Play Royal Birkdale Now (Before The Open Starts)

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The 154th Open Global Challenge by Toptracer starts in six days, and if you haven’t looked at what’s on the line, you’re leaving money — and a potential St Andrews trip — on the table.

Here’s the setup. Toptracer added Royal Birkdale to its virtual golf library last month. The R&A signed off on a global closest-to-the-pin competition on the course’s new par-3 15th hole. The grand prize is two Sunday tickets to The 155th Open at St Andrews in 2027 plus a round on the Old Course the following day. The competition runs July 13 through July 19 — the same week as the actual championship at Royal Birkdale.

And the punchline nobody’s talking about: you can also play Royal Birkdale in GOLF+ VR starting tomorrow, July 8, with a parallel VR Open running July 16-22. Same course. Same championship week energy. Different platform. Different prize.

This is the most accessible a major championship venue has ever been to the average golfer, and it’s happening right now.

The Hole Nobody Wants to Hit

The 15th hole at Royal Birkdale is 241 yards from the back tees. It’s the longest par-3 on the course. The R&A built it on the site of the old 14th, part of a broader 2026 redesign that also reworked the 5th, shortened the 7th to a par-3, adjusted the 18th tee, and cut the bunker count from 127 to 108. The course now plays 7,223 yards at par 70 — 67 yards longer than Jordan Spieth played in 2017.

The 15th has a narrow entrance, a green that looks smaller from the tee than it actually is, and wind exposure that turns club selection into a prayer. Toptracer picked this hole specifically because it’s expected to decide the championship. If you can stuff one inside six feet on this hole, you’ve earned the right to brag about it on a global leaderboard.

Two Ways to Play

This is where the sim sports ecosystem reveals its full breadth.

Way 1: Toptracer at your local range. If your nearest driving range has Toptracer technology — and there are over 1,450 sites across 38 countries — you walk in, buy a bucket, and select Royal Birkdale from the virtual golf library. You get three shots at the 15th hole per session. Every shot counts toward the global leaderboard. The closest to the pin at the end of the week wins. Simple. No registration. No entry fee. No launch monitor required.

Way 2: GOLF+ VR on Meta Quest. Royal Birkdale launches in GOLF+ on July 8. The R&A partnered with GOLF+ to create a championship-themed version of the course complete with grandstands, spectator areas, and Open branding. The VR Open runs July 16-22 inside the GOLF+ TOUR — the game’s online league. One participant wins a VIP trip for two to The 155th Open at St Andrews. Same caliber of prize. Totally different way to earn it.

If you already own a Meta Quest headset, the GOLF+ route is probably faster and cheaper than driving to a Toptracer range. The bundle promotion running through July 15 even throws Royal Birkdale in for free if you buy a Quest through the GOLF+ store. That’s a VR headset and a championship venue for the price of the hardware.

What This Says About the Sim Sports Category

Let me be direct about what this means.

Two years ago, playing a major championship venue in a virtual format was a novelty. Today, two different platforms are running parallel global competitions on the same course, during the same week as the actual major, with the full backing of The R&A. One is a driving range technology company. The other is a VR game developer. Neither is a traditional golf company.

That’s the sim sports thesis in action. The technology barrier has collapsed. The distribution network — whether it’s 1,450 Toptracer ranges or 20 million Meta Quest headsets — already exists. The governing bodies are treating sim golf as a legitimate extension of the sport rather than a toy. And the prizes are getting good enough that people are actually paying attention.

The home sim market benefits directly from this. Every person who plays Royal Birkdale on a Toptracer range this month and thinks “I want this at home” is a potential customer for a launch monitor, a hitting net, or a full sim setup. Every GOLF+ player who experiences the scale of a championship venue in VR is one step closer to buying a real sim.

That’s why we cover this beat. The competitive sim golf ecosystem is the demand engine for the home sim industry. The more people compete on virtual Royal Birkdale, the more people want to own the technology that lets them do it from their garage.

The Bottom Line

The 154th Open Global Challenge runs July 13-19. The GOLF+ VR Open runs July 16-22. Both are free to enter (beyond the cost of range balls or a VR headset you may already own). Both offer a trip to St Andrews as the grand prize. Both let you play the same course that will decide the 154th Open champion.

If you own a home sim, you can probably access Royal Birkdale through your existing software. If you don’t own a home sim, this is the cheapest way to play a major championship venue this year.

Go find your nearest Toptracer range. Or fire up your Quest. The 15th hole at Royal Birkdale isn’t going to hit itself.