7 Of The Best Value Golf Memberships In 2026

The 7th at Silloth on Solway

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Golf Monthly has covered the rising costs of golf club membership in this country. It’s true that average annual subs in the UK have risen sharply in recent years. It’s inevitable with the increased cost of living we are all facing.

But there is still value to be found if you’re looking to join a decent club with a quality golf course. We’ve been scouring the country, looking for venues where you can get real bang for your buck when it comes to membership.

We’ve selected standalone clubs rather than courses that are managed in a group. There are also many flexible membership offers available and other membership options to keep the cost of a subscription down.

Kington Golf Club, Herefordshire

2026 Full Membership rate - £499

At 1,284 feet above sea level, Kington is the highest golf club in England. With panoramic views from the course, encompassing the Brecon Beacons National Park, the Black Mountains, the Radnorshire Hills, Hergest Ridge as well as the Malvern and Clee Hills, there are few more spectacular settings for golf anywhere in England.

The layout has the playing characteristics of a links – firm and fast running fairways, heather and gorse and tricky undulating greens.

This isn’t a long course and the key to success is keeping the ball in play. Many of the fairways feature slopes, humps and hollows and you must try to use the contours to your advantage.

The course was designed by Major Cecil Key Hutchinson who worked with James Braid at Gleneagles and Carnoustie. It’s a fine layout where the greens are known for being as true as they are quick.

Ballater Golf Club, Aberdeenshire

2026 Full Membership rate - £595

Set on the banks of the beautiful River Dee and enclosed by pine-covered hillsides, Ballater must be one of the most picturesque golf courses in the country. A cross between heathland and parkland, the layout is famed for its excellent greens and lush, springy fairways.

The course meanders over slightly undulating terrain past mature pines, silver birches and gorse. It’s a relatively short layout where accuracy rather than length is at a premium.

The course delivers an excellent blend of short and long holes and asks the golfer to display a mix of accurate hitting and precise short game play.

The greens are subtle and can be fast in summer.

There’s an added bonus at Ballater – for an extra £25, you can become an affiliated member at nearby Braemar golf club – another supremely picturesque and memorable course.

Brora Golf Club, Sutherland

Brora Golf Course - General View — Natural beauty at Brora

2026 Full Membership rate - £507 plus affiliation fees

Looking out beyond the clubhouse at Brora, the links forges out and away towards the Sutherland foothills with Ben Bhraggie in the west and the Ord of Caithness to the north-east.

It looks like, and so it is, golf from a different era. Although Brora has moved with the times in terms of greenkeeping practices, the challenge is much as it would have been 50-plus years ago.

In designing the course, the great James Braid made full use of the natural terrain.

Brora delivers an authentic golfing challenge with holes following the firm contours of the ground as they lie.

The run for home delivers an exacting challenge when the wind is against. The whole test though is unaffected, without embellishment or unnecessary trimming.

It’s little wonder then that Brora is home to the James Braid Society of which Peter Thomson was a long-time president. It’s truly a natural and very special place for golf with membership fees that are more than reasonable!

Royal St David’s Golf Club, Gwynedd

Royal St David's - Hole 15 — The 15th at Royal St David's

2026 Full Membership rate - £925

Arriving at Royal St David’s the towers and ramparts of Harlech Castle and the imperious mountains of Snowdonia provide an imposing and magnificent backdrop. From the 13^th hole onwards the views to the sea and the Llyn Peninsula across Tremadog Bay are breathtaking.

The Hon Harold Finch-Hatton and Mr W H More started the club at Royal St David’s in 1894 and the course was open for play later that year. It’s a club with an illustrious past: The winner of the first competition held at Royal St David’s was the great amateur John Ball, Cecil Leitch won her fourth British Ladies title here in 1926 and the Duke of Windsor (then Prince of Wales) was the club’s captain in 1935.

It’s a fabulous links course, a true championship venue with a great pedigree so an annual sub of under £1,000 represents great value. Royal St David’s is ranked 49^th in Golf Monthly’s Top 100 UK&I Course Rankings.

Silloth on Solway Golf Club, Cumbria

2026 Full Membership rate - £685

The North British Railway Company targeted Silloth as a potential holiday resort in the latter part of the 19^th Century and a golf course went naturally along with their plans for development.

In 1892 Silloth on Solway Golf Club was founded and Willie Park and Willie Fernie were appointed to advise on the construction of a course.

With views north to the hills of Galloway, south to the Lake District and west to the Isle of Man this is a magnificent and imposing setting for golf. Through the decades Silloth has been the venue for some significant events including the Ladies British Amateur and Open Regional Qualifying. It’s ranked at 51st in Golf Monthly’s Top 100 UK&I Course Rankings

Green fees are reasonable and so is the club membership subscription.

Seahouses Golf Club, Northumberland

2026 Full Membership rate - £500 plus affiliation fees

Seahouses Golf Club, founded in 1913 was a nine holer up until 1976 when it was expanded to 18.

The club has hosted many Northumberland County competitions. It is also home to two of the most renowned par 3s in the north of England, the 10th and 15th, the former, “Logan's Loch" demands a carry over a former quarry pond, and the 15th "The Cove" asks for a bold shot over a North Sea inlet.

The layout has two distinct sections: the inland part is on the outward nine, then clifftop links holes dominate the back nine. They provide the course's most memorable features.

It’s a great fun course to play, short but difficult and, at just £500 for the year, it’s real value for money.

Mawgan Porth Golf Club, Cornwall

An aerial view of Mawgan Porth Golf Club

2026 Full Membership rate - £560

A north Cornish hilltop heathland golf course at Mawgan Porth on the North Cornish Coast, the layout offers striking sea views from the fairways.

Only five miles from Newquay airport, it’s a welcoming and relaxed club and simply a fun one to be a member of.

The course suits players of all standards and offers quality holes from start to finish.

The clubhouse is comfortable and the food is great golf club fayre. Just what you need after a (probably) windy day on the course!

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

Fergus is also a level-three qualified Rules official and referee.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?