IF you were asked to name a golf course in Scotland, chances are you would pick St Andrews.
The Home of Golf is the most famous set of 18 holes anywhere in the world – but it’s NOT the best course in country, a new vote has found.
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And the course in question has been ranked as the second best in the WORLD.
Prestigious golf magazine Golf Digest has just released their latest list of the world’s 100 greatest golf courses.
Published every two years, a place in the rankings is a huge honour.
So if the Old Course at St Andrews is only good enough for third in this list, what tops it?
It’s a name known to any serious golfer but for the average fan – maybe even some Scots – they’ll never have heard of it.
A place described by eight-time major winner and golf legend Tom Watson as the most fun he’d ever had on a golf course, is Royal Dornoch.
It’s dramatic and remote Highlands location, situated along the north shore and sandy beach of the Dornoch Firth, makes it a stunning place to tee up and as a result is a bucket list destination for many golfers.
Royal Dornoch was laid out by Old Tom Morris (the same man responsible for the Old Course at St Andrews), John Sutherland, George Duncan and Tom Mackenzie. It is the latest revision by Mackenzie, of renowned course architects Mackenzie and Ebert, that have attributed to Dornoch’s rise in the rankings.
It’s a classic links routing in that the first stretch of holes head out towards the sea, with the other half coming back inland.
Dornoch was the home course of Donald Ross, who also worked as a greenkeeper. If you’ve heard his name before it’s because he was the man who designed Pinehurst No.2, the venue for this year’s US Open.
What sets Pinehurst apart from many of its rivals are its greens, and they take inspiration from Dornoch. Most links courses allow players to bump-and-run the ball up to towards the pin but at Dornoch many of the greens are elevated, so it provides golfers with an added challenge to land it close whilst dealing with the harsh coastal winds.
But perhaps unlike Pinehurst, the greens at Royal Dornoch don’t feel unfair. They are punishing, but not brutal.
The fairways are immaculate (and rather wide), flanked by bright yellow gorse bushes that look nice on the eye but are treacherous for a scorecard.
And the views are second to none out across the North Sea.
The beauty of Royal Dornoch is that it’s about as natural as a golf course can be. Golf was first recorded as having been played on the terrain over 500 years ago in 1616. Man has barely altered what was already there, only painted a golf course on top of the canvas of the land.
And yet every single bush, every single ridge, every single hump and hollow, has a purpose. It makes golfers think about every single shot.
Last time these rankings were updated, Royal Dornoch came in third place which means for this latest release, the course has jumped up one place.
Alongside the latest improvements to holes seven and eight, the club is currently developing a new £13.9 million clubhouse as it counts down to its 150th anniversary in 2027.
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Neil Hampton, general manager of Royal Dornoch Golf Club, said: “Obviously we are thrilled to be regarded so highly in the Golf Digest rankings, especially as many of the panellists will now have experienced the realigned 7th and 8th holes, which are the biggest changes made here since George Duncan, the 1920 Open Champion, worked up plans to extend the Championship Course towards Embo in the late 1940s.
“Golf in Dornoch can be traced back more than 400 years and continues to play a key role in the life of the town and the wider Highlands.
“Tom Mackenzie, of acclaimed architects Mackenzie and Ebert and a long-time club member, worked closely with course manager Eoin Riddell and his greenkeeping team to ensure the changes designed to future proof the course would blend seamlessly with the natural landscape which Royal Dornoch has been blessed with.”
So if Royal Dornoch is so magnificent and spellbinding, you’d think it would be in line to host an Open someday.
But that will NEVER happen.
The tiny northern outpost of Dornoch, population 1,430, certainly wouldn’t be able to cope with the mass of people that would flood in for such a tournament.
It’s not just the pros and the fans you have to account for, but caddies, friends and family, not to mention the media.
The town also doesn’t have a train station and there is only one A road serving the area (North Coast 500 enthusiasts will attest that in summer, the surrounding roads aren’t ideal).
So perhaps in a similar way to how Trump Turnberry’s Ailsa course is held back by a lack of proper infrastructure (never mind Trump himself), tournament golf at its most elite level will never occur at Royal Dornoch.
And unlike Cabot Highlands just outside nearby Inverness, hosting the Scottish Open isn’t a dream of Dornoch’s.
The course’s job is to be a dream for golfers instead.
Golf Digest’s rankings for golf courses outside the United States are drawn-up by a panel of experts from across the globe.
Not only did Royal Dornoch beat St Andrews but other venerable Scottish courses appeared in the top 10, including the Ailsa, Muirfield and North Berwick.
And the one course that topped it?
That title goes to Northern Ireland‘s Royal County Down.
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