Earliest written evidence of golf in Dornoch when Privy Councillor Sir Robert Gordon of Sutherland, tutor to his nephew the 13th Earl of Sutherland, submits an expense account for ‘’My Lord’s Golf Clubs and Golf Balls’

‘Item ten poundis guven this yeir for bowes, arrowes, golff clubbes, and balls, with other necessars for his L[ordship’s] exercise.’ 

In 1630 Sir Robert made the observation ‘About this toun, along the sea road, ther are the fairest and lairgest links of any pairt of Scotland...’

9 holes of golf are laid down on dunes land. Dornoch Town Council gives permission for the Sutherland Golfing Society to play golf on Dornoch links. 

Citizens of the Royal Burgh of Dornoch and its founding fathers, Alexander McHardy and Dr. John Gunn, meet to form the Dornoch Golf Club. 

Alex McHardy becomes the first secretary of Dornoch Golf Club. 

“Mr Machardy may well be called the pioneer of Golf in the North. He is an enthusiast of no ordinary kind, and in the early days of Dornoch he coached many beginners at the expense of much of his time and patience, to a mad devotion to the game.’ 

The Silver Medal is engraved with the Dornoch Golf Club’s crest, incorporating the inverted horseshoe of Dornoch which commemorates the 13th century Battle of Embo and the Highland wildcat. 

In the first decade, the Club’s most prestigious medal is won five times by Alex McHardy. John Sutherland is also a dominant figure, winning a total of 11 medals, nine of them consecutively from 1888. It is a record which still stands today.  

The Silver Medal is now played for by members during the Carnegie Shield week in August. 

A club member from 1881, at the tender age of 19, John Sutherland is appointed Dornoch Club Secretary and goes on to become the most influential figure in the history of the Club. 

Sutherland’s ambition over the next 20 years is to develop and achieve a first-class golf course on the links. 

A journalist, Town Clerk, scratch golfer, founder member of Scottish golf administration and a course designer, Sutherland serves the Club, and the Highlands, for the next 58 years. 

The 12^th hole on the Championship Course, designed by Sutherland, is named in his memory. 

Veteran champion and the “Grand Old Man of Golf,” Old Tom Morris, visits Dornoch, surveys the links and lays out a more developed golf course of 18 holes measuring 5285 yards on the Common Good land of the Royal Burgh.  

When the course extension is complete Old Tom, four times winner of The Open, partnered by John Sutherland and Captain John Leslie, plays the course. Morris scores a near faultless round of 80. Of the links he declares: “There canna be better for gowf.” 

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John Leslie, later the first Captain of the Dornoch Golf Club applies on behalf of the Sutherland Golfing Society, to lease ground on the links to build a Golf House. A modest three roomed wooden structure with a corrugated iron roof, it serves the Club well for the next 22 years.  

Club members and caddies gather outside the new Golf House. 

At the Annual General Meeting of 1891, members agree to extend the Course, mostly on the Lower Links. Eight holes on the 1892 map are still visible today: the 3rd and 4^th and the 12th through to the 17th. 

A graphic illustration by Lancelot Speed entitled ‘The Golf Tournament at Dornoch, Sutherlandshire’, published in The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, September 9, 1893. It features among others, John Sutherland, winner of the Silver Medal five years in succession and Captain Leslie. In the distance is the Club-house and a view of the Dornoch Castle and Cathedral.

Born in Dornoch in 1872, Donald Ross tees off on the 17^th, “The Witch”, now the 18th tee on the Struie.  

He serves as Dornoch’s “keeper of the greens” and the Club’s first Professional from 1893-1898. In 1899 he emigrates to the USA becoming one of the greats of golf course architecture. A prolific golf course designer of over 400 courses predominantly in North America, Donald is heavily influenced by the topography of his hometown course. Donald is followed to the US by his younger brother Alec  who wins the US Open in 1907 – a feat his older brother is unable to match.

Of Dornoch, Donald Ross later writes: ‘Modesty forbids me saying more than it is the most beautifully situated links in the world, and that no American golfer should omit to go there, where he will find the best golf, a royal welcome and no rabble.” 

Andrew Carnegie of Skibo Castle presents the splendid silver shield to Dornoch Golf Club.  

