Royal Dornoch Golf Club is spellbinding. It seems to mesmerise amateur and professional golfers from all over the world and many make the pilgrimage to this natural links at some point in their lives.
Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Championship)
Royal Dornoch Golf Club is spellbinding. It seems to mesmerise amateur and professional golfers from all over the world and many make the pilgrimage to this natural links at some point in their lives.
6
Herbert Warren Wind, "No golfer has completed his education until he has played and studied Royal Dornoch".
I wholeheartedly agree. It is my favorite in Scotland and arguably on Earth. This is an out/back links and the 8th green is the farthest North you will get. However, there are turns in every direction. The first 8 holes go North-East and East. From 10-16 you go South or Southwest. Finally, you cut back North for the 17th before turning back South West for the 18th. Despite being a classic out/back, the few turns in direction will change up the wind a bit more. Also of note, the walk from the 2nd green to the 3rd tee is one of the great reveals in golf. You get to see the course in all of it's splendor-holes 3-16 play along a narrow strip of land along the sea.
What makes Dornoch is the green sites and surrounds. Many of the greens are the Turtleback type-these are built on top of hills or plateaus. However, it isn't all of the greens-there are a couple set into bowls. The rest are on flattish land but still surrounded by some good contour and best lines of approach from the fairway. The greens themselves have tilt to accept/reject shots as well as some inner contour/ridges in them to make putting/recovery shots interesting. Other than the 10th hole, there is an opening for a running shot. This comes in handy for mid to high handicappers but also for everyone when the wind is strong and at their back. The green sites/angles lead to strategic golf. There is definitely a side of the fairway to hit your approach from so that the contours feed your ball onto the greens instead of reject them. Recoveries from the fairway are very difficult if the slopes are not helping.
As for individual holes-Dornoch has about a dozen great to world class holes. That leaves 6 that are not bad by any means but are not bangers. These would be the 1st (how many links have a weak starter?), 7th, 9th, 11th, 16th and 18th (how many links have a weak finisher?).
I will not go into detail on all of the others but here are thoughts:
The par 3s are a great set. The 13th is not a turtleback green but is surrounded by bunkers which makes a well struck shot necessary as a recovery from the bunkers or the rough will not be easy. The 2nd is the first time that you see a turtle back green. There is a runway for you to chase one up. To the left and right side are deep bunkers. If you miss left or right and aren't in the bunkers, then you still have a narrow green to get your ball onto and hope it doesn't run off. Tom Watson called the second shot at Dornoch "The Hardest Shot in Golf". The 6th hole is built into the side of a hill-short or a runner is an option again but you can run back down the hill a bit if too short. There is a bunker short right and then the right side has the same down hill run off as the second. Getting one onto the green and not running off the other side is quite difficult. There are three bunkers on the left side. Getting out of these bunkers and keeping it on the green calls for a safe cracker's touch. The 10th hole has a longer green than the others. However, it has bunkers short of the green so it is all carry-being able to hit a fade will help stop the ball on this green. The green has the same fall offs as 2 and 6 but not quite as severe but recovery is still a matter of choice/execution.
There are only two par 5s. The aforementioned 9th does have a speed slot on the left side. It also plays to an green site that is slightly uphill from the fairway. This hole is one of the best chances at birdie. The 12th hole has a tee shot to a fairway that veers to the left. Chew off as much as you dare. The green site is another slight left turn. However, you will need to be precise as there is a bunker to the right and run offs in the other directions. An up/down from the left is to a green that is now running away from you. A par 5 with multiple routes and options on every shot.
The par 4s have all types of variety. The 5th hole is a drive/pitch. The further left your drive-the better. The uphill, long, narrow green is open from the left. The green is surrounded by bunkers and run offs that come more into play from the center or right side of the fairway. The drivable one is the 15th. Instead of a center line bunker, there is a center line mound. Carry it and you can find yourself on or near the green. The green tilts from right to left so you would rather be on the left side of the fairway but that side is thin. The safe play is to the right as there is plenty of fairway. The aforementioned contours are now working against you. The 8th hole drive plays to the end of the plateau and is then downhill from there-after moving the 7th hole, they were able to put in a new tee which makes this hole play to it's original intent. From the top of this hill, your approach is to a punch bowl like green. If you are a massive hitter, then you might catch the hill and it will run down to the right. The approach from here puts the bunkers short and right into play. Similar is the 17th hole but where you hit is a strategic choice. You can lay up to the top of the hill-the right side of the fairway is best but protected long by a bunker. This leaves an approach of about 150 yards to a green that you can see-it also has a bowl that will gather to the back/right. If you drive down the hill, then your approach is shorter but over bunkers and blind. The best known hole is probably the bunker less 14th-"Foxey". This 445 yard hole plays through dunes on both sides to a plateau green that is 5-10 feet above the fairway. The only way to get there in two is from the left side of the fairway. This allows you to use the slope in front of the green as they will feed the ball on. If coming from the right, the green will reject your shot. The green is also tilted from left to right. An undeniably all world par 4.
To me, when this course is playing firm/fast/fiery (which barring a whole lot of rain is how it does), the golf at Dornoch can't be beat-equaled by a handful of others but not beat. I have been here for 36 a day three times and will be back in summer of '26 for more of the same. It is one of two courses that I play every time that I am in Scotland and it will continue to be on every Scottish itinerary. The day ticket, as you will want to go around twice, is the same price or less than a single round on some of the higher end courses in a World Top 100 (about 510). If looking to save some money, you can get a twilight rate of just 190 pounds. It is a bucket list course if there ever was one and you should get here while you're still a vertical human. It is a course for a lifetime as I don't think that anyone with a golfing soul could ever grow tired of the challenges, variety of shots and recoveries that it offers.
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
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