Dornoch, Scotland, United Kingdom
The fact that Royal Dornoch has as many American non-resident members as it has local members must tell you something of the course – and the size of the village. Golf has been played on these grounds from the 1850’s and you get a sense of the history of the place long before you step up to the first tee. A traditional links course, you will find traditional greens here with stimp measurements ranging between 9 and 14 in the summer.
There are few dramatically punishing areas of rough or massive obstacles on the course; rather a poorly aimed shot will keep running until it finds the bottom of one of the many nooks and crannies around the course. If you are less fortunate it will be gathered by the sloping zones that feed the deep, revetted pot bunkers lying in wait. The brilliance of this course is undisputed, the only reason why it has not hosted the major tournaments that its more famous Scottish brothers have done is that the local village is unsuited to handling hordes of tourists and camera crews, despite the easy hospitality of the locals. Make the trip and you won’t be disappointed, but plan to stay an extra day or two. Play it once and you will want to try it again.
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