Royal Dornoch Golf Club
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox golf facility
|golf_facility_name = Royal Dornach Golf Club
|image =
|imagesize =
|caption =
|location = Dornoch, Sutherland,
Scotland, UK
|coordinates = {{coord|57.879|-4.023|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|establishment = 1877, {{Time ago|1877}}
|type =
|owner =
|operator =
|holes = 36
|tournaments =
|greens =
|fairways =
|website = [http://www.royaldornoch.com/ royaldornoch.com]
|course1 = Championship Course
|designer1 =
|par1 = 70
|length1 = {{convert|6748|yd|abbr=on}}
|rating1 = 73
|record1 =
|course2 = Struie Course
|designer2 =
|par2 = 71
|length2 = {{convert|6265|yd|abbr=on}}
|rating2 = 70
|record2 =
|image2 =
|imagesize2 =
|caption2 =
|pushpin_map = UK Scotland
|pushpin_relief = 1
|map_caption = Location in Scotland
|pushpin_mapsize = 240
}}
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 Dornoch has never hosted any of the modern professional tournaments.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/scotland/articles/Scotland-Teeing-off-for-a-wee-dram-at-Royal-Dornoch-Golf-Club/ |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=London |last=Davidson |first=Max |title=Scotland: Teeing off for a wee dram at Royal Dornoch Golf Club |date=14 July 2014 |accessdate=2 July 2016}} The British Amateur Championship was held there in 1985 and the Scottish Amateur in 1993, 2000, 2012, and 2023. The Women's and Men's Senior Amateur championships were held there in 2022.
The Championship Course was ranked No. 2 on the 2024/24 Golf Digest list of Top 100 International (outside U.S.) courses.{{cite web|url=https://www.golfdigest.com/story/worlds-100-greatest-golf-courses-2024-2025|title=World's 100 Greatest Golf Courses|publisher=Golf Digest|access-date=17 September 2024}} David Brice, of Golf International, called it the "king of Scottish links courses".{{cite web|url=http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tourlife/travel/09/23/courseofweek/index.html |title=Royal Dornoch: King of Scottish links courses |accessdate=26 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016110949/http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tourlife/travel/09/23/courseofweek/index.html |archivedate=16 October 2008 }} It was named No. 1 in the world by the online golf reservation service Golfscape.{{Cite web|url=https://royaldornoch.com/royal-dornoch-tops-world-best-courses-leader-board|title=ROYAL DORNOCH TOPS WORLD BEST COURSES LEADER BOARD -|date=16 January 2020|website=Royal Dornoch|language=en-US|access-date=29 January 2020}}{{Better source needed|reason=Citation is to the course's own webside which may not be entirely objective.|date=October 2024}}.
History
Golf was played in Dornoch, over the extensive linksland there, in the early seventeenth century, circa 1616.World Atlas of Golf, 1988 edition 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 {{Time ago|1877}} 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. Several of the original holes were lost to the construction of an airfield during World War II. After the war, George Duncan was commissioned to restore and extend the course over newly acquired land. The work introduced the present 6th through 11th holes on the Championship Course.{{cite web |last1=Carroll |first1=Steve |title=Behind the scorecard: The new 7th hole at Royal Dornoch |url=https://www.nationalclubgolfer.com/news/royal-dornoch-new-7th-hole/ |website=National Club Golfer |access-date=19 July 2022 |date=10 September 2020}}{{cite web |title=Championship Course |url=https://royaldornoch.com/courses/championship-course |publisher=Royal Dornoch Golf Club |access-date=19 July 2022}}
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.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kmhWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-vIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6337%2C2285936|newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington, U.S. |last=Bergum |first=Steve |title=Scottish team, Circling Raven plan gathering|date=14 May 2005|page=C1}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RGdWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FvMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5690%2C10700008 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington, U.S. |last=Bergum |first=Steve |title=Sharing as a matter of course |date=20 September 2005|page=B1}}
In October 2024, the club completed the purchase of {{convert|50|acre|ha}} of land from an adjacent farm for expansion of the Struie Course. Five or six holes were planned for the land, but no timescale was announced.{{cite news |last1=Dorsey |first1=Kristy |title=Royal Dornoch in six-figure acquisition to expand golf course |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24676563.dornoch-six-figure-acquisition-expand-golf-course/ |work=The Herald |date=25 October 2024 |location=Glasgow |page=8 |language=en}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Royal Dornoch Golf Course}}
- {{Official website|http://www.royaldornoch.com/}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Golf clubs and courses in Highland (council area)
Category:1877 establishments in Scotland
Category:Sports venues completed in 1877
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