AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham: 3 Days Out — Sim Golf Impact
The AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes tees off this Wednesday, July 29 — three days from now. And for the home sim golf community, this event matters more than the typical major.
Here’s why: the AIG Women’s Open sits at the intersection of every sim sports trend we’re tracking — Toptracer activations, virtual availability of the course, and the growing professional legitimacy of sim golf competitions.
The Toptracer Question
The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale (two weeks ago) featured Toptracer’s largest-ever activation: 30 simulators across 6 locations, QR codes on practice tee boxes providing live shot data for fans, and the Global Challenge running across 1,450+ ranges in 38 countries.
The AIG Women’s Open has not formally announced an equivalent Toptracer activation. But after Birkdale’s success — and with Toptracer’s parent company Topgolf continuing to push into the women’s game — it would be surprising if Royal Lytham doesn’t have at least some sim presence.
Watch for three things during the broadcast:
- Practice range sim stations — are there Toptracer-equipped bays visible behind players?
- Fan-facing shot data — QR codes or displays showing live ball speed, carry, and spin?
- The Global Challenge — is the 241-yard par-3 or a similar hole replicated on Toptracer ranges worldwide?
If Toptracer is absent from the women’s major after the Birkdale blowout, that’s also a story — one about the gap in investment between men’s and women’s major championship fan experiences.
What Royal Lytham’s Virtual Availability Means for Home Sim Owners
Royal Lytham & St Annes is available across major sim platforms, though the quality varies:
- GSPro: Royal Lytham is available as a user-created course (high quality, tested). Search “Royal Lytham” in the GSPro course database.
- E6 Connect: Not currently available in the standard 115-course library. No third-party version confirmed.
- GOLF+ VR: Available in the GOLF+ VR course library — worth checking before the tournament for a virtual preview of the closing stretch.
- Home Tee Hero (Garmin): Not currently in the 43K-course HTH library. This may change if Garmin adds it during tournament week.
- Awesome Golf: Not confirmed.
If you have GSPro or GOLF+ VR, you can play Royal Lytham this week and compare your lines to what you see on TV. The 17th and 18th at Lytham are notoriously demanding — a virtual preview might help you appreciate just how good these players are.
The Sim Sports Angle: WGTOUR, GTOUR, and Professional Sim Golf
The Women’s Golf Tour (WGTOUR) and the Golf Tour (GTOUR) — professional sim golf tours — are watching this week closely. The AIG Women’s Open represents the biggest audience of the year for women’s golf, and sim golf adoption correlates directly with major championship interest.
Key signals to watch:
- TV broadcast mentions of sim golf: If broadcasters mention Toptracer, virtual golf, or sim practice in the context of player preparation, that’s a signal that sim golf is gaining mainstream legitimacy.
- Player practice habits: Watch for B-roll of players practicing on sims, using launch monitors, or analyzing data. The number of pros using sims for practice has grown every year.
- Social media engagement: Tournament content tagged #WGTOUR, #SimGolf, or #VirtualGolf during the women’s major would signal that sim golf audiences are overlapping with women’s golf audiences.
What We’re Watching For
- Weather: Royal Lytham on the Lancashire coast means wind will be a factor. Tuesday’s forecast shows 15-20mph gusts — that affects scoring and course setup decisions.
- Course setup: Lytham has 206 bunkers. The 17th (a 163-yard par 3 over sand) and 18th (a 385-yard par 4 with out of bounds left) are the signature tests.
- Defending champion: Lydia Ko won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews. Her return to defend at Lytham — a very different links test — is the headline storyline.
- Sim golf equipment: Watch for players using personal launch monitors on the range. GC3s, Trackmans, and even Garmin R10s have been spotted in pro range bags this year.
The Bottom Line
The AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham is a content event for home sim golfers on multiple levels. Whether or not Toptracer has a formal activation, the tournament generates the kind of mainstream interest that drives “how do I play Royal Lytham at home?” searches. Make sure your GSPro or GOLF+ VR library is loaded before Wednesday.
Already played Royal Lytham virtually? Our GSPro course guide has a community review section. Drop your thoughts on the layout, the difficulty, and how it compares to the real deal.