Finely crafted by Glasgow firm James Weir and Co for the sum of £120 the Carnegie Shield is the Club’s most prestigious trophy. In addition to local landmarks, the Shield’s splendid iconography reflects the Club’s close ties to the United States which endures to this day. Its allure remains as potent as ever, attracting amateur golfers from far and wide to Dornoch. It is played for annually during Tournament Week in August.  

Mrs Louise Carnegie, Andrew Carnegie and Arthur Ryle presenting prizes during Carnegie Shield week. 

The Northern Counties Cup is first played for in 1900. Dornoch does not play until 1902 and then over the next decade, establishes Dornoch as a venue for excellent golf and golfers. Dornoch’s elite players including John Sutherland, Thomas Grant, Walter Matheson and Donald Grant win the trophy for an astonishing 10 consecutive years.

JH Taylor, 5 times Open winner, spends his summer holidays in Dornoch from 1904 until 1907. He advises John Sutherland, Club Secretary, on the design of the Course extension. A few years later he wrote…’the finest test of golfing capacity is the one that presents to the player a variety of strokes, and according to my ideas, Dornoch Links fulfils these ideas.’

Through the influence of Her Grace the Duchess of Sutherland, Duchess Millicent, King Edward VII bestows the title of ‘Royal’ on Dornoch Golf Club.

In a bid to elevate Dornoch to Open Championship standard, the Course is lengthened to 6005 yards which includes an 85 yard extension of the 14th hole, Foxy. The Ladies Course is also extended.

A crowd of around 1000 descends on the links to watch an exhibition match featuring the 1906 Open champion James Braid and another legend, Harry Vardon. The finest golfers of their era, they are hailed as “The Great Triumvirate,” along with regular Dornoch summer visitor John Henry “JH” Taylor. 

Vardon, a record six-time Open champion, later writes to the club, stating: “You have indeed got a fine course up there at Dornoch. I should think it is the best in Scotland.” 

Dornoch is prospering. Accessibility due to the Dornoch Light Railway, means summer visitors, especially Londoners, can arrive from King’s Cross in 24 hours! Substantial houses and hotels are being built.

An impressive new clubhouse opens at Royal Dornoch. Among the luminaries at the official opening are Andrew Carnegie, of Skibo Castle, and his wife Louise.

Captain Ryle and John Sutherland escort a suffragette protester off the course. Not for the first time has Prime Minister Asquith been accosted at Royal Dornoch. The previous year while playing with Home Secretary McKenna, two suffragettes assaulted the PM.

Hailing from Surrey, the Wethered and Holderness families for many years, spend their summer holidays in Dornoch. Joyce Wethered wins the British Open Ladies Championship 4 times, is 5 times winner of the Royal Dornoch Ladies’ Silver Medal.

Brother Roger becomes the British Amateur Champion in 1923 and is a runner up in the 1921 Open. He wins the Royal Dornoch Silver Medal 3 times and also the Carnegie Shield in 1921.

Ernest Holderness also enjoys an illustrious amateur golfing career winning the Amateur Championship in 1922 and 1924. John Sutherland encourages and closely follows Ernest’s career. Ernest wins the Dornoch Silver Medal 3 times and, in consecutive years 1923 – 24, wins the Carnegie Shield.

Son of Dornoch and one-time club caddie, Bob MacDonald wins the first ever Texas Open.

Bob goes on to rub shoulders with Bobby Jones and is a noted tutor of Babe Zaharias and Gene Sarazen.

One of the longest drivers of the day, Bob endorses his own line of clubs, pens ‘Golf’ his best-selling golf tuition manual and tutors the stars of the day including Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

Brothers, Bill and Jack follow Bob to the US to also forge golfing careers.

While back in Dornoch from the USA for a summer holiday in 1921, Donald Ross is approached by the Club to advise on “radical’ improvements to the first and second holes.  However, it is not until 1927 that most of Ross’s designs are approved by the membership and it takes another year before the holes are completed. The 2nd becomes one of the most iconic par 3 holes in golf. 

The Northern Open Championship, or the Northern Open Amateur and Professional Tournament as it was then called, is hosted by Royal Dornoch for the first time.  

The Town Council contributes £5 towards the costs. Dick Walker of Cruden Bay takes the honours after an 18-hole play-off win over Willie Park of Lanark.  They had been tied on 298 after four rounds.

Eric Brown, a future Ryder Cup captain, claims the title when the event returns to the Championship Course 19 years later.

