, Pennsylvania, USA
Access is a member's personal invitation; unaccompanied guest play is not favoured.
No public fee
Members only
23
Juno Beach, Florida, USA
Strictly private with no published visitor green fee and no public tee sheet.
No public fee
Members only
24
Pacific Dunes
Bandon, Oregon, USA
Resort guest green fees for 2026 run $130 in January to $375 from June to September; day guests pay a premium rate.
$130
Resort public
25
Tara Iti Golf Club
Mangawhai, North Island, New Zealand
No longer accepts outside play; members and their on-site invited guests only.
No public fee
Members only
26
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Dunluce Links
Portrush, Northern Ireland
The official 2026 green fee is £420 per person from April 1 to October 31.
£420
Ballot or window
27
Lahinch Golf Club - Old Course
Lahinch, County Clare, Ireland
The 2026 Old Course green fee from April 27 to October 16 is €450.
€450
Bookable
28
Tralee Golf Club
Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland
Green fees are €250 from April 1–10, 2026, then €450 from April 13 to October 9, 2026.
€250
Ballot or window
29
Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland
The club's 2026 rates show an in-season 18-hole rate as high as €500 and a shoulder-season rate around €250, with caddie fees separate.
€250
Bookable
30
Southport, England
Green fees for 2026 are £450 in March and April and £495 from May to October; the Wednesday Birkdale Open Experience (May-Sep) is £565.
£450
Ballot or window
31
Sunningdale Golf Club - Old Course
Berkshire, England
The 2026 green fee is £450 for 18 holes on either course, or £800 for 36 holes across both in a day.
£450
Ballot or window
32
Mortefontaine, Hauts-de-France, France
Restricted to members and their guests; no public green fee and no booking system.
No public fee
Members only
33
Sotogrande, Andalucia, Spain
The 2026 visitor green fee is €600 for 18 holes, and the Valderrama Day hospitality package is €950.
€600
Ballot or window
34
Cascais, Lisbon Coast, Portugal
Booking-aggregator pricing for the 2026 window runs roughly €142–€211 depending on season and day; this is not the club's own fee table.
€142
Bookable
35
Monte Rei Golf & Country Club - North Course
Vila Nova de Cacela, Algarve, Portugal
2026 green fees are not confirmed on the club's own page; aggregator quotes of roughly €190–€255 are indicative only.
€190
Bookable
36
George, Western Cape, South Africa
A hotel-guest visitor fee around R6,325 is quoted by a third-party operator and is not confirmed on Fancourt's own pages.
R6,325
Resort public
37
Malelane, Mpumalanga, South Africa
The green fee is ZAR 8,500 per person, valid to February 28, 2027, including cart and halfway house; the lodge stay is extra.
R8,500
Resort public
38
Durban Country Club
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
South African directories quote roughly R3,000 for a visitor and R1,000 member-guest; neither is confirmed on the club's own fees page.
R3,000
Members only
39
Emirates Golf Club - Majlis Course
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Operators have listed peak-season 18 holes around USD 381; confirm the current dirham price through the official booking channel.
No public fee
Bookable
40
Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Aggregator green fees range roughly AED 446 to AED 1,511 depending on season and time of day; the official rate card is unconfirmed.
AED 446
Bookable
41
Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
For September 1–30, 2026 the fee is NZ$750 international, NZ$500 Australian residents and NZ$400 New Zealand residents, rising to NZ$975, NZ$700 and NZ$500 from October 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027.
NZ$400
Bookable
42
Te Arai Links - South Course
Mangawhai, North Island, New Zealand
The 2026 South Course international fee runs NZ$700 (July-September) to NZ$975 (October-December); the Australian and New Zealand resident rate is NZ$300–NZ$500.
NZ$300
Bookable
43
Bridport, Tasmania, Australia
High season 2026/27 is A$199 for 18 holes at the Australian rate and A$285 international.
A$199
Resort public
44
New South Wales Golf Club
La Perouse, Sydney, Australia
Private; limited unaccompanied weekday guest play for non-NSW residents only, never at weekends.
No public fee
Ballot or window
45
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Visitors from recognised clubs only, in fixed weekday windows by enquiry form; weekends closed to visitors.
No public fee
Ballot or window
46
Kawana Hotel Golf Course - Fuji Course
Ito, Shizuoka, Japan
Japan's national tourism body has quoted all-in costs of roughly ¥47,800 on a weekday to ¥63,700 on a holiday.
No public fee
Resort public
47
The Club at Nine Bridges
Jeju Island, South Korea
Private club; play runs through members and their guests, with no public tee-time booking.
No public fee
Members only
48
Shanqin Bay Golf Club
Hainan Island, China
Private members' club; the only realistic route is a personal invitation.
No public fee
Members only
49
Whistling Straits - Straits Course
Kohler, Wisconsin, USA
Resort course; online booking only within 30 days, with possible restrictions for non-resort guests. Walking only.
No public fee
Resort public
50
Bandon, Oregon, USA
Resort guest green fees for 2026 run $130 in January to $375 from June to September; day guests pay $360–$475.
$130
Resort public
Showing 50 of 50 courses. Fees are the lowest visitor rate stated in our Top 50 Guide research, in the currency the club charges, with the season band and the month checked in the note beside each course. The fee sort compares the numbers as written, not converted across currencies — £220 and A$235 are different money. Rates change; confirm with the club or resort before booking non-refundable travel.
The fee is the easy half
Knowing the price is one thing. Getting the tee time is the other 90 percent.
The Top 50 Guide pairs every fee with the full access route: the ballot windows, the visitor days, the booking channels, and the months each course actually plays best. 92 pages, instant PDF, no account needed.