How to Plan a Links Course Trip
Old TamApr 28, 2025
LD TAM LINKS GOLF
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When you mention the Scottish Highlands, most people immediately think of the Whiskeys. They are indeed my favorites—Macallan, Balvenie, Glenmorangie, and Highland Park. But in recent years, more people head north to “where the polar bears gather firewood’ as Chris McBride, The Last Caddie described it.
Along with the Kintyre Peninsula, it is my favorite golf destination. Why, you ask? Simply put, the village of Dornoch and one of the big four Links courses--Royal Dornoch. Add in Brora to the mix, and maybe Castle Stuart as a chaser, and you have yourself a great links golf trip.
Whether you fly into Inverness, train it up from Glasgow or Edinburgh, or go old school and drive, it is a great destination. The mountains, rivers and coastline (Moray Firth) combine to make the views nothing short of spectacular.
If you do not play golf, or even if you do, the fishing is incredible as well. Do yourself and your friends a favor. Don’t just go to St. Andrews and East Lothian--take dead-aim on the Village of Dornoch.
-Old Tam
Royal Dornoch - Championship
Royal Dornoch is necessary for every lover of links golf. It is often mentioned along with Royal Troon, Prestwick and Ballybunion as the top four true classic links courses. In the 1964 article in the New Yorker called North to the Links of Dornoch, Pete Dye had said to one of the greatest golf writers of all time, Herbert Warren Wind.
“No other links has quite the ageless aura Dornoch does. When you play it, you get the feeling you could be living just as easily in the eighteen hundreds, or even the seventeen hundreds. If an old Scot in a red jacket had popped out from behind a sand dune, beating a feather ball, I wouldn’t have blinked an eye.”
Then there was this explanation of Hole #3 (Earl’s Cross) in the Guide/Yardage book: The course opens before you. Sea, hills, sweeping fairways. Pause to admire the natural beauty around you and appreciate what the Creator and humans can do together.
I think the best way to describe Royal Dornoch is that it gives you the pleasurable excitement of links golf that Alistair MacKenzie spoke about. It is indeed an aura. Unique, joyous, challenging, The Dunes, North Sea and Highlands combine to make it extraordinarily beautiful. It should be the anchor of any trip north “to where the Polar Bears gather firewood!”
Royal Dornoch from the highest dune
Royal Dornoch #16, appropriately dubbed ‘High Hole”
Royal Golf Hotel Pub, just steps from the 1st tee
Royal Dornoch to the North
Brora Golf Club
Brora is a James Braid design from 1891 and an incredibly special place. We were greeted with a wee dram from the head pro Malcom Murray and had an enjoyable conversation. After he warned us about the sheep, and electric fences around the greens, he gave us the only direction we would need—do not hit to the 17th green left off the first tee, rather, turn right, toward the beach, can’t miss it.
We strapped our bags in our trollies and were on our way.
Brora truly is “where the hill meets the sea.” Such a different vibe than any of the courses we had played in our first two legs of the trip. A big part of that is the Highlands. The 360° views were impeccable from every single tee box. Brora resides on a special piece of land, and it routes along a beautiful wide beach—I wish we had time to walk it and run with the local dogs.
It is a classic out/in links course and is a par-70, with only two par fives. My favorite was #11, Achrimsdale Burn, at 490 yards, with its namesake dissecting the fairway early on, and winding out to the North Sea.
All the par threes were fun, and second only to Mach Dunes and Royal Troon. Number 6, Witch, and number 13, Snake were my favorites. It reminded me of a flatter Postage Stamp from Troon, at only 110 yards.
As we approached the 18th, appropriately dubbed Home Hole, Scooter and I talked about our first Highland golf experience. If we were not hungry and tired from the long day of travel, we could have headed back out for another eighteen holes. It was a fast round, right at about three hours, and a great walk. We hit the 19th hole upstairs and soaked in the beautiful view of numbers 18 and 1 and the North Sea beyond.