Royal Dornoch hosts the South African touring team of outstanding amateurs, which includes Bobby Locke, regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time, winning the Open Championship four times.  

Playing against the home team, Locke on the left, putts out on 13th hole, now the 1st on the Struie course. The home team which included J S (Kernie) Macrae, emerges victorious! 

World War Two bombers are stationed at Dornoch. The entirety of the Ladies course on the lower links, three holes on the Championship Course and the clubhouse are requisitioned by the Air Ministry for the duration of the war.  

The landing ground is decommissioned in 1945. 

Compensation for the loss of the courses and clubhouse is finally settled in January 1950. The delay in payment poses a serious financial threat to the Club’s existence. 

The Championship Course is extended. George Duncan, the 1920 Open champion, advises on the lay-out of two new holes towards Embo. However, it is generally believed today that the design of the the 7th and 8th holes was originally mooted by Dornoch’s head greenkeeper and professional, Robbie Grant. 

The first Lady Captain at Royal Dornoch is appointed. Mrs Betty McCulloch (aka Mrs Betty Mackay and Mrs. Betty Booker Milburn) is Dornoch’s outstanding post war lady golfer. Winner of 14 Ladies Silver Medals (1933, 36, 38, and 51 to 61) Betty is a semi-finalist in the 1956 Scottish Ladies’ Championship.

The Scottish Ladies’ Championship is played at Royal Dornoch for the first time. Jessie Valentine wins the Championship for the sixth time. Jessie dominates women’s golf for 20 years from the 1930’s through to the 1950’s, winning the British Ladies Amateur three times. 

Royal Dornoch hosts the Scottish Ladies Championship again in 1962, 1971, 1977, 1984 and 1996. 

Herbert Warren Wind, one of America’s greatest golf writers, pens for the June issue of the New Yorker magazine ‘North to the Links of Dornoch’ which proves to be hugely influential in raising the profile of Royal Dornoch in the USA. 

While noting the then challenges involved in journeying to the Highlands, he observes: “This same remoteness explains the unique position that Dornoch has long held in golf; for over half a century it has been regarded as one of the outstanding courses in the world by men close to the heart of the game, yet very few have ever played it.” 

Warren Wind becomes an honorary life member at Royal Dornoch.

World famous singer, actor and avid golfer, Bing Crosby arrives at Royal Dornoch. The American star is regarded as one of the icons of 20^th Century culture, with more than 1600 recordings and 70-plus films. 

100 YEARS 

The Club celebrates its Centenary, with a grand dinner held at the Burghfield House Hotel attended by guests including the Captain of The R&A and the president of the Scottish Golf Union. 

The anniversary is marked with a flurry of Scottish championships including the Scottish Ladies’ Championship, the Northern Open, the North District of the Scottish Golf Union Championship, the Northern Counties Cup and the Sutherland County Championship.  

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A landmark year as Royal Dornoch hosts The R&A Home Internationals for the first time, with England emerging victorious. 

It is a source of immense pride for the golf club. The event dates to 1932 at Troon and other previous Scottish hosts have included Prestwick, Muirfield, Turnberry, Carnoustie and Gullane. 

The calibre of golfer taking to the links is impressive, with Irish duo Ronan Rafferty and Philip Walton among those going on to make their mark in the professional ranks. 

Ben Crenshaw, the two times Masters Champion, makes the journey to Royal Dornoch with club member Mark McCormack of IMG. When asked if he enjoyed his trip, famously Ben tells the secretary of The R&A that he almost didn’t come back! 

Another multiple Majors winner, Tom Watson arrives 1981, the year after winning at Muirfield – the third of five Open Championships. He intends to play 18 holes with Sandy Tatum, former president of the USGA, but enjoys a further two rounds. Tom famously declares it’s ‘the most fun I’ve ever had on a golf course.” 

Tom along with fellow American Ben, are made an Honorary Members of the Club in 1985 in recognition of the roles they played in bringing Royal Dornoch to the attention of golfers in the USA and beyond. 

Royal Dornoch successfully hosts the 100^th Amateur Championship, justifying the R&A’s decision to bring the high-profile event to the Highlands for the first time. The Amateur and the US Amateur are the foremost amateur tournaments in golf. 288 elite golfers from around the globe converge on Dornoch.  

Irishman Garth McGimpsey posts an 8 & 7, 36-hole final win over Englishman Graham Homewood.

