GOLF+ Royal Birkdale: VR Open Ends July 15

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Royal Birkdale opens in GOLF+ on July 8. The same week The 154th Open is played there. And GOLF+ is running a promo that makes it almost stupid not to try VR golf if you’ve been curious.

Buy a Meta Quest headset through GOLF+ and get Royal Birkdale free. The promo ends July 15. Then the VR Open tournament runs July 16-22 with a grand prize that includes Sunday tickets to the 155th Open at St Andrews plus a round on the Old Course.

The Deal

From now through July 15, when you buy a Meta Quest headset through the GOLF+ offer, you get Royal Birkdale as a free course (normally $5.99 in the in-game store). The headset itself is $299 for a Quest 3S or $499 for a Quest 3 — same prices you’d pay anywhere. The free course is the kicker.

If you already own a Quest headset, you can buy Royal Birkdale for $5.99 starting July 8. You don’t need the bundle. But if you don’t have a Quest and you’ve been thinking about VR golf, this is the best entry point you’ll get this year.

Why Royal Birkdale Matters

Royal Birkdale has hosted The Open ten times. The list: Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Mark O’Meara, Padraig Harrington. It’s a rolling dunes monster on England’s northwest coast with blind shots and wind that turns a simple 8-iron into a full-blown club selection crisis.

The GOLF+ version is built as a championship experience — grandstands, spectator areas, Open branding throughout the course. It’s not a generic course rendering. It’s the same venue the pros will be playing that week, complete with the atmosphere.

Playing a major championship venue during the actual championship week hits different. There’s something about knowing that the guys on TV are hitting the same shots, standing on the same tee boxes, reading the same greens. You’re not just practicing. You’re participating.

The VR Open Tournament

July 16-22. Royal Birkdale. One shot at glory.

The VR Open is GOLF+’s R&A-backed tournament running the week of The 154th Open. You play the championship course in GOLF+, and your score goes on a global leaderboard against every other player in the world.

Grand prize: VIP trip for two to the 155th Open at St Andrews in 2027. That means travel, accommodation, and Sunday tickets. Plus a round on the Old Course.

Runner-up prizes include tickets, shop vouchers, and a signed pin flag.

If you’ve ever played an online tournament in any sim game, you know the addictive quality. That feeling when you’re one under through 14 and you realize this round matters. The VR Open is that, but with a St Andrews trip on the line and a few thousand other golfers chasing the same leaderboard spot. It’s going to be fun.

But I Already Have a Sim Setup

This is the question I get most.

If you have a full home simulator with a launch monitor and a screen and a gaming PC, you don’t need GOLF+. Your GSPro setup is better for serious practice. The ball data is more accurate. The swing feedback is real.

But GOLF+ serves a different purpose. It’s the game you play on a Tuesday night when you don’t want to set up the launch monitor. The Quest headset lives in a drawer, you pull it out, you swing a plastic club in your living room, and fifteen minutes later you’ve played four holes at Pebble Beach. It’s zero-friction golf.

Also: the putting in GOLF+ is genuinely good. The VR depth perception makes putting feel real in a way that flat-screen sim software can’t replicate. If you’re tired of AutoPutt in GSPro, GOLF+ might be your fix.

What About GOLF+ Sim?

GOLF+ is also building a real simulator platform called GOLF+ Sim — the one that works with actual launch monitors and no PC required. That’s coming in late 2026 and it’s a different product. The VR Open and the Royal Birkdale deal are for the current VR version of GOLF+, not the sim version.

If you buy a Quest headset now for the VR Open, you’ll have the hardware you need when GOLF+ Sim launches. And GOLF+ Sim will include access to the same course library, so Royal Birkdale stays in your bag.

Your Next Move

If you don’t have a Quest headset and you want Royal Birkdale for free: buy before July 15. The offer is at golfplusvr.com.

If you already have a Quest: Royal Birkdale drops July 8 for $5.99. Buy it, enter the VR Open, and try to win that St Andrews trip.

If you want the full sim experience: wait for GOLF+ Sim in late 2026. The VR version is fun. The sim version will be a serious GSPro competitor.

Either way, The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale runs July 12-19. The VR Open runs July 16-22. That’s two weeks of golf content you can participate in from your living room. Not bad for $299 and a few minutes of setup.

Check the GOLF+ Royal Birkdale offer →

For a full breakdown of the GOLF+ Sim platform and what it means for home sim builders, read the GOLF+ Sim announcement →