Lybster Harbour Lighthouse
Loch Eriboll and Ard Neakie Peninsula Golspie
Dunrobin Castle of haggis at the Royal Marine Hotel, where I was to spend three comfortable nights. I‘ retired’ to the hotel’ s James Braid room after dinner and took a trip down memory lane with the famous Scottish golf architect’ s memorabilia. It seemed appropriate since the next two courses are Braid’ s creations.
Braid designed both Golspie and Brora, the last‘ big’ courses on the route. Golspie Golf Club [ www. golspiegolfclub. co. uk ] blends links with heathland, promising some sparkling fun above the beach and over holes with swathes of heather-strewn rough. The course is watched over by the 100 foot statue of the Earl of Sutherland, atop Ben Bhraggie. The Earl was responsible for the reviled Highland Clearances in the 18th and 19th centuries, so his statue still stirs mixed emotions.
I dropped into the Earl’ s ancestral home, Dunrobin Castle [ www. dunrobincastle. co. uk ], on the way out of Golspie village. The castle resembles a French château and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region, right above the beach.
I played Brora Golf Club [ www. broragolf. co. uk ] the next day with two locals. It’ s almost an essential ingredient as the links ducks and weaves over flowing dunes, with no fairway markers whatsoever. Knowing where to aim is half the battle and the greens here are as perfect as any I have ever putted on. If Royal Dornoch is magical, then Brora is mystical. Quite unalike they are equally brilliant.
The general perception of the NC500 is that the scenery on the east coast is less dramatic than the north and west. This is good news for golfers who want to focus on this wonderful stretch of golf courses … but it is all relative. The seascapes and headlands are still dramatic, the beaches long and golden, and the mountains and valleys are only a side-road away.
After leaving Brora, there are fewer courses to the north
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