Signature Hospitality — Dunes House & The Retreat
Four on-course venues, a reserved 18th grandstand seat, and a Champagne lounge at the 7th — The Open's top hospitality.
The word "hospitality" at a major golf championship usually means the same thing: a marquee with branded tablecloths and a view of a giant screen rather than the hole itself. Dunes House and The Retreat at Royal Birkdale are different. Not because the food is better, though it is. Because the R&A built them into the course rather than alongside it.
Dunes House is a triple-deck structure overlooking the 15th green and 16th tee. From the upper balcony you have an elevated view of two holes simultaneously — the approach to 15, the drama around the green, and the tee shot on 16 starting directly below. You're above the action, outdoors when you choose, with a full bar behind you.
The Retreat is a champagne lounge adjacent to the par-3 7th green. The 7th is one of Birkdale's most underrated holes — a short iron into a well-bunkered green with dunes on three sides — and The Retreat positions you alongside it at eye level, close enough to watch players read the putts. Between groups, you go back inside. Charcuterie and champagne service runs all day.
Signature gives access to all four on-course venues: Dunes House, The Retreat, Clarets (overlooking the 17th green), and Links (near the 4th), plus a reserved grandstand seat at the 18th for the closing holes. Platinum covers Dunes House, The Retreat, and Links — but not Clarets and not the 18th seat. Platinum from £1,632/person (Thursday, ex-VAT) to £1,872 on Sunday; Signature from £2,574 to £3,234. Friday Platinum is sold out; Signature sold out Thursday through Sunday, with limited Wednesday availability remaining.
Every tier includes a parking pass — valuable when road closures around Birkdale make Southport difficult on championship days. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, and open bar throughout. Signature also gets player Q&A sessions and a Claret Jug photo opportunity. This is not for the person who wants to walk the dunes — general admission covers that, and it's excellent. This is for watching The Open in total comfort with the 18th grandstand locked down for Sunday.
Why it's special
Most golf hospitality sells a day out to corporate clients who will watch three holes before retreating to lunch. The R&A's version is better, partly because Birkdale's layout makes it possible to put the hospitality on the course rather than next to it.
Dunes House overlooks the 15th green and 16th tee simultaneously — a multi-angle view the public areas don't replicate. The Retreat is smaller and quieter: a champagne lounge next to the par-3 7th green, close enough that you don't need binoculars to follow the putts.
What separates Signature from Platinum is the 18th green reserved seat. The public crowd at the 18th on Sunday afternoon is 10,000 people, and standing positions are claimed hours before the leaders arrive. The Signature seat removes that calculation.
The price is high. But it buys four on-course venues, a full day of food and open bar, a parking pass, and a seat at the most famous closing hole in championship golf — for the person who wants to watch The Open once, properly.
Insider tips
- 1
The Retreat at the 7th is best in the morning when the first groups are still fresh and the bar is quieter — by afternoon, Signature guests cluster at Clarets for the back-nine drama, so use the morning to claim the best spot at the 7th green.
- 2
Your parking pass is valid from gates-open time — arriving two hours before first tee means easy parking and first choice of tables at breakfast in Dunes House before the course fills.
Practical info
- Hours
- Gates open 2 hours before first tee time. Championship days: Thursday 16 – Sunday 19 July 2026.
- Cost
- Platinum from £1,632/person (Thu) to £1,872/person (Sun), ex-VAT. Signature from £2,574/person (Thu) to £3,234/person (Sun), ex-VAT.
- Access
- Book via theopen.com/tickets-and-hospitality/2026/signature or call +44 (0)1334 460090.
- Getting there
- A parking pass is included with all hospitality tiers — follow The Open signage from the M57/A570. Merseyrail Northern Line from Liverpool Central to Birkdale station (approximately 40 minutes) is also available, with an 8-minute walk to the gates. Do not attempt to park near the course without a pass on championship days.
- Address
- Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Waterloo Road, Southport, PR8 2LX
What to avoid
Don't book Platinum expecting the same experience as Signature — the absence of Clarets (the 17th lounge) and the reserved 18th grandstand seat is the practical difference on Sunday when the championship is being won and lost. And don't assume the waiting list for sold-out days is inactive: corporate bookings do fall away in the weeks before the event, and the R&A team can add you to a real list rather than a web form.
