Royal Dornoch

Golf was played over the links at Dornoch by about 1616; the earliest record is an aristocrat's expenses for a set of clubs. The club dates from 1877 and became Royal in 1906. Old Tom Morris shaped much of the Championship Course on visits in 1886 and 1889. Donald Ross, who grew up in the town, was its professional and keeper of the green from 1893 until he emigrated to America in 1899 and became the architect of Pinehurst No. 2.

Several holes were lost to a wartime airfield; after the war George Duncan restored and extended the course, adding what are now the sixth to eleventh. Dornoch has never hosted a modern professional event, and its reputation rests entirely on the course, on the Dornoch Firth at the top of the mainland. It is 6,748 yards. Tom Watson first came in 1981, played twice in one day, and is an honorary member.