For the visitor to the Highlands on a Scottish golf vacation based in Dornoch, the short drive up the scenic coastline to Brora Golf Club will be rewarded with a unique and memorable day of golf on a classic links course designed by Scotland's leading architect of the early 20th century, James Braid. A glance over the links will have the golfer thinking he has returned to the early 20th century, as there are cattle and sheep leisurely grazing here and there throughout the course. This unusual meeting of man and livestock is the result of local land use laws, as the local farmers have grazing rights over most of the course. As a result, the club has erected low electrical fences to keep the livestock off the greens. These fences do not interfere with the game at Brora, but the visiting golfer is wise to watch where he steps and remember that under local rules a ball coming to rest in livestock droppings may be lifted, cleaned and dropped without penalty.
If all that Brora had to offer was the unique interaction between man and livestock, we would not include it as a recommended part of any golf tour of the Scottish Highlands. However, there is much to enjoy on the links at Brora, where Mr. Braid has laid out a natural and challenging links over some of the most enjoyable dunesland in Scotland. While Brora runs primarily in an out and back pattern as with many Scottish links, Mr. Braid cleverly routed the course so that the demanding set of par threes run in four different directions, resulting in a fresh challenge in the ever-present Scottish breeze.
The links at Brora is a wonderful mix of holes requiring strength and finesse, from the short par four 1st and 5th holes, which are drivable when the turf is running firm and fast, to the long and demanding 3rd, 4th and 17th holes, where the golfer is required to play two long and accurate shots to find the green. Played over dunes, hollows and broken ground, the course at Brora is one of the most natural in all of Scotland, yet the turf is perfect for links golf and the greens are generally smooth and fast. With the elevated green at the wonderful 220 yard par three 18th hole sitting right below the clubhouse, a post-round pint in the friendly bar at Brora is a perfect end to a thrilling day on this special Scottish golf links.
For more information on Brora, please visit their website at www.broragolf.co.uk.