Along with Machrihanish, Royal Dornoch, and Cruden Bay this is one that I cannot wait to get back to.
-Old Tam
The famous electric fences at Brora
#1 Green out to the North Sea
Ominous Clouds but didn’t get Wet
Feeling Good about The Highlands
Castle Stuart Golf Club (Cabot Highlands)
My only complaint about Castle Stuart is that we played it the day after Royal Dornoch. That is like taking the stage after Led Zepplin or The Rolling Stones—just not fair. I think Castle Stuart is a beautiful design, with wide-open fairways and huge greens with undulations and a lot of buried Volkswagen Buses. It was very Doak-like.
The tees that come with your gift-bag and birdie biscuit from the starter all have sayings on them that are Gil Hanse’s thoughts about the designs of holes: Mackenzie Perspective. Landscape Mosaic –which is my favorite, and very appropriate--Infinity Edges, Width of Play, Seclusion ofHoles, and Angles of Attack. All great descriptions, and a creative idea!
They describe the course in and of themselves--minus the beautiful views. Hanse did do a wonderful job on the green complexes. If Mach Dunes’ greens were Salvador Dali on acid, then these were certainly Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Cabot did well here, and it will only get better, as the 2nd course, currently under construction by Tom Doak will open soon, along with more on-site accommodation. That will make for a destination in and of itself, just add a heaping tablespoon of Brora and Royal Dornoch, mix well, and spend a week.
-Enjoy! Old Tam
Old Tam himself, ready to tackle the long par-3 17th
Old Tom Morris Trail – Highlands
Whereas I have played the first two stops, last two, and Cruden Bay in the middle of the Trail, I hope to play these 3 courses on our next trip to Scotland and the Highlands. I have heard wonderful things about Tain and Nairn from both locals and Americans during our travels.
Tain Golf Club
Nairn Golf Club
Moray Golf Club (OLD)
The Highlands off the course
First off, take dead aim at The Highlands. For years they were ‘the end of the earth’ as they were hard to get to, but now with a new, easier to navigate highway, bridge, and easy train rides, it has become much more popular.
Whereas you can stay in many areas (Brora, Tain, Inverness, and Cabot Highlands), my recommendation is to spend your time in Dornoch. It is a quaint, easy to walk village, with everything that you need. One of my wishes is one of these years to spend a month there --preferably August.
Whether you are there for a few nights, or weeks, it is a great base camp.
Lodging:
There are many options, including Airbnb’s, homes for rent and Hotels/Inns: My favorite -
The Royal Golf Hotel (Dornoch)
https://www.highlandcoasthotels.com/royal-golf-dornoch/stay Phone: +44 1862 810283
The Hotel is right next to Royal Dornoch, make sure you sit in the side yard Adirondack chairs with a cocktail and gaze out at the course, and the North Sea beyond.
It has the main Hotel/Building, as well as Apartments for longer stays. The pub and library are quaint and the restaurant, open from breakfast till 9:00 p.m. and has great food.
The Marine & Lawn: https://marineandlawn.com/dornochstation/
The Royal Golf Hotel
Dornoch Woodlands
https://www.dornochwoodlands.co.uk/
The Old Bank Apartment House
https://www.bankholidaysdornoch.com/old-bank-house-apartment
Links House at Royal Dornoch
https://www.linkshousedornoch.com/
The Royal Marine Hotel (Brora)
https://www.highlandcoasthotels.com/royal-marine-brora/stay
Restaurants & Pubs-Dornoch:
Crenshaw’s Brasserie, Inside the Royal Dornoch Hotel
https://www.highlandcoasthotels.com/royal-golf-dornoch/dining
Luigi - https://www.luigidornoch.com/
We had the pleasure of meeting the Proprietor of Luigis, an ex-pat, and what a great match of food and atmosphere—Open for coffees/espressos in the morning, and a wonderful dinner—it is one of the hubs and gathering places (along with the Bookstore) of Dornoch!
Coach House Bar & Restaurant https://www.coachhousedornoch.co.uk/
