Royal Dornoch Golf Club’s ambitious renovation project is continuing at its famed 434-yard, par-four, eighth hole. Hundreds of tons of gorse and soil are being removed to open up the views of 1302-foot Ben Bhraggie, which has been enjoyed by generations of golfers, including a future legendary course architect named Donald Ross.
Royal Dornoch’s makeover is also designed to restore the challenge of one of the Scotland’s more revered courses envisaged in the 1940s, when a series of tweaks were made to the original Old Tom Morris layout.
“This is the final piece in the jigsaw and we are confident it will further enhance the experience golfers enjoy when they play the Championship Course,” said deputy greenkeeper Scott Aitchison. “The main challenge we face is ensuring the work is completed and the hole is back in play for the new season.’’
The new tees, Atchison said, are being pushed towards the location of the old 7th green.
“The likelihood is that more golfers will be playing their second shots into the green from the top of the hill, as was the case before the advances in golf club technology. In a sense, we are turning back the clock to the way the hole was designed to be played.
“The hole is going to be even better. There is sure to be a real wow factor with the views being opened up again The backdrop of Embo, the sea and Ben Bhraggie in the distance is amazing. The gorse had grown and blocked it out for years.”
Royal Dornoch’s long-term masterplan for the renowned Championship Course has been fully vindicated.
“Being rated so highly in various polls is always a source of pride to everyone involved with the golf club,” Atchison said. “The feather in our cap as a greenkeeping crew is that we were trusted to carry out the changes to a number of holes in-house. We have a really experienced team here.
“Initially, we have had to do a lot of scraping, removing gorse and a layer of dead mulch over a 200-yard stretch, getting down to hard gravel on what was a raised beach. It will be replenished with sand and rootzone.
All the material being removed, according to Atchison, is going to compost on-site. We are always very conscious of our environmental responsibilities. It will break down over the years and be used here in the future. The soil we are using to construct the new-look hole has been taken from the site of the multi-use games facility being created for the local school.’’
“We grew in that new hole from seed. This one has to be turfed to ensure we are back in play as soon as possible. Obviously a mild winter would help our cause but we are not naive, we will have to protect the fairway initially.
“But the new turf should knit in quite quickly with the rising temperatures in the spring.”
Photo Courtesy of Royal Dornoch Golf Club