A Pictorial: Royal Dornoch!!!

[Bob Jenkins]

Kyle,

That was one of the best photo tours of a course I have seen. Thank you very much.

Most importantly, it is clear that the trip you had planned for so long turned out so well. Good for you and the rest of us can benefit from your trip through your pics!  Thanks again.

Bob J

[Andrew Mitchell]

Those are a set of spectular shots Kyle.  You certainly have a good eye for a photograph.  Having seen the list of courses you played I can't wait to see the rest.

I never tire of seeing Dornoch.  The only problem is that it makes me want to get back there, something which isn't practical at the moment.

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle,
Thanks for the pics and commentary on one of my favorite courses. 

Did you have Rich's book before you played the course? 

I had copies hand-delivered by the author at this year's "King's Putter" gala, for a fair price. Ditto his Carnousite and Old Course chronicles. I plan to reread them ASAP.

[ed_getka]

Kyle,
   Thanks for the fantastic photo tour. Dornoch remains one of my favorite courses in the world. If I had to choose only one in Scotland it would be Dornoch. Give me two more choices and I add TOC and North Berwick.
    I too am interested to hear how you enjoyed the links compared to US golf.

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle,
   Thanks for the fantastic photo tour. Dornoch remains one of my favorite courses in the world. If I had to choose only one in Scotland it would be Dornoch. Give me two more choices and I add TOC and North Berwick.
    I too am interested to hear how you enjoyed the links compared to US golf.

The umbrella of US golf includes hundreds of courses that claim to be "links style," as we all know. But, the only courses I've seen stateside that play like the genuine articles are in Bandon, Oregon and the sand hills of Nebraska/Colorado.

I have a feeling that Long Island may offer a few other opportunities for true links play (e.g. NGLA, Shinnecock, Friar's head, parts of Maidstone) to the select few, maybe even Newport in R.I., but the list is woefully short.

Can anyone out there that has explored golf courses more widely than I comment on this front?

[Ron Csigo]

Ron Csigo -

A big plus to spending time in the Dornoch area is that you have one great course there and 3 very good courses (Golspe, Brora & Tain) within a 15-mile radius. The second course at Dornoch is certainly worth playing as well.

With the course at Castle Stuart opening in less than a month and Nairn not far from it (both are no more than a 75-minute drive from Dornoch), I think the Highlands will become much more of a golf destination.

DT   

David,

Is mid-late October a pleasant time to experience the Scottish Highlands?

[David_Tepper]

Ron Csigo -

The latest in the year I have been in Dornoch is September 25 or so. I have talked to people who have visited Dornoch in mid-October and they have enjoyed it. The locals also have told me the weather is very playable that time of year. Getting teetimes on any of the courses there would certainly not be a problem then!

I biggest negative I can think of is that the days are starting to get much shorter. Dornoch is not that far from the Arctic Circle and, in late October, you are only about two months from the winter solstice.

DT     

[Jason McNamara]

Inverness gets 10 hrs of daylight on Oct. 20th, so at least there's time for 54.  That doesn't count twilight, but to count twilight you'd probably have to assume you have sunlight.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

In general, links courses in the British Isles play every bit as well in winter as they do in summer. In the north of Scotland you will not have as many visitors in winter, but, in my experience, you get a huge number of winter visitors to links courses in, say, North Wales in winter because they are easily accessible by motorway in the winter by members of Midland or Northern courses built on clay which are fairly waterlogged for some or most of the winter.

I have to say that Royal Dornoch is one the greatest courses I have experienced - and I have huge experience gaps - even if it is one of the shortest of the great courses.

Great to see the photos.

[Rich Goodale]

[Is mid-late October a pleasant time to experience the Scottish Highlands?

I'm usually up there for a week then (school holidays) and it is a both pleasant and sad time--pleasant in that the golf is still great and the autumn light can be superb, sad in that you know that it is another 6 months before spring will come again......

[JSlonis]

Kyle,

Great photos and threads from Scotland. Dornoch is a glorious place for golf.

For those looking for photos of #10, here's a little different one:

[David_Tepper]

JSlonis -

Nice pic. It addition to showing off the bunkers around the green, it features the only tree on the course.

DT

[Garland Bayley]

Great pictures.

 Also a note for Firefox users. If you right click on the picture and click view image, you can see the full size image, un-trimmed.

Ryan,

You're a genius! Why didn't I think of that? 

Oh, by the way, good job Kyle.
 

[Willie_Dow]

Rich - It's like New England now !  The sun comes up early - by Pennsylvania standards - and it stays around after a scotch or two when the sun goes down at 9 PM.   Buzzards Bay is the same as Woods Hole was when you grew up here - like Dornoch. 
What are the elements that gave our early "golf architects" the incentives to give us the great courses we have today ?

[Morgan Clawson]

Kyle -

GREAT photos.  You have a good eye for selecting interesting photo angles that really brought-out the unique characteristics of RD...

[Andrew Mitchell]

JSlonis
Thanks for posting that picture of the 10th green.

Every time I've played Dornoch the pin postion has been towards the front of the green.  With a following wind I still haven't figured how to get the tee shot near the hole.

[Rich Goodale]

Andrew

Attched is another view of the 10th, showing the front pin.  Downwind when the courses is firm my strategy for that pin is to hit a sand wedge, hoping it will bounce over the front bunkers and then check when it hits the green.  If it ends up in one of the front bunkers, it is one of the easiest up and downs on the course due to the backstop behind the pin.

Bill

Try sunrise at 4am and golf playable at 11pm, as it is now in Fife!  Glad to see that the Western Cape is still magical in the summer.  Someday I'll be back to relive it for myself.

David

That is actually a clump of at least three trees which one sees behind the 10th green.  A veritable forest for a links course (and a veritable lifeline if you forget to use the toilet on the 8th tee....)!

Rich

[Kyle Henderson]

Rich,
You still owe me royalties!.

[Andrew Mitchell]

Rich

Thanks for the strategy tip.  I suspect me trying to land it short of the bunker would result in a visit to sand.

Is there such a thing as an easy up & down from a bunker?

[Rich Goodale]

Andrew

At Dornoch (and most links courses) just open up the lob wedge, slide it under the ball and hit it as high and softly as you can and the ball will pop up and nestle close to the pin.

Kyle

Your royalty check will be waiting in the bar at Aberdour when you next visit Scotland.

Rich

PS--in my lopsided photo you can see the dip to the right of the 10th green.  What is not particulalry evident is the fact that the green slopes very strongly towards the sea to the left.  Getting up and down from the right of the 10th green requries extreme skill and/or divine intervention.

rfg

[Stan Dodd]

Rich,
I have attempted the up and down from the right of the green and my third from the left of the green did get close.  I have also entered the front bunker, a man and his niblick, lucky the bunkers are small and it does not take long to rake them after multiple attempts.

[Anthony Gray]

  bump