Historic Scottish golf course makes huge decision on membership

It’s all going on at Royal Dornoch at the moment.

The historic links is in something of a transitional period. It recently announced it had acquired another 50 acres of land along the North Sea coastline in Sutherland to develop its second course, the Struie, which also has a new par-3, complete with infinity green overlooking the Dornoch Firth, opening for play next year.

Meanwhile, the eagerly-awaited environmentally-friendly clubhouse – costing just shy of £14 million – is beginning to take shape near the first tee of the Championship course and is due to open in ahead of the new season, while work has started on a new £1.5 million high-tech irrigation system.

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But if you’re hoping to join Royal Dornoch any time soon, you might want to turn to Plan B.

General manager Neil Hampton says the club has had to take drastic action as its global popularity increases.

“We have more than 2,300 members of the Championship course and the Struie, with around 700 based outside the UK, ranging from Argentina to Australia,” he told The Herald.

“At the last count we had members in 24 different countries.

“We attract visiting golfers from around the world – many of them American – and more than 40,000 rounds are played on our two courses annually.

“The unprecedented demand for membership has forced us to close the lengthy waiting list.”

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The news comes hot on the heels of other prestigious Scottish golf clubs making similar decisions. North Berwick recently revealed it was freezing out new members, while Elie announced there will be a number of weeks next summer where visitors will not be permitted to play.

Golf on this famous site at Royal Dornoch dates back to the 17th century, and Hampton says he is keen to continue its focus on being a “community club”.

“Locals continue to enjoy access provided they live in the area for more than 10 months of the year,” he added, noting that the club’s commitment to introducing golf to local schoolchildren saw it awarded the Golf Foundation’s ‘UK Junior Club of the Year’ in 2024.

“More than half the local primary students – boys and girls – are participating in our junior section coaching sessions.”

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor