Dornoch club secretary John Sutherland constructed and refined the course for many decades, so the date 1904 is a bit arbitrary, but it marks the first major redesign of the original Old Tom Morris layout. While the 1946 addition of new holes to mitigate war-related losses was signed off by George Duncan, the actual architect remains unclear.

Royal Dornoch is a vintage links of the calibre that could host an Open Championship for the golf alone (i. e. there isn't enough room for spectators and tenting). The course is a tough test of golf, but utterly fair (in the sense that good shots will rarely be punished) and still quirky enough to make it interesting for casual play as well. Add to that recipe the spectacular scenery and the result is one track that can't be missed by any serious golfer.

The routing is a classic out (inland along the dunes) and back (seaside along the beach), but hardly anything obscures the views of either the sea or the other holes. Often such side-by-side layouts feel cramped, boring or even unsafe, but Dornoch strikes a perfect balance between views and isolation. Holes #1 through #8 go out, #9 through #15 come back, #16 plays perpendicular, #17 largely out again and #18 finally in to the clubhouse. This distribution makes for two stretches with and against the wind and a minor crosswind diversion towards the end.

Like any proper links course this one has crumpled, fast-running fairways and (depending on the weather) more or less brutal rough to the sides. Landing zones are not too tight, though, so the average golfer should be able to put a ball into play. The real difficulties start around the green complexes - they are all well thought-out and for some reason the player always seems to have a first putt that is quite a bit longer than he fancied.

As far as weaknesses go, the par 3 greens are all very similar in that they have the raised, upturned saucer shape and similar bunkering. There is almost no way to run it up on either of them, so that element of golf architecture is missing. Also, it would have been nice to have more than just two par 5s and have a few more bends like in the Foxy hole, that has been called a double-dogleg par 4.

Other than that it is a fantastic course in a fantastic setting with fantastic conditioning. Many golfers fell in love with it and actually retired at Dornoch, presumably just to play this course. It would undoubtedly be completely crowded, if it were in a more accessible location. However, despite its well-earned reputation, Dornoch is still off the beaten path and the championship course still feels like a remote gem. And that is perhaps its biggest asset - there are hardly any better places to experience a bit of golfing magic.