Our week in St. Andrews came to an end on Saturday morning as we headed north to the Highlands and our house in Dornoch.
As in the Auld Grey Toon our accommodations were mere steps from the Royal Dornoch Golf club and a short walk into the quaint village of Dornoch. But before we settled down in Dornoch we had a quick stop to make on the Moray Firth.
Royal Dornoch Golf Club from Our Rental
Lorne Rubenstein of “A Season in Dornoch” fame had recommended we give Fortrose & Rosemarkie a try if we had a chance. Since Saturday was a travel day we got an early start and rolled into the car park around noon.
Rubenstein had said it was a fun course and he couldn’t have called it any better. The flat, links layout is on a tiny, narrow, peninsula that juts out into the Moray Firth which surrounds the course on three sides.
At the tip of the peninsula stands a lighthouse that guards the firth and this is one of the prime spots for dolphin watching in Scotland.
As we we bathed in warm sunshine and a stiff wind the addition of the light house made it feel more like Bermuda than northern Scotland.
They say there is evidence of golf being played in this area since the early 1700’s and this layout was designed by James Braid in 1932.
The course starts off along the shore and with the property being so condensed each and every hole had great views of the water and Fort George which sits amazingly close across the water.
I can’t say I ever had more fun on a golf course. It was in fine shape, flat and fast and firm with beautiful greens and with the unusually sunny weather George and I just ate it up.
After a lunch at the clubhouse and a chat with a few golfers…Canadians who had made the trip like we had it was off to the village of Dornoch.
We were once again thrilled with our rental house but this one was larger and more modern than our digs in St. Andrews.
During the summer in Dornoch they entertain the visitors, and locals for that matter each Saturday evening with a 
performance of pipers and dancers in the town square. A brigade of pipers and drums march into town and then some highland dancers preform.
I am sure that most of the locals grow tired of this but for visitors and there are plenty in Dornoch it gave us a little of that traditional Scotland we all we looking for.
Sunday put us on the road for an early tee time at Brora Golf Club another James Braid design that is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. Now Brora has a bit of a gimmick that has made it well known among golf aficionados. Cattle and sheep roam the course having free reign to graze wherever they like. 
The greens and the surrounds are protected by thin, electrified wires that allows the golfers easy access but keep the four footed grazers away.
The notoriety Brora has earned for the animals roaming about has done it a disservice. There is so much more to the course than sheep dip and cow patties. 
The greens were absolutely perfect and the course played over rolling linksland which gave us a few of those blinds shots we have come to expect on our Scottish journey.
Dornoch is a quaint little village, the antithesis of the busy St. Andrews. We were off to a great start to our Highland visit with two wonderful courses already in the books and eyes on historic Royal Dornoch from our kitchen window and plans to hit the whisky bar just minutes from our door.
Life is good in Dornoch.
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