Driving for Durness - Chance to Win Membership to Golf Heaven

Feature article from Golfshake contributer Kevin Markham who is editor of Destination Golf and author of Hooked

This Covid-19 crisis has been bad news for golf clubs everywhere. But as in all things some clubs are affected worse than others. If you are a remote club then you know how challenging it can be to lure visitors into the wild. If you are little known then it’s a constant battle to get your name out there. If you are based in a small community that can provide only a limited membership base then visitor green fees are an essential lifeline. And if you are a small club with, say, just nine holes then it’s an even bigger uphill struggle.

Plenty of clubs can empathise with such scenarios but Durness Golf Club battles with all of the above… and has been since it opened in 1988. And if you want to understand just how remote it is, Durness is the most northerly links course on the British mainland, tucked away in the north west corner of the Scottish Highlands. If you thought the Isle of Skye was a long way away then head up the A82 and A87 towards Skye… then take a sharp right and keep driving for another 180 miles.

On the plus side that 180 miles will show you one of the most breath-taking coastal driving routes in the world, with most of it now a part of the acclaimed North Coast 500.

I played Durness in 2015, and it remains one of the most enthralling golf experiences of my life. So far north, so high, so remote, it might just be the closest you can get to playing golf in heaven. It is nine holes but has 18 different tee boxes with a few of these creating very different angles. The 9th/18th, however, is a par three that plays from one low cliff to another, over the waters of Balnakeil Bay. The sea has undoubtedly swallowed hundreds of golf balls over the past 30 years but maybe those balls end up on the perfect golden beach that follows the curve of the bay below the clubhouse.

Covid-19 has been giving Durness Golf Club a serious kicking and the club is now running a membership drive, reaching out to golfers – especially lovers of the course like me – to spread the word, promote the course and encourage people to take up an annual membership. It costs just £185, running from 1 May 2020 to 30 April 2021.

Membership Appeal! Please Direct Message us with your Name & Email- to send you information PDF explaining our phlight ???? Aerial view looking down the 6th Par 5 with Balnakeil Bay and the famous 9th Par 3 hole behind it ?? pic.twitter.com/azHWyOZdTs

— Durness Golf Club (@DurnessGolfClub) April 20, 2020

So I have. I have taken up a membership to support the club. Trouble is, I live in Ireland, so it’s not easy to get across to this amazing spot of golfing nirvana. As such I am unlikely to use the membership and that’s a waste.

I decided to discuss this situation with the good people at Golfshake and we came to a unanimous conclusion… “Give the membership away as a prize”.

So here it is – your chance to win an annual membership* to Durness Golf Club, between 1/5/20 and 30/4/21.  All you have to do is enter your information on the competition page here.

Membership includes reciprocal playing rights at Ullapool and Bonar Bridge for £5, Tain & Brora for £10, and Golspie for £20 per round. In terms of bringing guests you may sign in up to 12 guests at £10 per day. (Member must accompany guest)

Of course you can always take out your own membership and head up to the Highlands to play some incredible courses – and not just Durness. For me, Brora and Royal Dornoch are world class, while the Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle is one of those more elusive (aka semi-private) and spectacular clubs. East of Inverness are Castle Stuart and Nairn and there are any number of other clubs you could stop to play en route.

Check out www.durnessgolfclub.org for more on this remarkable links.

* The membership will be in your name.