5 Courses to Play in the Scottish Highlands

Words by: James Wilson
Photography by:Ollie Allison, Harvey Jamison, Douglas Guillot

Last month the MANORS team hosted 40 golf explorers at Marine & Lawn's Dornoch Station. Creative Strategist and resident professional golfer, James 'shortside' Wilson managed to sneak in a few extra rounds. If you're travelling North this summer, don't miss out on these 5 courses:

Brora

An hour and a half north of Inverness, Brora was once the hidden gem of the North, but word is out now. Electric fences surround the greens to keep the sheep off them. The front nine stretches north along the Machair dunes before heading back into the prevailing wind on the inland side. We got all four seasons in 4 hours.

Golspie

We caught the tail end of the winter rates which meant it was £15 per head. The course is uniquely split up into 3 distinct sections. The first 5 are right by the water, but then on the 6th tee you turn west to play a stretch of heathland before finishing on the parkland section. A very welcoming and relaxed atmosphere made better by an amazing golf course.

Royal Dornoch

On the morning of our Dornoch round, the Highland elements showed their teeth. Bagpipes saw us off the first tee as the 40mph winds helped carry us North between the gorse bushes. Eventually we turned to face our fate on the 9th tee. 10 holes directly into the hurricane made for some laughs and some damaged egos.

Nairn

The next day we drove to Nairn and with a similar forecast we pivoted to a Texas Scramble format. The course at Nairn sits across the Moray Firth from Dornoch, the opening holes move west along the beach front before reaching the iconic halfway house. We escaped the showers and warmed ourselves up before taking on the back nine.

Fortrose & Rosemarkie

Of course we had to organise one final round on the journey south. But we were glad we did, Fortrose and Rosemarkie sits on a narrow peninsula that juts out into Rosemarkie Bay, a lighthouse sits at the far end. The opening 9 stretches round the perimeter with the water tight to the left, thankfully the back nine offers some respite.