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Sutherland

Carnegie Links at Skibo Castle

A private links for members and their guests, 18 holes over 6,903 yards. The Dornoch Firth is on two sides.

Ring 01862 894 600
Welcome

The Carnegie Links is the private course of the Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle, and it’s open only to members and their guests.

It sits on a tongue of land on the Dornoch Firth near Dornoch, with water on three sides and the hills always in view. Andrew Carnegie bought Skibo in 1898 and had nine holes laid out for himself, and today’s eighteen, by Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie, opened in 1995. There are no tee times, so members simply play when they like. The club is fully subscribed but keeps a waiting list, and you can ask about joining through its website.

The Carnegie Links on its tongue of land in the Dornoch Firth.Press a mark to look closer.
Hole highlights

The course runs along the Dornoch Firth and Loch Evelix, and the last four holes play over or beside water near the clubhouse.

  1. 6

    The 6th

    Par 3

    A short hole played from the top of one dune to another. The gorse around the green has been cleared to open up the views, and a single pot bunker guards the front right.

  2. 7

    The 7th

    Par 4

    Two bunkers split the fairway, so you pick your side from the tee. The raised green looks out over the whole course and the Dornoch Firth.

  3. 15

    The 15th

    Par 3

    A par three of about 215 yards, played slightly over a stretch of Loch Evelix to an angled green.

  4. 17

    The 17th

    Par 4

    Said to be the signature hole, and only about 300 yards, so it’s driveable for some. For everyone else, the four big fairway bunkers are the thing to avoid.

  5. 18

    The 18th

    Par 5

    The tee sits in the very corner of the land and the hole turns sharply left, with the River Evelix beside you for the lay-up and the approach. Mackenzie & Ebert say it’s little changed from the earlier course.

Playing here

The private links of the Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle, on a tongue of land in the Dornoch Firth, for members and their guests.

Holes
18
Yards
6,903
Opened
1995

Booking

01862 894 600

By phone or email only.

Members and their guests only. The club publishes no visitor tee times or green fees; ask through its website.

To hire

  • Clubs
  • Shoes

The clubhouse

Lunch in the clubhouse looks over the Dornoch Firth, and there’s a halfway house on the course.

Members and their guests stay in the castle’s 21 rooms or its 13 lodges.

Did you know

Andrew Carnegie had permission to fly a flag with the Union flag on one side and the Stars and Stripes on the other, and Skibo still flies it at the castle and the clubhouse.

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Where it is

The Carnegie Club is at Skibo Castle near Dornoch, IV25 3RQ, just off the A9 north of the Dornoch Firth Bridge.

Dornoch is about five miles east, Inverness about an hour’s drive south, and the nearest station is at Tain, seven miles away across the firth.

Directions
Weathered standing stones scattered across a grassy clearing edged with bare treesAttractionsClach Biorach3.0 miles
Copper still above whisky barrels spelling Balblair outside the distillery buildingsAttractionsBalblair Distillery3.3 miles
Wooded headland juts into a wide loch beneath rolling grey hillsAttractionsStruie Hill Viewpoint3.5 miles
Stone building with arched windows bearing the sign Cocoa Mountain, blue picnic table outsideCafeCocoa Mountain Dornoch3.8 miles
Sandstone church with pointed arch window, framed by autumn trees and gatepostsAttractionsDornoch Cathedral3.8 miles
Ivy climbs a turreted stone tower beside a slate-roofed manor houseRestaurantsDornoch Castle Hotel3.8 miles
Copper stills line the Glenmorangie Distillery still house in rowsAttractionsGlenmorangie Distillery3.8 miles
ShoppingBritton Scotland, Dornoch3.8 miles
Wooden sign reading "milk & honey" mounted on a sandstone buildingCafeMilk & Honey3.8 miles
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More golf

More courses in the Highlands, and the collections this one is in.

A course · Boat of GartenBoat of Garten Golf ClubA course · DuffusCovesea LinksA course · CullenCullen Links Golf ClubA course · DurnessDurness Golf Club
Golf in the HighlandsAll our golf
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.