Nairn Golf Club, a reluctant top gun of Highland's golf  Golf International, Inc. If you are venturing up to the Scottish Highlands to play golf, chances are that Royal Dornoch Golf Club is the main attraction. Consistently ranked among the top dozen courses in the world, thousands make the pilgrimage each year for the sheer joy of playing this masterpiece of historic links architecture.  Nairn Golf Club -The combined efforts of three of golf's greatest designers.
Originally laid out by Old Tom Morris with later improvements made by the great Donald Ross, this is the course that played such an important role in shaping Ross' design philosophy. Pinehurst # 2 together with his many other US accomplishments were very much influenced by those early experiences at Royal Dornoch. But the Scottish Highlands' is far more than a single course and contains a wealth of other excellent layouts, begging to be played. They may lack some of the celebrity of Royal Dornoch, but many are of a comparable, high quality and hold a special Highlands golf experience to be found nowhere else. Arguably the most outstanding of these is Nairn Golf Club, a championship links in every way and a course that has somehow eluded the spotlight, to remain one of Scotland's great-undiscovered golf treasures. The small seaside town of Nairn is said to have derived its name from a contraction of the Scottish expression, "Nay Rain" or, "No Rain", a perhaps slightly exaggerated bragging about the microclimate that exists in the region. The weather is uncommonly mild for these parts and although far from being a desert, the annual rainfall is significantly lower than surrounding area, providing excellent golfing weather for 9 months of the year. The original Nairn layout dates from 1887 and comes from the designing mind of Old Tom Morris. Later improvements made by Ben Sayers and James Braid in the early 1920's account for the superb bunkering that is one of Nairn's many appealing characteristics. Few courses can boast the combined architectural efforts of three of the games all-time top designers, which accounts in no small part for Nairn's technical greatness. Bordered by the Moray Firth, Nairn gives the average player an unusual opportunity to slice the ball into the sea on each of the first seven holes as they are typically played into the prevailing wind. After all this is links golf and Nairn has a mischievous way of reminding the visitor of the fact at every opportunity.  Nairn - the 14th hole  Highlands links golf at its best  Sea views from every hole -- but be wary of the bunkers As much of a teaser as she is, Nairn can easily be forgiven - this is a beguilingly good-looking course that will flirt shamelessly with every player, then when least expected, will grab your attention with a curve ball. Be wary, mother warned you about girls like this. From spectacular panoramas across the Moray Firth to Black Isle and beyond, the views are stunning, complemented nearer at hand by windblown fields of purple heather and golden gorse, picture postcard vistas abound. Stray away from the narrow fairways however and you will quickly learn that gorse is best appreciated from a distance - trying to recover a lost ball from the midst of a gorse patch is nothing less than a painful experience. The course shows a generous hospitality to the visitor by considerately offering what appears to be a gentler front nine where you will find the par 4s to be shorter, although the bunkering is plentiful with raised, sloping greens, so solid shot making is still the order of the day. Be wary when you accept Nairn's gracious hospitality, as the mischievous spirit still lurks within and surprises lie in wait, even on these opening holes. The fifth fairway runs perilously close to the beach and James Braid's tight bunkering is a feature on many of the greens. The eighth is a particular challenge with the putting surface sloping steeply from front to back, making it difficult to hold. The most problematic holes occur from the twelfth thru the fifteenth. The par-4 twelfth has a particularly narrow fairway, made all the more difficult by encroaching scrub and bushes. The thirteenth has trouble on both sides of the fairway and the approach to the green is made all the more hazardous by a devilish crosswind. The par-3 fourteenth is also a tough one, totally exposed to the wind with a very tricky green. The fifteenth can totally fool you, with a look that seems quite innocent, but don't be buffaloed; this par-4 has the tightest of drives, followed by a difficult short pitch to the green. Ranked number 10 in Scotland, it's amazing that so few visitors have played or even heard of Nairn Golf Club, which remains a closely guarded secret, but is certainly one of Scotland's outstanding links courses, with an impressive pedigree. Nairn was selected to host the Walker Cup in 1999, when the best amateurs from Britain and Ireland, trounced the US team in this biennial event, organized jointly between The Royal & Ancient Golf Club and the USGA. The event is named in honor of George Herbert Walker (great grandfather of US President, George H.W.Bush) who was President of the USGA in 1920, the year The Walker Cup was initiated. It was recently announced that Nairn has been chosen to host the Curtis Cup (the amateur ladies equivalent of The Walker Cup) in 2012. If you are thinking of going up to the Highlands, plan on spending more than just a couple of days in this spectacularly beautiful part of Scotland. Besides Nairn and Royal Dornoch, there is an excellent selection of other little known jewels to be discovered in the area. For suggestions on including Nairn, Royal Dornoch and other Highland gems on your Scottish golf trip, click here. © 2007 David Brice / Golf International Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
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