GO-GOLF.tv

ROYAL DORNOCH GOLF CLUB VIDEO

They rave on about it! “If Royal Dornoch was any further south it would be on the Open Rota!” Said golf writer Herbert Warren Wind “…no golfer has completed his education until he has played and studied Royal Dornoch.” Tom Watson said, “This is the most fun I have had playing golf in my whole life.”

The game of golf was played at Dornoch as far back as 1616 when the Earl of Sutherland ordered 'cleeks and balls' to take up the sport that was becoming so popular further south. This makes Dornoch the third oldest golfing community in Scotland; the first three links of which there are written records are - 1552, St Andrews - 1593, Leith - 1616, Dornoch. It was in 1877 that the Dornoch Golf Club was founded as the successor of the Sutherland Golfing Society whose members played at Dornoch and Golspie which is just up the road. The town was also the home of famous golf architect, Donald Ross. In 1886 Old Tom Morris was invited to design "nine proper golf holes" and sometime later the young Ross was sent by the club to St Andrews to learn the craft of club-making and greenkeeping under the tutelage of Old Tom. Ross went on to design over 400 golf courses in America.

By 1904 Dornoch boasted an 18-hole layout of 5,960 yards. It was in 1906 through the influence of Duchess Millicent of Sutherland a decree by King Edward VII granted that the club become known as Royal Dornoch Golf Club. Even in those days courses were pressured by ‘technology’. John Sutherland, the secretary who guided the club for over 50 years, was responsible for a further remodelling of the course to accommodate the new ‘guttie’ ball and for a period Dornoch was the 5th longest course in Britain.

With the help of its stature as a genuine test and the increasing influence of famous sons such as Ross, especially in America, Dornoch’s reputation as a links golf course of renown began to travel. John Sutherland, no mean golfer himself wrote golf articles for the London Daily News and Golf Illustrated helping spread the word about this challenging links in the north. Golfing greats of the time such as Harry Vardon, James Braid, J.H. Taylor sampled the joys of playing golf at Royal Dornoch and further evangelised.

Tom Watson came to Dornoch for the first time in 1981. He had just won the third of his five Open Championships at Muirfield. His plan was to play one round and be off again but he enjoyed the links so much he stayed and played three giving the now oft used quote that playing the Royal Dornoch course was 'the most fun I’ve ever had on a golf course'.

Will Dornoch ever host a major event? I asked John Duncan, the course manager. “The course itself merits being a venue for 1st class events - but the infrastructure up here is the problem especially for sponsors and corporate hospitality,” said Mr Duncan. “We see enough visiting top class pros and they still find it a good challenge. Mark Brooks and Michael Weir were here this summer just before the Open. Brooks is a regular visitor…”

My least favourite holes on the course are the two on the escarpment. The 7th, which is Stroke Index 1 offers no bail-out between thick banks of gorse while the 8th, the Old Quarry hole, is the course’s weakest with a considerable drop at driving distance. There’s something about both these holes that is unsatisfying – probably compared to the rich character of the rest of the holes. The 10th is a lovely little par 3 right beside the sea. It’s only 147 or 142 yards (visitor) and well-protected with at least three front bunkers. Downwind it’s a little unfair making it hard to stop on the green – but it’s so cute you can forgive it for that!

The main feature hole on the back nine is the 14th – Foxy! There are no bunkers on this mini double dogleg but it is long with a series of grassy fingers stretching out towards the fairway and sea. Off the tee, to draw one off a west wind, the most common, would be the ideal drive. But for a Par 4 at 439 yards it’s the approach once again that really counts. Depending on where the pin is, a run up shot would work best as the green is long and side on to the fairway. You need to practice your bump and run shots for Dornoch!

Keep in mind also during dry summers – you do get them up here (the Gulf Stream keeps this area remarkably dry and warm) - the fairways are super-firm and a well-struck tee shot can run into trouble or at least into an undesirable position. It is the approach shot that seems to make or break your score here. Depending on your position you could end up with either a very difficult shot across those deep, revetted bunkers or, due to the shape of the green, some long and narrow – and most of them raised, find it very difficult to stop from rolling through and off the other side again. If you can get in close and use a wedge, or run it in, these are your best options. John Duncan put it very well, “Dornoch is like a kindly old rogue that will lead you in - and then without you realising, pick your pocket.”

And then there’s the wind. With the Dornoch and the Moray Firth cheek to jowl with the course, some interesting conditions can blow up within the span of a single round. West and southwest winds are helpful on the front nine but play havoc with the longer back half. Like all coastal courses, the wind can change with the tide. In other words you have to play each hole as you find it.

Scenically Dornoch’s front nine is spectacular particularly when the gorse is in bloom in May and June. Then the warm spring air is full of the scent of almonds while the gorse buzzes with bees. The back nine are more influenced by the beach. If you fancy a walk later in the evening this is a public right of way and a particularly beautiful one at that. Keep in mind also that Dornoch is not that far south of the Arctic Circle and therefore through the summer months it rarely gets dark before midnight.

Royal Dornoch is an experience that warrants repeating and each time you play you should come away with a little more information, a slightly better education on what golf and Royal Dornoch are really all about.



Photographs & text © David J Whyte 2009