Royal Dornoch – A Round on the Links
A day.
The route
Golf has been played on the links at Dornoch for over 400 years, and Royal Dornoch's Championship Course, stretched along the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, is, in the club's own words, one of the finest of all golf courses.
Its sister, the Struie, is a shorter and cheaper round on the same links. Play either, then lunch in the clubhouse looking out over the firth. A day for golfers, from keen juniors to old hands.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Links House at Royal Dornoch in Dornoch.
Book a visitor tee time at Royal Dornoch Golf Club on the club's online booking page before you go, any day of the week as times allow: the Championship Course £360 a round (£200 from November to March), the Struie £120 (£85), juniors half price, at the time of writing; from November to February take a morning tee time for eighteen holes.
The day
Dornoch
Eighteen holes on the links beside the Dornoch Firth, the sea wind in your face and the dunes all round, then a long lunch at the clubhouse windows.
About five hours
Royal Dornoch Golf Club
An attraction
Royal Dornoch's clubhouse is on Golf Road, at the edge of the town; park where the signs allow. Golf has been played on these links since at least 1616, and the club, founded in 1877, had Old Tom Morris extend its course in 1886. Visitors are welcome seven days a week as tee times allow, so book yours online before you go, and ask for a caddie when you book if you'd like one. There are two courses. The Championship Course runs out along the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, par 70 over 6,799 yards, at £360 a round from April to October and £200 from November to March, at the time of writing. The Struie, the Low Course to locals, has tighter fairways and smaller greens along the Dornoch Burn, par 71 over 6,205 yards, at £120, or £85 in the winter months. Juniors of 17 and under pay half. Trolleys are free on the day, clubs (£60 a round) and power trolleys (£30) are booked ahead, and buggies are only for medical reasons, with a certificate. Opens and members' competitions take some days, so check the fixture list on the club's site. In December the sun sets at about half past three, so from November to February book a morning tee time for eighteen holes. Afterwards, lunch is upstairs in the new clubhouse, reached by stairs or a lift, with floor-to-ceiling windows over the links and the firth: soup, sandwiches, fish and chips and tacos. In its summer hours the kitchen serves from 10am to 8pm, and to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays; for the winter months ring 01862 810219, extension 4.
If it rains
The links are played in most weathers, but in a downpour or a gale the round is miserable: ask the office about moving your tee time, and sit out the worst over lunch at the clubhouse windows.
