Brora Golf Club was founded in 1891, its original layout credited to John Sutherland, the long-serving secretary of nearby Royal Dornoch. What started as a 9-hole course was extended to 18 around 1900. In February 1924, the club invited James Braid – by then a five-time Open Champion and Scotland’s most prolific course architect – to visit; he arrived by train, walked the course in a single day, and submitted the redesign that is still played today for a fee of £25 plus expenses. The course plays to a par of 70 over roughly 6,200 yards. Sheep and cattle still graze freely between the holes under a grazing arrangement dating back to the club’s earliest years, kept off the putting surfaces since 1967 by two-foot electric fences – though in 2025 the membership voted to remove the animals from the course entirely, a decision that still requires court approval before it can be enforced.
The first time I played at Brora, I had to share the tee box with a few cows, and there were sheep all over the course. But that didn’t detract from the fun at all. In fact, quite the opposite — the course feels extremely natural, and the grazing animals are simply part of the landscape on the links between the sea and the little town. Gary Dingwall, the former pro at Royal Dornoch, has been the Director of Golf at Brora since 2026. I used to take lessons from him quite often. He’s a great guy who fits perfectly into Brora’s charming setting.
