Durness

Overview: Durness is a remote, natural links on Scotland’s north coast, set above Balnakiel Bay and close to the dramatic landscape of Sutherland. It is officially a nine-hole course, but a second set of tees creates a varied 18-hole experience. Small greens, rough-edged fairways, dunes and the changing Atlantic wind make the course feel much larger and more adventurous than its compact footprint suggests.

History: Three local enthusiasts, Lachie Ross, Ian Morrison and Francis Keith, designed the course, which opened in 1988. The club’s own history records how much of the early work was done by hand after years of local effort to establish golf in the area. The course remains closely tied to its setting, including the conservation landscape around Loch Lanlish and the coastal ground beside Balnakiel Cemetery.

Did You Know? The 6th is the only par five on the nine-hole card and becomes the 15th when the second tees are used. The closing 9th and 18th requires a shot across a sea inlet to a small sand-protected green, one of the most memorable finishing shots in northern Scottish golf.