Royal Dornoch!
Originally designed by ‘Old Tom Morris’ in 1891 and reworked by Donald Ross in 1901, Dornoch is consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world and either number 1 or 2 in Scotland every year. Fantastic course design, magnificent scenery, perfect course conditioning, and great service. A really special golfing experience.
We finally had good weather conditions – sunny with temperatures around 60 and little wind. Our forecaddie Neil was among the best of the trip so far. He tried to steer us away from the massive bunkers but failed miserably (we counted 20 bunker shots on the day). And, these were no mortal bunkers – massive! Didn’t seem to bother Ron as he posted the lowest net score of the trip.
After golf, a post-round lunch & pint at the Dornoch clubhouse we leave the Highlands and Dornoch for the next leg of the trip – Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire. Our hotel for the night is the 130-year old ‘Kilmarnock Arms’ in Cruden Bay. A noted guest was Bram Stoker who was inspired by the nearby Slains Castle to create his novel ‘Dracula’. His signature may be found in the guest book dated 1894.
> Winner of today’s ‘Individual Match’ is Ron who is awarded a ‘Champ Mòr’ point.
> Ron also took low daily honors with a net score of ‘70’.
> Best shot of the day goes to Ron (catching a theme here?) for a great 3 wood on #14, ‘Foxy’.
> Today: lost balls – 5; bunkers – 20 (!)
> Group totals for trip: lost balls – 31; bunkers – 54