ROYAL DORNOCH
Despite its northerly latitude, some 45 miles North of Inverness and nearly 200 miles from Edinburgh, improvements to roads help Royal Dornoch to continue to be one of the most popular golf courses in Scotland. So well is it regarded that magazine polls across the world regularly have it in their top twenty, it is well worth the extra miles it takes to get there.

Old Tom Morris originally laid the course out in 1891 and John Sutherland - Dornoch's club secretary from 1882 through to 1935 - made subsequent changes. After World War II the course was again considerably altered by George Duncan who designed five new holes: Nos 7 through to 11.

The opening hole at Royal Dornoch, a simple par 4, is no indication of the joy - and trouble - to come. It is not until golfers walk over the headlands to the third tee that they get a sense of this striking golf course. Wondrous swards of fair way and green, with clusters of players dotting the beach-front, unfold a mile in each direction. The embankments of the old dunes on the landward side of the course, from late April until early June, are a carpet of flaming yellow gorse.

The course is just over 6,500 yards, but this is no reflection on the degree of difficulty to be found on many holes. It is classic links with the first 8 holes following the natural slants and humps of old dune embankments while the rest flank the sandy beaches of Dornoch Bay. Raised or sloping greens are characteristic as well as elevated tees so the target is well presented although rarely easy to reach. Dornoch, perhaps more than most, is a thinking golfers course where it is not enough to simply keep the ball on the fairway. A position has to be sought on most holes where the green can be accessed to your advantage.

www.royaldornoch.com

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CARNEGIE CLUB
The Carnegie Links represents all that is great about Scottish golf, from the friendly, intimate and warm Golf House to its fine traditional links course. This Scottish Championship links course is complemented by The Monk's Walk, a parkland course at the foot of the Castle. Both courses are private to our residential members and guests. Great care has been taken to ensure that the experience of playing the Carnegie Links (within four miles of the famous Royal Dornoch Golf Club) is authentic to the era of Andrew Carnegie.

The course, designed by Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie, offers the golfer a rare opportunity to play a links course which remains firm and fast. It requires a broad repertoire of shots, not simply the modern style of aerial bombardment golf, and demands that any golfer, regardless of standard, is rewarded for thoughtful and skilful play rather than for power.

At 6,671 yards from the back tees, the course is not long by modern standards, but in a wind, it will test even the mightiest of players. Its varied layout takes the golfer past exceptionally rare wildlife habitats which have been carefully retained and protected and are now managed to ensure their future. Birdlife abounds and with the sea on three sides and the hills of Sutherland and Ross-shire all around, this course must have one of the finest settings in the world of golf.

www.carnegieclub.co.uk

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BRORA
Brora Golf Club was established in 1891 and the Club recently celebrated it's Centenary. In 1923 James Braid, five times Open Champion, visited the course and redesigned the 18 hole layout which has stood the passing of time and remains a fair and challenging test of true links golf.

Brora presents all the attributes of the Scottish seaside links, there is bent and gorse - often in full bloom - Juniper and Thyme in profusion. The layout is classic: an easy opening hole, a short hole facing each cardinal point of the compass, a hole you can't reach in two shots and the last green under the clubhouse window. The course will ensure that you use every club in the bag, and that you will have to adapt and manufacture according to whether the course is running fast or slow. The greens are renowned for their texture. The ball runs true on the seaside fescue. While pin placements are generous there are lovely swingy borrows on virtually every green.

The sand is local and light, aiding recovery, the bunkers strategic but fair. As with all seaside links there are special places, the panorama of seascape and landscape from the second tee, the proximity of the sea to the 9th green, should there be time to bathe your feet. The 13th, is one of the jewels in Braid's crown. Tarbatness, the 17th, so called because of the lighthouse which gives the line. With the elevated tee, this is one of the best driving holes in all Scotland.

The rough is negligible in order to facilitate play, you ought to return home with all the golf balls you brought! Over all the golf course is a holiday treat, the clubhouse modern and comfortable, the catering excellent. But perhaps the most over-riding, all important feature is the atmosphere - warm, friendly and welcoming.

www.broragolf.co.uk

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GOLSPIE
Golspie Golf Club, designed by the legendary James Braid, situated 50 miles North of Inverness, was founded in 1889 and offers a challenge, together with a warm welcome, to all levels of golfer. The mixture of links, heath and parkland combined with the ever changing views from the course offers a unique golfing experience.

The club is situated at the south of the village about a mile from the town centre. The par of 68 is not often bettered so the experienced golfer faces a variety of shot making tests. However the less experienced golfer will enjoy the chance to work on their game without the challenges of championship length courses.

This is an easy walking course which has brought many golfers back to it time and time again. Is it the golf? Is it the views of Ben Bhraggie and over the Dornoch Firth? We think that it is the combination of both that makes playing Golspie such a wonderful experience.

The clubhouse has recently been refurbished to a high standard and offers meals and drinks in our comfortable bar and dining area overviewing the 18th green. Locker and changing facilities are also available. Homemade dishes are provided upstairs in the clubhouse as well as quick snacks. So why not enjoy a bite with the catering team after a great game of golf!

www.golspie-golf-club.co.uk

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