Royal Dornoch Golf Club

Royal Dornoch Golf Club is a golf club in Dornoch, Sutherland, Scotland. It is generally referred to as Royal Dornoch. The club has two 18-hole courses: the Championship Course and the Struie Course. The older Championship Course is a links course located on the Dornoch Firth.

Royal Dornach Golf Club

Club information
Location in Scotland
Coordinates	57.879°N 4.023°W / 57.879; -4.023
Location	Dornoch, Sutherland, Scotland, U.K.
Established	1877, 143 years ago
Total holes	36
Website	royaldornoch.com
Championship Course
Par	70
Length	6,748 yd (6,170 m)
Course rating	73
Slope rating	136[1]
Struie Course
Par	71
Length	6,265 yd (5,729 m)
Course rating	70
Slope rating	125[2]

Royal Dornoch has never hosted any of the modern professional tournaments.[3] The British Amateur Championship was held there in 1985 and the Scottish Amateur in 1993, 2000, and 2012.

The Championship Course was ranked #3 on the 2007 Golf Digest list of Top 100 International (outside U.S.) courses. David Brice, of Golf International, called it the "king of Scottish links courses".[4]

The internationally renowned Championship Course at Royal Dornoch Golf Club was named #1 in the world by the online golf reservation service golfscape.[5]

History

Golf was played in Dornoch, over the extensive linksland there, in the early seventeenth century, circa 1616.[6] Expenses covering the cost of a young aristocrat's golf clubs in 1616 have provided the earliest evidence so far of the sport's presence in Dornoch. John, the 13th Earl of Sutherland, was sent to the town in Sutherland to be educated. The reference was uncovered by researcher Wade Cormack, who is a PhD student at the University of the Highlands and Islands. The current golf club was established 143 years ago in 1877, and was awarded its royal status in 1906 by King Edward VII. The design of the Championship Course is attributed to Old Tom Morris.

Tom Watson is an honorary member of Royal Dornoch, and is quoted as saying of Dornoch: "It's the most fun I've ever had on a golf course" which was the home of the course architect Donald Ross.

Members of the club traveled to the northwest United States in September 2005 for a friendly international competition and cultural exchange with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe at their Circling Raven Golf Club in northern Idaho.[7][8]

Scorecard

Royal Dornoch Championship Course

Tee	Rating/Slope	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Championship	74 / 136	331	184	413	422	353	161	479	434	529	3306	174	449	560	180	445	360	401	417	456	3416	6722
Medal	73 / 134	331	177	413	422	353	161	479	434	529	3299	146	446	535	171	445	322	401	405	456	3327	6626
Regular	71 / 129	302	167	398	402	312	156	464	389	491	3081	142	434	490	148	439	300	395	390	446	3184	6265
Par	Men's	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	5	35	3	4	5	3	4	4	4	4	4	35	70
Handicap	Men's	13	5	11	3	15	9	1	7	17		14	4	16	12	2	18	8	10	6
Red	M:69/126 W:76/139	266	160	389	392	306	137	408	375	435	2868	132	426	472	137	401	290	387	384	437	3066	5934
Par	Women's	4	3	4	5	4	3	5	4	5	37	3	5	5	3	5	4	5	4	5	39	76
Handicap	Women's	7	15	1	9	3	17	11	5	13		16	8	4	18	2	10	12	6	14

Source:[1]

References

1. "Championship Course" (PDF). Royal Dornach Golf Club. (scorecard). Retrieved 2 July 2016.
2. "Struie Course" (PDF). Royal Dornach Golf Club. (scorecard). Retrieved 2 July 2016.
3. Davidson, Max (14 July 2014). "Scotland: Teeing off for a wee dram at Royal Dornoch Golf Club". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
4. "Royal Dornoch: King of Scottish links courses". Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
5. "ROYAL DORNOCH TOPS WORLD BEST COURSES LEADER BOARD -". Royal Dornoch. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
6. World Atlas of Golf, 1988 edition
7. Bergum, Steve (14 May 2005). "Scottish team, Circling Raven plan gathering". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington, U.S. p. C1.
8. Bergum, Steve (20 September 2005). "Sharing as a matter of course". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington, U.S. p. B1.

External links

• Official website