Some are calling it the best thing to have happened in Sutherland in many years.
Others say — mainly on social media — that Royal Dornoch Golf Club’s modern new clubhouse resembles everything from a Victorian mill to a municipal crematorium, a caravan-site toilet block, a nuclear bunker, a prison and even a slaughterhouse.
When it comes to golfing heritage in Scotland, the traditional home of golf, opinions often differ, especially when American influences are seen to be in play.
The Royal Dornoch’s championship course — a true Scottish links course on the Sutherland coast — has a history going back four centuries and is now regarded as one of the best in the world. However, it is the replacement for the clubhouse — opened in 1909 by Andrew Carnegie, the Scot who became the world’s richest man through building American railways — that is dividing opinion.
Andrew Carnegie in 1896
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The old structure, with its 116 years of golfing heritage and distinctive clock tower, is weeks away from being demolished, with a towering new sandstone building taking its place.
The designs for the new building were chosen after a competition won by Keppie, a Glasgow firm of architects. The entrance arch references Dornoch’s famous cathedral and there are other nods to the town’s architectural heritage. But it is the sheer scale of the structure that is attracting most attention — and not all of it is positive.
The new clubhouse, left, alongside the current clubhouse
ROBERT M WILSON
Lynn Redfern, at the neighbouring Dornoch Caravan and Camping Park, said she understood the need for a new clubhouse but had some reservations about its impact. “It looms right over our caravan park and it’s certainly making a statement,” she said.
“It’s a prestigious golf course. They are planning a third course and other upgrades and they need something that reflects that.
“They have done a fantastic job with the building but it does look like an old mill, which I’m not sure really fits with Dornoch. We have never had mills here.
“But I know people who have been inside and say it’s stunning. I suppose the light stone will weather and we’ll eventually get used to it.”
The old clubhouse, despite its history, was regarded as looking tired and was not what club managers and the membership wanted. Royal Dornoch attracts golfers from across the world, especially high-spending Americans used to a luxurious level of services and facilities, which venues such as St Andrews, Gleneagles and Turnberry provide.
The clubhouse in 2018
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With demand booming — and a 30 per cent rise in advance bookings for the 2026 season compared to the same period last year — club managers wanted to make improvements.
The £14 million clubhouse is part of a plan that includes revamping the town’s second course — The Struie — with the help of American designers as well as adding a new par-3 course to attract more of the tourist dollar. A guest round at the club costs £360.
There is no shortage of supporters. David Purvis of DP Private Hire, who regularly transports international golfers to the course, said he loved the new clubhouse. “It’s the best thing that has happened to Dornoch in a long time, which is very lucky to get a building of this stature. I have a big American clientele and they think that it’s great.”
He is aware of the criticism. “Some don’t like change but they’re living in the dark ages. It’s time to move on.”
Keppie, the architects, said the twin-gabled new building with its new clock tower “honours the legacy of Royal Dornoch Golf Club while celebrating its future”. The interior design, with its open-plan lounges and restaurant will have “spaces that reflect the marvellous offering of the course itself and capture the heritage, prestige, and global reputation”.
The architects’ impression of the finished clubhouse
KEPPIE
Alison Davies, of Dornoch Heritage Society, said the clubhouse and demolition plan had received a “mixed reaction” among locals but she believes any criticism is likely to die down.
“There’s no doubt that the architect and the club were committed to a design which reflected the architectural references in Dornoch,” she said.
“There will be nostalgia about the passing of the old clubhouse but it has been through a number of changes over the years and it is broadly agreed [that it] no longer meets the functional needs as well as being structurally past its sell-by date.”