How to Book a Golf Tee Time as a Visitor in the UK

To book a golf tee time as a visitor in the UK, find a course with visitor tee times on the day you want to play, pick a time, and book it with your name, email address and phone number. You don't need to be a member of the club. You pay a green fee for the round, either online when you book or at the club on the day. On Tee Time you can search live visitor tee times at 1,432 golf courses at 1,347 clubs and book one in a single tap with your saved details.

What a tee time is

A tee time is the slot when your group starts its round from the first tee. Clubs space them a few minutes apart so groups don't catch each other up. Each slot takes up to four players, and many clubs let you book one, two, three or four places in the same slot.

Not every slot on a club's tee sheet is open to visitors. Members' competitions, society days and members-only hours usually come first, so the times a visitor can book are a subset of the day. That is why searching across several clubs helps: if one course is full on Saturday morning, another nearby often isn't.

Step 1: find a course with visitor tee times

Start with where and when you want to play. On Tee Time's search you choose:

• the date, up to two weeks ahead
• the time of day: morning, afternoon or evening
• 9 or 18 holes
• how many players, from one to four
• a top price per player, if you have a budget
• how far you are willing to travel, or a whole region

Tee Time reads these tee times from each club's own booking system, so what you see is what the club has open, with the green fee the club has set. The listings are refreshed through the day, and the time you pick is checked with the club again when you book.

If you already know the club, go straight to its page. Club pages such as Hurtmore Golf Club in Surrey, Chelsfield Lakes Golf Centre near Orpington and Basildon Golf Course in Essex show the courses, the scorecard where we have it, and the next visitor tee times.

Step 2: what you need to book

As a visitor you book with your own details: your name, email address and phone number. Clubs use them to contact you about the booking, for example if the course closes for frost or flooding. On Tee Time you save these once in your account and they are sent with every booking, so there is no form to fill in at each club and no club login to create.

Some members' clubs ask visitors for a handicap, or for proof that they play regularly, particularly at busy times. If a club needs that, it says so on its own website, so check before a first visit. How to get a golf handicap explains how to get one. Pay and play courses and golf centres rarely ask. If you find a club you want to play every week, golf memberships near me explains the types of membership and what to ask before you join.

Step 3: paying the green fee

The green fee is the club's price for the round, per player. It is set by the club and paid to the club. How you pay depends on the club:

• Pay at the club: you book now and pay in the pro shop when you arrive.
• Pay online: the club takes payment when you book, and the slot is held for a short time while you pay. If it isn't paid in that time, the club releases the slot.

Prices vary by day and time. Weekend mornings usually cost the most, while weekday and late afternoon tee times are often cheaper. Use the price filter in search to see only tee times under your budget.

Where Tee Time charges a booking fee, its amount is shown next to the Book button before you book. It pays for finding the tee time and completing the club's booking for you, and it is not part of the green fee.

Step 4: after you book

Your booking shows one of these:

• Booked: the club accepted the booking and sent back its reference.
• Pay at club: the slot is held for you and you pay in the pro shop.
• Payment due: the club wants payment online to finish the booking. Pay straight away, because the hold only lasts a short time.
• Unverified: the booking was sent to the club but we couldn't read a clear answer back. Treat it as tentative until the club's own email arrives, and contact the club if it doesn't.

Tee Time never shows a booking as booked unless the club's confirmation came back, so an uncertain result is shown as uncertain rather than guessed.

On the day

Arrive 20 to 30 minutes before your tee time. Check in at the pro shop or starter's hut, pay if you haven't already, and ask about any local rules or temporary greens. Most clubs have a dress code: a collared shirt, tailored trousers or shorts, and golf shoes are the safe choice, and denim is often not allowed. Each club's rules are its own, so check its website if you are unsure.

Cancellation rules are also set by each club. If your plans change, contact the club as early as you can so the slot can go to someone else.

Booking for a group

Up to four players can share a tee time, so book one tee time for the number of players in your group. Tee Time books one tee time per golfer in each part of the day (morning, afternoon or evening), so for a bigger group another player books the next slot from their own account. For larger groups, ask the club about a society booking, which often comes with a group rate. Panshanger Golf Complex in Welwyn Garden City and Langdon Hills Golf & Country Club near Stanford-le-Hope are two of the clubs whose visitor tee times you can book on Tee Time.

Where to start

Tee Time covers 12 UK regions. Browse golf in the South East, London or the East of England, or search by distance from where you are.