Scotland’s golf-rich north is being energized by exciting new projects and timely additions to time-honored classics, beginning with venerable Royal Dornoch
It would be silly to suggest that the Highlands—the most northerly region on the Scottish mainland—is a newcomer to golf. We’re talking about an area deservedly famous for Royal Dornoch, as well as highly regarded courses like Nairn, Brora, Boat of Garten, and Fortrose & Rosemarkie, to name but a few.
And yet, the Scottish Highlands is proving more popular than ever for visitors to the Home of Golf. The opening of what was originally called Castle Stuart in 2009—and its subsequent staging of four editions of the Scottish Open, including network coverage in the U.S.—helped raise the area’s profile, along with Nairn hosting the Walker Cup in 1999 and the Curtis Cup in 2012.
Castle Stuart is now called Cabot Highlands, having been added to the ever-growing Cabot Collection, and recently debuted a second course, called Old Petty, designed by Tom Doak.
There’s also a lot happening at Royal Dornoch, where the original course provided five-time Open champion Tom Watson with the “most fun I’ve ever had on a golf course.” A new $18.5 million clubhouse will be fully operational for the start of the 2026 season. So, too, the new par-three 9th hole on the club’s other course, the Struie: The 175-yarder is the only hole on either course to face southeast toward the Dornoch Firth and already has been hailed as “a real cracker.” And it might not stop there. Having secured 50 acres adjacent to the Struie, the club has appointed King Collins Dormer Golf Course Design to create a masterplan that will further enhance the reputation of the world-famous venue.
“Usually, the opening of a new clubhouse, which has been mooted for 30 years or more, would mark the end of the journey for any golf club. But for Royal Dornoch, it is about what the next step is going to be,” says general manager Neil Hampton. “The investment being made will pave the way for even greater economic and employment benefits for the wider community. Golf has long been the key economic driver in this part of the country and additional, high quality, eco-friendly championship courses created by highly regarded designers can only enhance our reputation as a golfing destination and encourage visitors to extend their stay in the Highlands.”
The same reasoning was behind the decision to build the second course at Cabot Highlands. In 2015, Arnold Palmer was commissioned to create what would have been his first layout in Scotland; when The King passed away the following year, the task fell to Doak. Aimed at complementing the original Castle Stuart course, Old Petty—its name paying homage to the 187-year-old church on the right side of the 2nd hole—adds significantly to the region’s golf appeal.
“Our goal is to create unforgettable memories in magical places, and there are few places in the world more awe-inspiring than the Scottish Highlands,” says Ben Cowan-Dewar, co-founder and CEO of Cabot. “Old Petty, guided by the vision of Tom Doak, will be a remarkable addition to the Highlands’ golfing landscape. Its design harmonizes beautifully with the natural surroundings, truly elevating the land it occupies.”
Cabot Highlands brings something else to the Highlands: on-site lodging, which can be in short supply throughout Scotland. Visitors will find accommodations available in the Castle Cottage, Golf Lodge, and the Farmhouse, as well as the chance to own a four-bedroom cottage with views over the 18th hole of the original course and Moray Firth.
New and exciting development isn’t just happening in and around Inverness. To the south, in the area commonly known as the “Heart of the Highlands,” Discovery Land Company (DLC)—the real estate developer and operator of private communities like Idaho’s Gozzer Ranch, Baker’s Bay in The Bahamas, and New York’s Silo Ridge—is turning the five-century-old Taymouth Castle into a luxurious place to live and play, starting with a just-completed Beau Welling renovation of its 100-year-old James Braid course.
It is widely believed by people in the golf industry that the Highlands would get a further boost if the much-publicized Coul Links project ever gets the green light from the Scottish Government. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen in the face of strong opposition from environmentalists and wildlife groups.
Mike Keiser, of Bandon Dunes fame, has committed to building a Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw course for Communities for Coul Limited (C4C), a not-for-profit company set up by locals. Michael Keiser Jr., Mike’s son, predicts it could be “one of the greatest golf courses in the world” due to its setting just north of the village of Embo, a seven-minute drive north of Dornoch. C4C claims the course would create up to 400 new jobs and generate more than $14 million annually for the local economy.
However, despite Highland Council having voted in favor of the plans in December 2023 and the local populace voicing its support for the development the following year, it is now in the hands of the Scottish Government after a report last August put the project in serious doubt by calling for its “outright rejection.” The site along Embo Beach is triple-protected, and it is being claimed that development would “undermine” conservation objectives. So the wait goes on.
In the meantime, other clubs are benefiting from the local golf boom, particularly what’s happening at Royal Dornoch.
“At Tain, we understood that if we could get just a couple of fourballs a day to play us while they were here it could make a massive difference to our financial security,” says Stuart Morrison, the long-serving professional at Tain Golf Club, originally laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1889. “We have directly marketed through Scottish Golf Tourism to the tour operators who are taking people to Dornoch. Investment has gone into our own course to improve the product we offer. The redevelopment of the Station Hotel in Dornoch has provided more beds to help people stay in the area. This is also why we support the new development at Coul Links: The possibility of having another 150 players a day in our area could lead to a couple more fourballs a day for us, especially as the developer has agreed to build a hotel if it gets the go ahead.”
“The growing interest in the Highlands is wonderful to see and a great reward for all the work the many volunteers at each of the clubs, and on the Golf Highland board, have put in,” says Dornoch’s Hampton, who has lived and worked in the area for most of his life and is the chair of Golf Highland, a collective of 30 clubs and courses across the region. “No other area in Scotland offers such a variety of golfing experiences and price points, coupled with amazing scenery and the warmest of welcomes. I am very proud of what we have to offer and how everyone comes together to make the golfing experience second to none.”
