Royal Dornoch Golf Club, Dornoch, Scotland
If you are a keen golfer it would not be a surprise if you know at least one member of Royal Dornoch. It has a long tradition of attracting overseas members from far flung countries who come for a single visit and who are smitten by a golf course which seems to cast a magic spell on them. Perhaps, like Shangri La, it is so remote and shrouded in mystery, those who find it may never want to be any place else, as everything else becomes second best. Golf was first played on the links below the town as early as 1616, but a formal layout did not appear until the early part of the 19C, and the course as it is today was designed by Old Tom Morris.
The course is just 75 miles from the northernmost tip of Scotland, some 45 minutes north of Inverness. It is also at about 58°N and the same latitude as Churchill, Manitoba, polar bear capital of Canada, which gives you some idea of how much daylight you can expect in summer, and the special light may have something to do with it’s captivating spirit.
The course itself can only be described as perfect. I don’t think I have ever used that word about a golf course. It is as if Morris arrived in 1886 with flagsticks and tee markers, spent the afternoon placing them in the ground and by evening the members were playing 18 Championship golf holes.
Perhaps one of the perfect attributes of the course is that it is so playable by golfers of every ability. One of the problems of the worlds very fine golf courses is that they can be brutal to higher handicappers, even those who use more forward tees. Extreme examples like Carnoustie and Royal County Down come to mind. But Dornoch is so remarkably fair, offering generously wide fairways and many large greens. There are no blind shots, the greens are not terribly undulating and it is not overly long. There are few fairway bunkers and even those are mostly visible from the tees. Lest you start dreaming of sub par rounds however, the par 3s are stern tests, and require accuracy and loft, many protected by armies of pot bunkers.
Located by Dornoch Firth, lined by a white sand beach, you can expect the wind to blow almost all the time, and by and large this will always be across the links, which run out and back in traditional manner. Whether it is an on shore or off shore wind it is very rarely in line with your hole. Thus it is a very challenging course to post a low score.
The holes have great variety – a hallmark of classic courses. Play the course once and you will likely be able to describe every hole at a future date without recourse to the card. The course begins with a short par 4 capped by a small green which tempts the longer hitters and tests the short wedge play of all golfers. This is followed by one of many superb par 3s, requiring a medium iron to a hole flanked by drop offs on three sides which on the left must be 16 feet below the green.
As the course heads away from the clubhouse, a series of good par 4s with generous driving areas offer a chance to ease into the round, but the par 3 6th is a deathtrap for a misplayed shot, undoing any good work from the first 5. At no more than 150 yards, it has a slim green cut into a sleep slope, with shots left, right and long leading to an almost certain bogey and more likely, a double. The play here is short and left; Your club selection should always favor the first third of the green, even if the pin is at the back. If you find any part of the green, you will not have a long putt.
The 7th is a long par 4 bordered by gorse or “whin bush” as your caddy may describe it. There is also gorse behind the green and 5 here is not a bad score.
The loop of 8,9,10 offer a chance for birdies as you make the turn at the far end of the most picturesque part of the course. The 8th has a sharp drop down to the fairway below at about 200 yards, and it is very possible to gain 100 yards of roll. The green will collect balls and so birdies are very makeable. The seaside 9th is a par 5 with a large green that may offer birdies and eagles provided the wind is not against. The 10th is a delightful par 3 which requires a shot played just over a bunker and which will inevitably bounce firmly toward the back. Only the very high ball will hold this raised green.
You now begin the challenging stretch home, beginning with the long par 4 11th, followed by the 500 yard par 5 which features a gentle right to left dogleg and an enormous green. The 13th is a 175 yard par 3 surrounded by 7 pot bunkers. The bunkerless 14th, aptly named “Foxy”, is a superb, 440 yard par 4 with a raised green jutting out into the fairway, and is also obscured by a peninsula of rough some 100 yards in front, making the approach with a long iron or fairway wood even trickier.
