Royal Dornoch is spellbinding and many golfers from all over the world make the pilgrimage to this natural links at some point in their lives. The 6600-yard 18-hole par 70 links has just been ranked No.3 in Scotland, No.7 in GB&I and No. 15 in the World rankings of the best 100 courses.

It’s the timeless setting that makes Royal Dornoch such a pleasing place to play golf. It’s wild, isolated and, at the same time, absolutely beautiful; there’s the blaze of colour in early summer when the gorse is in flower. The pure white sandy beach divides the links from the Dornoch Firth and it all feels very humbling.

Ostensibly the course itself is pretty straightforward: it’s an out-and-back layout. Many of the greens, though, are built on natural raised plateau making approach play especially challenging. It’s the raised domed greens that became the trademark of Dornoch’s most famous son, Donald Ross. Born in 1872, Ross became the club’s head green-keeper and professional. He later emigrated to the States and became one of the greatest golf course architects of all time. Many of his designs, most notably Pinehurst No.2, bear the hallmark of Royal Dornoch’s greens.

Royal Dornoch is a favourite of former Open champion Tom Watson, who said: "It was the most fun I\'ve had playing golf in my whole life."