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Northern Delights... Off the Beaten TrackSome of Britain's wealthiest families own estates in the far north of Scotland. Why do they go there? Perhaps because the northern Highlands are one of the last remaining true wilderness areas in Europe; maybe because the fishing is legendary or the shooting renowned; certainly to sample scenery which is breathtaking in its scale and beauty. And also because some of the finest golf in Scotland is available around these northern shores!Durness is known to few golfing visitors from overseas. It lies close to Cape Wrath at the north-western tip of Scotland and opened only in 1988. Almost sixty miles from Lairg, and although only nine holes, it is a favourite of ex-Ryder Cup star Ronan Rafferty. With wild views of ocean and mountains and some memorable holes it builds to a climax with a dramatic carry at the last.  Reay, 11 miles west of Thurso, is the most
northerly links course in mainland Britain and the club here was formed in 1893 by the local laird (landowner). Parishioners were allowed to
join for an annual fee of two shillings (15 cents)! The course curves around Sandside Bay, where today surfers come from all over the world
to test their skills. Course defences are mainly natural with relatively
few bunkers and out-of-bounds only at the 2nd and 16th. The 4th, however,
is one of the longest holes in British golf - a monster of 584 yards,
with a testing carry on the drive - it requires three good shots even
in benign conditions to get home. Since there are six par 3s your performance
on the short holes goes a long way towards determining your score.
None is more testing than the 7th, which requires you to clear the
Wick is another little-known seaside links, designed by McCulloch in 1870 under the watchful eye of the Earl of Caithness, whose ancestral seat Ackergill Tower stands guard at one end of the course. Club captain John Hunter has led a small but enthusiastic team bent on course improvements and the recent re-modelling of the 2nd and 9th holes bear testimony to their endeavours. And the new 10th tee, set high in the dunes, allows full appreciation of the majestic setting of this wild links. Following the curve of Sinclair's Bay, with its miles of golden sand and rolling dunes, Wick has a simplicity and solitude suggestive of a different era. Down the coast from Wick, Brora is a James Braid course laid out on the rolling ground above another sandy bay. A more natural setting would be hard to imagine: stock still graze the fairways, the greens are protected by low-level electric fences and the views stay in the memory long after the round has ended. There are lots of good holes, with challenging par 4s coming thick and fast on the outward nine and the prevailing wind always a factor coming home. The 18th is a great finishing hole: a long par 3 of over 200 yards to a raised green below the clubhouse. Over the green is out-of-bounds, anything short is liable to run fifty yards back down the fairway; and anyone straying off-line may find one of the spectacle bunkers, which guard the entrance to the green. Recovery from either position is fraught with danger, and the pressure is enhanced by the knowledge that members in the clubhouse are surveying your progress, or lack of it! Just a few miles south of Brora is Golspie, home of the Dukes of Sutherland at nearby Dunrobin Castle. Golspie has a little of everything - some holes are pure links, others are heathland in character and a few meander through a parkland landscape. The course is always in good condition and the greens are a joy to putt on. From everywhere on the course fine views of the Sutherland hills enrich the senses and, if you can hold your game together around the turn where the going is toughest, you have a good chance to play to your handicap.  Of course, Royal
Dornoch is the jewel in the area's crown. One of the world's
greatest links, with a history going back 500 years, Sir Robert Gordon
in 1616 described the quality of the links 'they doe surpass the
fields of Montrose or St Andrews'. Praise indeed, but where either
of the latter may dispute Sir Robert's opinion based on quality of
turf or scale, neither can compete with the scenic backdrop which
Dornoch enjoys. Far-reaching views of the mountains to north and
west, seascapes to the south and east across the Dornoch Firth to
the Black Isle and beyond, and glimpses of the ancient town, which
has its own cathedral despite having a population of only a thousand
Go in June and the memories will be of glorious yellow gorse, radiant blue sea and fast, true greens. Many of the greens are plateaus, often created by hollowing out the ground in front rather than by raising the surface above fairway level. Playing eight holes out and ten back the course curves around the bay to ensure the prevailing wind bears at different angles from one hole to another. The opening hole is a gentle par 4 but the next is a challenging par 3, which requires a carry over cross rough to a sloping green, protected by bunkers at the front and with steep drops on either side. The flavour of the course really starts at the 3rd, a par 4 with sweeping views and inviting fairway. The 4th and 5th are similar, but better, before the short 6th tests your mid iron play to the limit. A change of levels comes at the 7th, as you walk up through the gorse to the tee, but it's worth the effort when you come to the 8th, played over a precipice to a fairway at sea level. Turning for home the 9th is a long par 5 along the shore and the beach is again a lateral water hazard at the short 10th. On the homeward stretch only the par 5 12th and relatively easy par 4 15th offer birdie opportunities. 'Foxy', the famous 14th, was considered by Harry Vardon to be the most natural hole in golf, snaking first left and then right to a plateau green, which will hold only the most sweetly struck long iron shot. The 16th is a bit of a climb but again this is swiftly rewarded by the vista from the 17th tee. Locals cannily drive to the top of the ridge, from which a long iron to the well-bunkered green is the aim. Visitors usually cannot resist the urge to drive over the edge but only a ball holding the left side of the fairway will be lying well at the bottom of the slope. And the 18th is as tough a finishing hole as you'll find: 450 yards, into the prevailing wind, with bunkers some 30 yards in front of the green to catch anything short. The new clubhouse has been tastefully appointed and the bar and restaurant enjoy superb views of the course. Devotees over the years include Joyce and Roger Wethered, famous English amateur champions, golf writer Peter Dobereiner and Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw. 'That was the most fun I've ever had playing golf' enthused Watson after his first visit, while every golf course architect to make the pilgrimage considers the long journey worthwhile. Maybe that's not surprising as the famous Ross family came from Dornoch: Alex went on to win the US Open and Donald designed Pinehurst and Seminole, along with several hundred other courses, many of them great ones. |
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