There were six additions to the schedule, made up of four new tournaments: the True Thailand Classic, the Shenzhen International, the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play, and the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open; the Hero Indian Open, which was co-sanctioned by the European Tour for the first time; and the return of the European Open, which was last played in 2009.

[1] Seven events were lost from the schedule: the Volvo World Match Play Championship and Volvo Golf Champions, as a result of Volvo reducing their sponsorship commitments;[2] the Nelson Mandela Championship; the NH Collection Open; The Championship at Laguna National; the Wales Open, as a 15-year deal with Celtic Manor Resort came to an end;[3] and the Perth International, which wasn't played in 2015 due to rescheduling from October to February.

In March, the tour confirmed that the British Masters, last held in 2008, was also being revived and added to the schedule.

[4] Later in the month, the Madeira Islands Open was cancelled due to persistent heavy rain; it was later rescheduled to the end of July, opposite the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play.

The Race to Dubai was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.