Golf in Dornoch has been played "since time immremorial" and written evidence has survived since 1616. Since golfers have taken to these links, all who have experienced have marvelled at the wonderful, natural landscape including the high dunes and ridges that line the white sandy beaches along the Dornoch Firth. Royal Dornoch Golf Club formed as a Club in 1877 with the course laid out in 1886 by Old Tom Morris. Dornoch's own - Donald Ross was born in 1872 and took to the game at a young age serving as Dornoch's "keeper of the greens" and the Club's first Professional from 1893-1898 before emigrating to the USA in 1899. Ross was heavily influenced by the topography of his home course with like features among his hundreds of designed couses - most iconic status.
Royal Dornoch is spellbinding and golfers from all over the world make the trip to the incredibly scenic Scottish Highlands to play the course that is annually recognized as a top-ten course in the world. The dune land rises in two distinctive levels, providing narrow strips of land providing just enough room for parallel fairways. Holes 1-8 follow the upper ridge "out" and holes 9-18 play in opposite direction "in" and are bounded, (except holes 17 and 18), on the left by the sand beaches of the Firth. Royal Dornoch is not a long course compared to modern layouts (Par-70, Yards - 6,799), but the plateau greens originally created by Old Tom Morris, revered and maintained by Donald Ross, is the soul of the course.
Iconic and pristine greens, fairways rolling across the natural terrain, exceptional views, unparallelled Club service - golfers all agree Royal Dornoch is one of the finest links golf experiences in the world!
