ISPS Handa Australian Open (Capital.com Australian Open)
ISPS Handa Australian Open (Capital.com Australian Open) takes place Dec 3 - 6, 2026 (to be confirmed) in Melbourne, Australia. The dress code is Smart casual with strong sun protection - hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. Comfortable shoes for firm, fast Sandbelt turf. Typical cost ranges from 250 to 1500 EUR per person.
Australia's national championship, played for the Stonehaven Cup that dates to 1904 and won by Nicklaus, Palmer, Norman and Woods. Since 2022 it has run as a combined men's, women's and all-abilities event on Melbourne's Sandbelt, where sandy soil produces firm, fast, bunker-heavy golf unlike anything in Europe or America. Crowds are modest and access to players is unusually close.
- When
- Dec 3 - 6, 2026 (to be confirmed)
- Where
- Melbourne, Australia
- Dress code
- Smart casual with strong sun protection - hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. Comfortable shoes for firm, fast Sandbelt turf.
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 250 to 1500 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 15 - 25C, mild to warm early summer, changeable
- When to book
- Tickets on sale from around September via golf.org.au; Melbourne hotels book up in December, so 3 months out
- Getting there
- MEL (Melbourne Tullamarine), 45 min to the Sandbelt courses
- Where to stay
- Park Hyatt Melbourne, United Places Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Quest Cheltenham, Melbourne
- Official site
- https://www.golf.org.au/ausopen/
How to attend
Daily and weekly grounds passes are sold via golf.org.au/ausopen, with children typically free when accompanied by an adult. Weekday rounds are cheapest and give the best opportunity to walk the Sandbelt properly. Confirm the host courses each year, as the championship shares its opening rounds between two clubs and both are close to central Melbourne by tram and train.
Golf Australia's site refused to open for us, so we cannot confirm a live booking page - grounds passes for the championship are sold on golf.com.au once the host courses are confirmed.
Insider tip
The Australian Open runs men's, women's and all-abilities championships simultaneously on the same courses, so one ticket buys three tournaments - and the Melbourne Sandbelt clubs surrounding the host venue are the densest concentration of great golf architecture on earth.
Get inside ISPS Handa Australian Open (Capital.com Australian Open)
Booking matters here: tickets on sale from around September via golf.org.au; Melbourne hotels book up in December, so 3 months out. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.