Order 'A History of The Royal Dornoch Golf Club 1877-1999' by past captain John Macleod from this web site!

Long before a golf club was formed at Dornoch, the game of golf was played on the town lands on the links along the seashore. Sometimes it was frowned on by authority because presumably there was a need for their subjects to practise more warlike activities and good marksmen were needed more than good golfers.

The first three golf links in Scotland of which there is written record are: 1552, St Andrews; 1593, Leith; 1616, Dornoch.It was in 1877 that the Dornoch Golf Club was founded as the successor of the Sutherland Golfing Society whose members played at Dornoch and Golspie. The course was then only 9 holes long. The annual subscription to the club was 2/6 and the annual income was £3 18s 6d. But changes were in store. The great Tom Morris came up from St Andrews and laid out 9 proper golf holes. Three years later another 9 holes were added and the fame of the Dornoch course started to spread, even across the Atlantic to America.

About the turn of the century the great Sandy Herd first played with the new rubber-cored ball and out of fashion went the old gutty. John Sutherland, the Club’s Secretary who guided the fortunes of the Club for over 50 years, and his committee, had to remodel the course as a result of the faster ball and Dornoch became for a time the 5th longest course in Britain.In 1906 through the influence of Duchess Millicent of Sutherland the club was granted the Royal Charter by King Edward the Seventh and Royal Dornoch Golf Club was born.

The superb Carnegie Shield was presented to the club by Mr and Mrs. Andrew Carnegie in 1901 for annual competition, and the link with the United States was forged more closely when they opened a new clubhouse in 1909.The Second World War saw an aerodrome in being on the Ladies 18 hole course on the lower links and 4 holes of the championship course were lost. In the late 1940s the decision was taken to construct further holes out towards Embo and once again the House of Sutherland helped by leasing the land (later purchased) to the Club. This was largely the work of George Duncan for John Sutherland had died in 1941. A restricted 9 hole relief course was formed known as the Struie. This has now been developed to a full 18 holes.

Dornoch is far from the main centres of population and so has never been host to the most widely advertised national championships. Nevertheless it has hosted through the years the Northern Open; the Scottish Ladies; and the Scottish Professional Championships. Improved transport systems have helped international golfers and a stream of personalities visit the Club and their praise is unstinting. Tom Watson headed North in 1981, the year after winning the third of five Open Championships at Muirfield. He arrived to play 18 holes, but had three rounds and 'the most fun I’ve ever had on a golf course'. Tom Watson, now an Honorary Member of the Club, returned before the 1996 Open at Lytham and his view of the course has not changed. Other Honorary members are HRH Prince Andrew and Ben Crenshaw and more recent celebrities to visit the course include such notables as Greg Norman, Mark Brooks and Jack Nicholson.