Royal Dornoch’s Championship Course has risen to second spot in the prestigious “Golf Digest World’s Greatest Courses” biennial rankings. It is also rated as the finest links in Scotland.
Golf Digest, based in the USA, enjoys the largest distribution for any golf publication in the world.
Royal Dornoch is currently developing a new £13.9 million clubhouse and counting down to its 150th anniversary in 2027.
Golf Digest’s rankings for golf courses outside the United States are drawn-up by a panel of experts from around the globe.
Royal Dorno was previously placed third, tucked in behind New Zealand’s Tara Iti, which was designed by contemporary architect Tom Doak.
Only Royal County Down in Northern Ireland is now rated above Royal Dornoch.
Golf Digest course architecture editor Derek Duncan notes the resurgence in sand-based courses. “This year’s ranking reflects a reappraisal of the virtues of sand and, more specifically, links golf.
“Early golfers forged their way through the gorse and grassy landscapes of dunes, kettles, eskers and seaside plains, chasing their balls while developing holes which over time became fully realized golf courses.”
The new Golf Digest top 10 also features the Old Course, Royal Portrush, Royal Melbourne, Muirfield, Tara Iti, Trump Turnberry, North Berwick and Ballybunion.
“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,” said Neil Hampton, general manager of Royal Dornoch Golf Club.
“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 Mackenze, 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.
“Legendary architect Donald Ross, a greenkeeper and our first professional, regarded his hometown links as ‘the most beautifully situated in the world’ and club custodians have always been mindful of that when any modifications to the long-standing lay-out have been contemplated.
“We have been thrilled with the response to the realigned holes – including a precise replica of the original 7th green – which have enhanced the glorious views of the Dornoch Firth and turned back the clock to playing the two-tier 8th the way it was envisaged more than 80 years ago.
“Interestingly, Royal Dornoch and Royal County Down both bear the imprint of Old Tom Morris, whose services were requested by the clubs in the late 19th Century.
“In the 1980s Donald Steel remodelled Royal County Down and he advised us on aspects of our Championship Course, altering the third tee, in addition to upgrading the Struie Course, which is a Scottish Top 50 course in its own right.”