Royal Dornoch Winter Newsletter 2024

He is a student at the University of the Highlands
and Islands (UHI). Our relationship with UHI
continues to yield benefits for both parties.
In late September I was across the pond (again), this
time in North Carolina, being hosted by our
friends from the Country Club of North Carolina
(CCNC). Ziggy - take a bow! This was a “Road to
Damascus” event for me: I was bowled over by the
friendliness and hospitality of our welcome at
CCNC itself, at Pinehurst village, and also at
Raleigh Country Club (look out for the steaks at
the nearby Players Retreat). CCNC gave me a
personalised gift from Tom Watson which is now
on display in the clubhouse. Another revelation was
the reverence for Dornoch’s Donald Ross, which
exists throughout American golf, but is particularly,
and understandably, concentrated in Pinehurst.
2023 has marked a significant strengthening of
Royal Dornoch’s ties with Pinehurst. In late
September, John Strickland, the Pinehurst mayor,
joined with Dornoch’s provost, Paddy Murray, to
sign a document which will both promote our joint
honouring of the memory of Donald Ross and also
strengthen the ties between our two communities.
The only slight hiccup was that I had to remind
John that the correct way to refer to Dornoch, at
least according to my mother (a true Dornoch
native), was as a “Royal Burgh”, not a “town”,
“village” or worst of all, a “hamlet”. It was made a
Royal Burgh in 1628 by Charles 1st – that’s the one
who lost his head – not the present King Charles.
The end of the season brought rain and wind of
biblical proportions. The Friday and Saturday of the
Member’s Weekend were washed out, as was the
David Urquhart Memorial tournament. The bad
weather has continued to the end of the year. This
has left Struie and the practice area more
waterlogged than I can ever remember. The green
staff have struggled with the conditions, making it
more difficult to make the changes they had planned
in their winter programme for both Struie and the
Championship Courses. As I write this on the
shortest day of the year, there is no sign of a reprieve.
Running alongside the golf events, Neil’s team and
the Council of Management have been working on
a range of important issues. We have established
Royal Dornoch Foundation (Junior Golf) as a
Scottish Charity and are exploring plans to use it
to establish Royal Dornoch as a hub for high
quality junior coaching and golf development.
We have been making progress on our celebration
of Royal Dornoch book, with the intention of
having it published well before our 2027
celebrations. Thanks to Christine Callingham,
Eileen Macrae, David Maclean and Christine
Murray for their dedication to the task. The 2027
celebrations have also been a focus for the
Marketing team who are starting to compile a
range of interesting ideas for the event.
I have attended several meals in the Clubhouse
this year, including some of the social events that
run through the winter which helped to keep the
local members engaged. Although this has not
been good for my waistline or my bank balance, I
must say that I have been consistently delighted by
the quality of food and service that our hospitality
team have presented, both to members and to
guests. Even with a somewhat limited kitchen and
less than ideal serving conditions, the quality of
the food has been of the highest standard.
The Captain’s charity, Kayleigh’s Wee Stars, which
is particularly close to my heart, has already
benefited substantially from members’ generosity.
6