Nairn Golf club was firmly put on the golfing map as a result of successfully hosting three events. The 1994 British Amateur Championships, the famous 1999 Walker Cup matches between GB & Ireland and the USA where the Europeans emerged victorious 15-9. Those matches included Tour regulars Matt Kuchar, Paul Casey, and Luke Donald and firmly placed Nairn Golf Club amongst the most beautiful links courses in the UK. Then in 2012, the course hosted the Curtis Cup.
Often overlooked for its more illustrious neighbor Royal Dornoch further up the coast, Nairn is a superb traditional test of golf, highly regarded in Scotland, and now around the world for its beautiful heather, stunning vistas across the Moray Firth from every single hole, and hard, fast putting surfaces. A traditional links, nine out, nine back, it very much has the hallmarks of a Braid design. The Firth is very much in play for the first seven holes as the course stretches out along the waters edge to the turn. There, you will encounter one of the unique features of Nairn, The Bothy, which is their halfway house, but originally (since 1877) was a collection point for the salmon caught off-shore. Nairn is not characterized by the high dunes to be found at the likes of Royal Aberdeen or Royal Co. Down. This is undulating, rolling dune land with great subtlety and putting surfaces that are typical James Braid.
There is no question that the standout holes at Nairn are the short holes. The course possesses four par three holes, all of which play in a different direction for each other. The 4th, known as ‘Bunker’ is somewhat of a misnomer. The reasonably large green is almost carved into a bowl, with steep banks on two of its sides and deep sand traps placed at the front to project a menacing prospect from the tee box. The Pro’s favorite of them, however, is the 6th, “Ben Wyvis.” At 183yards from the medal tees, it is usually a long iron. Heather drapes the ground from tee to green, with six bunkers surrounding the putting surface and a swathe of whin bushes left and right. The green presents a reasonably small target at only 26yards deep, and as the prevailing westerly wind blows straight down this hole, it is a tough one to hold, making club selection extremely important. Three of the par five holes are over 530yards long at Nairn, so she is certainly no pushover. Exposed to the wind off the Moray Firth, you can ofttimes leave Nairn with a greater sense of how gorse is a natural hazard on a golf course!
Nairn Golf Club, in conjunction with Royal Dornoch and Castle Stuart, plus a further push along the coast towards Royal Aberdeen, is one of the most understated tours available in Scotland, and the Highland’s region remains one of the last hidden gems that must be discovered.
