Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Struie)

Overview: Royal Dornoch’s Struie Course is an 18-hole links routing on the Dornoch coast, listed at par 71 and 6,205 yards. It shares the broad dunes and coastal atmosphere of the club’s famous golfing ground but offers a tighter, more compact test, with smaller greens and the Dornoch Burn influencing the strategy. The course is suitable for visitors who want the Royal Dornoch setting while playing a round that places more emphasis on accuracy and recovery than on maximum length.

History: The Struie is part of Royal Dornoch’s modern expansion and has reached its centenary period, while the club’s wider course history includes work by Tom Mackenzie and continuing improvement plans. The sources reviewed describe the current routing and its relationship to the Dornoch Burn, but do not give one definitive opening date for the exact course record. That date is therefore left blank rather than being inferred from the centenary reference.

Did You Know? The Struie is named for the surrounding Highland landscape, and its character is intentionally different from the Championship Course. The narrower fairways and smaller greens make the course a useful reminder that links difficulty is not measured only in yardage. A precise tee shot and a low-running approach can be more important than adding extra distance to the card.