At the end of July and early August, I flew into Heathrow, rented a car and drove north. Along the way, I played Alwoodley, Moortown, North Berwick, Gullane #1 and #2, Nairn, Dornoch and Troon, with a pause toward the end to explore Skye. It was an incredible trip, where I met some great people and played a number of unforgettable courses. I'm not going to rank them, but I will say ...
Alwoodley is one of the best non-seaside courses I've played. It was the first round of my trip. I had a 3:00 tee time, but I got there at 10:30 because I was anxious to see it. A member heard me check in and asked if I wanted to join him, and that's how my trip began.
North Berwick was everything I'd hoped for and more. I didn't realize how much a part of the town it is, and while I expected the people there to be friendly, it really was incredibly welcoming. The course itself was fun at every turn. The weather added to the experience ... sunny and calm on the way out, raining and windy on the way back. It is easily one of my favorite courses.
But ...
Dornoch.
Wow.
I wasn't even planning on playing Dornoch. I played Nairn in the morning to break up my drive to Skye. Got back to my hotel around 4:00 on a perfect Friday afternoon. Saw that Dornoch was less than an hour and a half north and figured what the hell. Got back in my car and drove up. Had a nice chat with the girl in the pro shop who couldn't have been nicer. In no way did I expect to get on the course, but she told me to go get my clubs, and next thing I knew I was teeing off. Barely saw a soul on the course.
I played the first five or six holes — maybe more — with a smile on my face. I played all 18 in under two and a half hours. On the par 3 13th, an old man and his grandson were sitting on a bench enjoying the evening. They watched me tee off, I hit a good shot, and they came over to the 14th (Foxy) to watch. (As a side note, I learned later that the old guy lives in Troon but has been coming to Dornoch every summer for the last 40 years. That's how much he loves it.) Anyway, he must have noticed that I had no idea where to aim ... it's a beautiful and confusing hole from the tee. So he pointed me in the right direction, with his grandson translating because I understood about 20% of what he said ... thick accent. They walked with me the rest of the way, explaining the holes and how to play them. It was a perfect experience.
I might go so far as to say Dornoch is as close to perfect as any course I've ever played. Ever since I played Shinnecock a few years ago, that had been far and away my favorite course, and Dornoch surpassed it. When I return to Scotland, I'm pretty sure I'll just stay in or near Dornoch and play that course over and over, and add Brora, Golspie and Tain to the rotation. It's an amazing area.
Here are a few pics from the day:
