The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle, Dornoch, Scotland

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  • Hosted a shell Wonderful World of Golf Match between Greg Norman and Fred Couples in July 1996
  • Voted "Best New Development in Britain and Ireland" by Golf World Magazine in 1996
  • Won prestigious national environmental award open to all courses in Scotland
  • Dramatic closing stretch of holes with the sea featuring on three of the last four

The 6671 yard, par 71 course was soon chosen as the venue for Shell Wonderful World of Golf Match between Fred Couples and Greg Norman, who had joined the Club the previous year after a week's holiday there with his family. On a sunny but blustery July day, Couples was victorious but was only able to score 75, such were the conditions. The site with water on three sides presented a rare opportunity to design holes along the shore side and the layout brings the sea or fresh water Loch Evelix into play on 5 holes, all lovely natural holes. One of the great challenges was to ensure that the course sits comfortably in its majestic setting. James Achenbach writing in Golfweek felt that "the course looks as if could have been built by shepherds two centuries ago."

The Carnegie links at Skibo is a rare example of a new links in Scotland. Set on a narrow peninsula jutting out in the Dornoch Firth in the North of Scotland, it is surrounded by beautiful highland and coastal scenery and is an area where wildlife such as otter, salmon and ospreys abound. The beauty of the spot was what first attracted Andrew Carnegie to buy the estate and build his vast castle at the turn of the 20th century. It also convinced Peter de Savary, the founder of the Carnegie Club, that Skibo was right for his concept to create a private residential golf and sporting club for an international membership.

Within one year of opening, the course had been voted the best new development in Britain by Golf World Magazine and had also won a prestigious national environmental award open to all courses in Scotland, old and new. This was all the more satisfying because the land on which the course was built was far from easy, a significant proportion of the site being designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest by Central Government. The whole area is also part of a National Scenic Area, another national designation, and both could easily have prevented the project from starting.

One of the most talked about holes is the 17th. It is unusual because it is a short 267 yard par four, with the Dornoch Firth hugging its left flank. Invariably played with the prevailing wind whistling from left to right, the bold player must start the ball out over the sea if the green is to be reached from the tee. A cluster of bunkers awaits the wayward shot. It is a hole where most will reach for their driver, but this is often not the best choice, the player who lays up often winning the hole.
QUOTATIONS

"Donald Steel, a golf architect, whose sane adherence to traditional values has restored and enhanced a 6,671 par-71 links lay-out of such stunning beauty that it will complement the Royal Dornoch course just four miles to the east. There can be no higher compliment, for Royal Dornoch is the best-kept secret among golf's cognoscenti"
Ian Wooldridge, Daily Mail, January 28 1995

"And those who follow the meanderings of modern golf know the Carnegie Castle as the site of a new links course designed by Donald Steel, one of the few architects capable of suppressing his ego long enough to produce a layout that is so utterly simple and natural. Steel gets my highest compliments. Blending unobtrusively into the links land, the course looks as if it could have been built by shepherds two centuries ago."
James Achenbach, Golfweek, July 22, 1995.

"The thing about a visit to Skibo is that there are so many breathtaking experiences, it is a wonder that you ever manage to catch your breath at all!"
Golf World Magazine (November Issue 1996)

"I just think that Donald Steel has done an amazing job there. The setting as well is just wonderful. In fact I'd be hard pressed to think of a more scenic course anywhere in the British Isles".
Ronan Rafferty, Former Ryder Cup Player

"It was a memorable experience, from the superb Carnegie course to the magical ambience of Skibo Castle, to the unsurpassed service and elegance of the entire Club. The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle is truly a special place".
The Golfer Magazine, USA