Royal Dornoch Winter Newsletter 2024
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Greens Convenor’s Report<br />
While work on the new clubhouse has just begun,<br />
our greenkeeping staff operating in tandem with<br />
Tom Mackenzie of Mackenzie and Ebert, are<br />
currently pressing ahead with groundworks to<br />
create a new Par 3 hole on the Struie Course.<br />
Mackenzie and Ebert have previously and<br />
successfully carried out work on 3rd, 7th and 8th<br />
holes on the Championship Course. While most<br />
of the material being used for the new hole is on<br />
site, the shaping is taking account of the low lying<br />
topography with the tees, infinity green and<br />
fairway all have to be raised up. It was hoped that<br />
it would be completed by Christmas but the<br />
extremely wet weather has played its part in slowing<br />
down progress.<br />
The weather over the last couple of months has<br />
been terrible, with the highest rainfall on record<br />
for October, plus the storms at the end of October<br />
and start of November causing many problems for<br />
the team. As an example, over one weekend 40mm<br />
of rain was recorded. Eoin and Team had the<br />
green site prepared by the middle of December and<br />
they will be building tees, pathways, bunkers and<br />
installing the irrigation to all of these areas. This<br />
Par 3 hole will be in keeping with our other Par 3<br />
holes at <strong>Royal</strong> <strong>Dornoch</strong>, relatively short but a<br />
challenging shot with tees ranging from 137, 154<br />
and 174 yards. When completed this will be our<br />
new 9th hole, with stunning views towards<br />
<strong>Dornoch</strong> Point and looking over to<br />
Portmahomack.<br />
Struie Irrigation<br />
We are now investing in a £1.5 million irrigation<br />
system to be installed at the end of the <strong>2024</strong><br />
season, which was approved by the members at the<br />
August AGM. The irrigation system on the Struie<br />
Course has been showing its age for many years<br />
and the Greens Team have been nursing it along<br />
using the bowser during all the extremely hot and<br />
dry conditions in the Summer. The new irrigation<br />
system will adequately be able to cope with any new<br />
holes which may be created further down the line<br />
once the membership has been consulted on any<br />
potential configuration. In the short term we may<br />
have 19 holes on the Struie and this will be<br />
beneficial during the construction phase of the<br />
new clubhouse. In the longer term, the potential<br />
plan is to start at the 3rd hole and finish at the<br />
New par 3 green<br />
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