The Open Championship - Host Courses

Host Courses

See also: List of The Open Championship venues

From 1860 to 1870 the Open Championship was organised by and played at Prestwick Golf Club. From its revival in 1872 until 1891 it was played on three courses in rotation: Prestwick, The Old Course at St Andrews, and Musselburgh Links. In 1892 the newly built Muirfield replaced Musselburgh in the rotation. In 1893 two English courses, Royal St George's and Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, were invited to join the rotation. Since then a handful of further courses have been added, and a few have been dropped.

The common factor in the venues for The Open is that they have always been links courses. The rotation has often followed the pattern of being played in Scotland and England alternately, being in Scotland somewhat more often than in England. Between 1894 (when it was first played in England) and 2012, it has been played 59 times in Scotland, 48 times in England and once in Northern Ireland. It was not until 2011 and 2012 that England hosted consecutive Opens. There is, however, no strict rule and the host is appointed by the R&A roughly five years in advance. There is a map showing the locations of the venues here. The Open has always been played in Scotland, North West England, or Kent in South East England except for a single occasion in Northern Ireland.

There are nine courses in the current rota, five in Scotland and four in England. In recent times the Old Course has hosted the Open every five years. The remaining eight courses host the Open roughly every 10 years but the gaps between hosting Opens may be longer or shorter than this.

Courses in Scotland:

• Old Course at St Andrews: In 1873 the "Home of Golf" became the second course to host the Open. Nowadays, it does so more often than any other course. Since 1990 it has been scheduled every fifth year. The 2010 Open was held at St Andrews and is scheduled again for 2015.
• Carnoustie Golf Links, Championship Course: Carnoustie first hosted The Open in 1931, and rejoined the rotation in 1999 after an absence of 24 years, and returned in 2007.
• Muirfield: This private course was built for The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, one of the trio of clubs which ran The Open in the 1870s and 1880s. It first staged The Championship in 1892, just nine months after it had been built. Muirfield last hosted in 2002 and is scheduled for 2013.
• The Turnberry Resort, Ailsa Course: A course on the southwest coast of Scotland which hosted The Open in 1977, 1986, 1994, and 2009.
• Royal Troon Golf Club, Old Course: Also in southwestern Scotland, Troon has been in the rotation since 1923 and last hosted in 2004. Royal Troon is scheduled to host the Open in 2016.

Courses in England:

• Royal St George's Golf Club: This course is in the town of Sandwich in the county of Kent in southeast England. In 1894 it became the first Open venue outside Scotland. After a 32 year absence, it returned to the rota in 1981, and last hosted in 2011.
• Royal Birkdale Golf Club: This course in northwest England has been in the rotation since 1954 and hosted The Open in 2008.
• Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club: Also in northwest England, this course first hosted The Open in 1926 but has only hosted it regularly since 1952. It hosted the 2012 Open.
• Royal Liverpool Golf Club: This course, often referred to simply as "Hoylake", joined the rotation in 1897 and hosted ten Opens up to 1967. After a 39 year absence, it returned to the rota in 2006, and is scheduled to host again in 2014.

Five courses have hosted the Open but are no longer in the rotation:

• – Prestwick Golf Club: The founder club was dropped from the rotation in 1925, by which time it had hosted twenty-four Opens.
• – Musselburgh Links: Musselburgh is a public course which was used by the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. When that club built Muirfield, Musselburgh dropped out of the rotation.
• – Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club: This course in the town of Deal in Kent hosted the Open in 1909 and 1920. Although situated in Deal, the course is very close to Royal St George's in Sandwich, on the current rota. In fact, the 11th tee at Royal Cinque Ports is closer to the clubhouse at Royal St George's than it is to the clubhouse of Royal Cinque Ports.
• – Prince's Golf Club: Prince's hosted its only Open in 1932. The course is in Sandwich, Kent, and is adjacent to Royal St George's on the current rota.
• – Royal Portrush Golf Club: The 1951 Open was staged at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, the only Open not played in Scotland or England.