Royal Dornoch member Mrs Nell Macdonald, an 11 handicapper, is on the bag throughout the week for Garth..  

Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal is blown off course by an opening round 86 as the fierce wind wrecks his plans to mount a successful defense of his title.  

American President Bill Clinton is royally welcomed to Royal Dornoch. A keen golfer, he wanted to add the Championship Course to his list. 

After their round, pro Andrew Skinner confirms that President Clinton has been persuaded by the Junior Convenor to hand out prizes to the youngsters.

Andrew, pictured with Maurice Smith, says: “His advisors were saying they didn’t have time but Bill said he’d do it. So a former American president duly presented these primary school kids with their prizes. He was a class act.” 

 Royal Dornoch has welcomed an array of Major winners down the years but The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus himself, creates quite a stir.  

Pros Andrew Skinner and Gary Dingwall have been requested to keep their lips sealed before Jack’s low-key arrival but word quickly gets out in the town and the gallery grows with each passing hole. 

Royal Dornoch Golf Club hosts the R&A’s under 18 amateur boys’ team competition, the Jacques Leglise Trophy which features elite golfers from Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. A young Viktor Hovland plays for Continental Europe. Past top golfers include Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia. 

Royal Dornoch Golf Club and the Royal Burgh of Dornoch celebrate 400 years of golf being played on the links from 1616. 

Amongst a year-long calendar of events, Royal golf clubs from around the world converge on Dornoch to celebrate the occasion. 

A time capsule, to be opened in 100 years’ time is buried under the path from the 18^th green following the traditional New Year’s Day match “East o’ the Burn v West o’ the Burn”. 

Royal Dornoch members vote in favour of building a new clubhouse, but plans drawn-up for the project are forced to go on hold due to the wide ranging impact of 2020 global pandemic. 

1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie officially opens the new-look 7^th hole on the Championship Course. In 2023 Paul is officially presented with honorary membership of Royal Dornoch. 

Designed by Tom Mackenzie, of Ebert and Mackenzie, “Pier” has been pivoted to the right of the previous line to make the most of the spectacular sea views, with the greenkeepers crafting a precise replica of the original laid down in 1949. 

New raised tees on the 8^th hole turn back the clock to days when most second shots were played from the upper level of the links.  

 The R&A host the International Women’s and Men’s Senior Amateur Championships to run concurrently for the first time over both courses at Royal Dornoch Golf Club. Elite amateurs from around the world arrive in Dornoch in an historic first. Mike McCoy and Terrill Samuel are eventual winners in a week in which wild weather dominates play. 

Renowned award-winning Canadian journalist and author Lorne Rubenstein is presented with Life Membership of Royal Dornoch in recognition of his role in championing the club and the Scottish Highlands over many years. 

His classic book “A Season in Dornoch” continues to attract readers and inspire trips to the area to enjoy the culture, the architecture, the history and, of course, the golf on offer. 

Lorne admits “the links seep into one’s soul and sometimes I wonder whether Dornoch has spoiled me for golf just about anywhere else.” 

The R&A Vagliano Women’s Amateur International Trophy & the Junior Vagliano Trophy. 

Playing at Dornoch for the first time, the Europeans dominated, winning the Vagliano Trophy and retaining the Junior Vagliano Trophy. 

Two years after the £13.9 million project was given the go-ahead by club members, they enjoy the first opportunity to step inside their eagerly awaited new clubhouse. 

It will transform the off-course offering for members and our many visitors from home and abroad. 

Days before long-standing members Christine Murray, former pro Willie Skinner and Sander MacDonald were invited to step inside by captain Gary Bethune, they had joined members bidding a fond farewell to the old clubhouse, which had been home since 1909. 

Royal Dornoch announces it is partnering with Tennessee-based golf course architects King Collins Dormer to develop an ambitious masterplan to enhance the club’s facilities. 

Looking ahead, this will enhance the Struie Course, create a new third 18-hole course and develop practice facilities including a Par 3 course, driving range and short game challenges. 

KCD personnel make the journey from the USA to present the exciting masterplan to club members. 

Improvements to the Struie Course begin with the addition of a new Par 3 hole on linksland by the Dornoch Firth. 

The greenkeeping team under the watchful eye of course manager Eoin Riddell helps turn the vision of architect and club member Tom Mackenzie into reality. 

It is the only hole on either course to face south-east, providing a unique challenge.