The Ness Walk Hotel sits on the River Ness a short scenic walk down the Ness River from Inverness and her famous Castle. Gil Hanse has risen to one of the world’s premier “must plays.” Just down the coast is Nairn, where Colin Montgomerie won the 1987 Scottish Amateur Championship and was so taken with the course he named his home Nairn in its honor. Neighboring Nairn GC is Nairn Dunbar, which will play host to The Amateur Championship in 2021 and has been a local and visitors favorite since 1899. Across the Moray Firth, where you can often see dolphins frolicking in the chilly waters, lies Dornoch the birthplace of Donald Ross. The Championship Course
at Royal Dornoch gets all the accolades and fanfare but the second course – Struie – has a charm all its own and makes a perfect companion for those wanting to play 36 holes in a day. Further north you find two cracking gems, Brora and Golspie. Harkening back to the origins of golf in Scotland Brora still shares its linksland with local sheep and cows. The electric fences serve to keep errant hoofs and hungry mouths off the magnificent greens. Golspie has three distinct playing experiences as it exhibits characteristics of links, parkland and heathland courses across its layout.
At Brora the fencing serves to keep the sheep and cattle that share the linksland off the pristine greens. Just a generation after the famous nearby Battle of Culloden (1745) Fortrose and Rosemarkie GC opened in 1793 on the intriguingly named Black Isle across the firth from Castle Stuart and is recognized as the 15th oldest golf club in the world. Whisky fans will enjoy a visit to the Glenmorangie distillery after their round at Tain, an Old Tom Morris classic dating to 1890. It’s signature hole, The Alps, requires a brave blind second shot over the mounds to a long narrow green. While there are very few and expensive restricted tee times for non-members available at The Carnegie Club at Sk-
Castle Stuart features six stunning holes literally on the Moray Firth.
Links House in Dornoch is the perfect destination to curl up with a whisky in front of a fire. Golf Central • Volume 20, Issue 8
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