The unique allure of Royal Dornoch

Speaking on the Golf Channel's 5 Clubs show hosted by Gary Williams, former Ryder Cup player and current Sky Sports Golf commentator, Andrew Coltart, was asked to name the course he would most like to see one day host the biennial match between Europe and the United States, with his answer being, emphatically, Royal Dornoch.

"I’d love to see them deal with that golf course." 

The host responded: "That’s the Holy Land right there. That’s a good call."

Ultimately, both men agreed that the infrastructure demands required by one of the largest sporting events on the planet may be a little beyond the capabilities of a small town in the Highlands of Scotland, but it was a reminder of the unique allure that this place holds in the hearts of many golfers worldwide.

The Curtis Cup is coming to the venue in 2028 and there is hope that in future, the male equivalent, the Walker Cup will also take up temporary residence on the Dornoch Firth as significant investment continues to be pushed into the facilities and hotels throughout the local area.

While a Ryder Cup at Royal Dornoch might be a fantastical notion, it's a reflection of the emotions stirred by the location, which is considered by numerous a keen observer to be the course of dreams.

I have been fortunate to visit Dornoch twice, in May 2015 and July 2016, and it's an experience that I haven't forgotten and I yearn to return in the future.

Both rounds were played in twilight and, regrettably, mostly in rather grim conditions, but the beauty of the landscape was apparent, especially when stood on the elevated tee of the fifth hole, consuming the surroundings, where it was hard to dispel the notion that this was the finest golf course that I had ever seen.

How good is Royal Dornoch?

Looking at the best known golf course rankings in the world, you will see Royal Dornoch reside prominently. Golf Digest have placed it second in its list of the finest layouts outside the United States, while Golfweek declared it third in a similar category. Golf World had it fourth when determining the best courses in the UK & Ireland.

It should be noted that this acclaim has come despite the course having never hosted an Open Championship or any other leading professional event. Its reputation has spread through word of mouth, the works of acclaimed writers, and the growth of the internet that has beamed its stunning images worldwide.

The short holes at Dornoch are simply incredible, among the finest group to be found anywhere, while the bunkerless but treacherous 14th, Foxy, is a golfing challenge that you won't forget.

Thinking back on the course, its setting, the deep bunkers, the strikingly raised greens, it's a truly enchanting place that somehow feels both historic but cutting-edge.

Royal Dornoch is the definition of timeless.

The history of Royal Dornoch

Recorded evidence proves that the sport has been played on this land since the early 17th century, with the existing club itself being established in 1877. Having initially been a nine-hole course, within a decade, the legendary Old Tom Morris of St Andrews was commissioned to extend the design to a full 18 holes.

Things have rarely stood still at Dornoch, as further enhancements to the course were approved in the 1890s, around the same time that Donald Ross, a local who later emigrated to the United States and became one of the most influential course architects in history, was named the club's first professional.

Later, five-times Open champion John Henry Taylor advised on further alterations to the layout, with an extension of yardage coinciding with the granting of "Royal" status by King Edward VII in 1906.

The great figures of James Braid and Harry Vardon competed in an exhibition match that same year, with the Dornoch Light Railway ensuring that visitors flocked to the course and town regularly in summer from as far away as London, further burgeoning its reputation.

Leading British female player of her era, Joyce Wethered, and her brother Roger, spent much time and enjoyed great success at Dornoch throughout the 1920s, while the town's favourite son Donald Ross advised on further improvements, including the development of the brilliant par three second hole.

Former Open champion George Duncan and head greenkeeper, Robbie Grant, are credited with the creation of new holes in the aftermath of the Second World War, but it was in 1964 when the international renown of the course was transformed by the words of Herbert Warren Wind, who sung its praises in an issue of The New Yorker magazine.

Its no surprise that in the subsequent years, perhaps inspired by that essay, singer, actor and keen golfer, Bing Crosby visited, while major champions Ben Crenshaw and Tom Watson both enjoyed unforgettable days at Royal Dornoch in the early 1980s.

Canadian golf writer and author Lorne Rubenstein further boosted the course's profile in the imagination of golfers when he wrote A Season In Dornoch that chronicles golf and life in the Scottish Highlands.

Decades later, in 2014, Jack Nicklaus played the course, bringing together arguably the greatest player of all time with one of the game's grandest stages that remains comparatively undiscovered by those unwilling to venture to such a remote corner of Scotland.

Continuing this theme of gradual progress that has defined its history, Royal Dornoch's new £14m clubhouse upgrade nears completion and will be ready for the 2026 season.

What makes Royal Dornoch so special?

Royal Dornoch is undisputedly a great golf course, but Scotland has a rich collection of them, and it boasts wonderful scenery, as do many other layouts across the nation, so what is it about this place that charms so deeply?

Thinking back to the aforementioned article by Herbert Warren Wind, who later became an honorary member of the club, I feel that he captured a key element.

Addressing the difficulty of travelling so far north, he wrote: “This same remoteness explains the unique position that Dornoch has long held in golf; for over half a century it has been regarded as one of the outstanding courses in the world by men close to the heart of the game, yet few have ever played it.”

It takes around an hour to reach Dornoch by car from the city of Inverness, which itself is well over three hours by road from both Edinburgh and Glasgow, meaning that it can feel like an adventure to reach the course, as you travel through extraordinary topography as the Lowlands transforms into the Highlands and beyond.

Little over a thousand people stay in the small town itself, with nearby golfing jewels Brora, Golspie and Tain also being modest in size but vast in terms of appeal.

When you're playing golf at Royal Dornoch, there is a sense that you're standing on the edge of the planet, and the otherworldly nature of the course itself only adds to that sentiment of wonder.

It's also a representation of life in this part of the country. 

Having lived in different parts of Scotland, the spectacular but sleepy Isle of Bute, the brooding metropolis of Glasgow, the small city of Perth, and latterly for the past decade, the fascinating town of St Andrews that combines international vibrancy with the seaside of the east coast, I've had the opportunity to consume each scale of Scottish life, and there is nowhere else quite like the Highlands.

Everything just feels different here. The air is fresher, the mood tranquil, the atmosphere not hurried, the landscape less trampled upon. While it has become a destination of repute, Royal Dornoch itself also retains those qualities.

That, for me, explains the unique allure of a course that has enthralled golfers for generations and no doubt will continue to do so.

If you want to know more about visitor information at Royal Dornoch and how you could play this revered course, click here, and if you fancy seeing some of the exceptional packages offered by our travel partners Golfbreaks, then please check out this link.