15 is a delightful, drivable par 4 with two large hillocks obstructing your view of the green, just visible between the mounds, like a target sight on a rifle. Anything low will strike these embankments and leave a nasty lie in heavy grass and rough.
The 16th is a deceptive par 4 with a fairway rising steeply up to a plateau green much exposed to the wind. Your tee shot may look good, but if it is just a little left of centre it will likely roll sharply to the left and down into the rough. If your tee shot is too far long and left, you may well find a lateral hazard. Favour the right with your drive and take at least one extra club up this steep hill. Aim just left of a Tumulus sized mound that lies short and right of the green.
Uniquely, the 17th reverses the homeward direction of the back 9 and like the 8th you drive back over a steep slope which angles across the fairway some 220 yards on the left and 180 on the right. Drives down the right tend to roll away from the direction of the hole. Down below, you then face a longish approach to a very large concave green that collects balls from the left and throws them down to the right centre of the green. It is surprising how far left your approach must be. Another tactic used by the better player, and sometimes accidentally by the rest of us, is to leave your drive at the top of the hill, which allows you to play a shot from a much higher elevation, thus affording you a chance to not only see the green, which you cannot from the fairway below, but also to hit an approach which has a more vertical trajectory as it lands on the green, giving you more control.
The 460 yard 18th is a tremendous closing hole, with a narrow fairway guarded by gorse on the left and right, and you must drive well to leave a long iron or fairway wood. There are bunkers 30 yards short of the green to catch mishits, and the large green has a grass gully in front and a paved road behind and to the left. The green appears to slope a little away from you, but is relatively flat.
When you next play one of more than 400 courses in the U.S. designed by Donald Ross, remember that he grew up playing at Dornoch and these youthful impressions can be found somewhere in almost all his designs.
Green fees in summer are now in the $160 range, and when you consider that the joining fee is less than $2000 and annual dues less than $ 500, it is no wonder that the club boasts such a large number of international members. It also offers a 2nd 18 hole course called the Struie, which has some outstanding holes around the turn, although much more ordinary to start.
The modest clubhouse has a charming buzz during the summer months with accents from many parts of the world as well as plenty of local characters. Many visitors stay at the charming and newly renovated Royal Golf Hotel, located across from the first tee and offering first class food and exceptional service. It has a very comfortable bar and the restaurant has wonderful views across the course and estuary beyond. It also boasts Cameron, a hotel manager who doubles as bartender, waiter, porter, concierge, fixer and raconteur of the first order. Indeed, were I to win the lottery and feel inclined to hire a manservant I would have to join a long queue of winners pleading for his services.
Although it is not the easiest location to get to, there are direct flights from Gatwick to Inverness, which is about 45 minutes south by car. Another idea is to fly by large helicopter as a group from St. Andrews. These helicopters can fit golfers and clubs comfortably and are more affordable than you would think.
Finally, we would be remiss in failing to mention the delightful and ancient town of Dornoch, which features, asides from charming and unspoilt architecture, the remarkably upscale Luigi restaurant. Rarely offering Italian fare, you will find chic modern dishes at city prices. It is excellent food in a surprising location. For those that prefer liquid lunches, Scotch Whiskey distilleries abound on the beautiful Highland drive up to Inverness, but 10 minutes south of Dornoch you will find the splendid Glenmorangie distillery, located on the shores of Dornoch firth and a most fitting way to celebrate your personal discovery of one the finest golf courses in Scotland.
If you want to read more about Dornoch, you must get a copy of Lorne Rubinstein’s book “A Season in Dornoch”. Much more than one mans account of his love affair with the golf course, this highly accomplished golf writer recounts the history of the Highland Clearances, the unique character of this remote region as well as his re-discovery of the game of golf as a game and not a score. His many tales of walks with and without golf clubs, both on and off the course, as well as his encounters with legendary caddies, players and colourful characters, is uplifting. If you have a game of golf planned for next Sunday afternoon, start reading it on Saturday morning and having completed it before you tee off, you will have soaked up some of the great magic of Dornoch.