Brora Golf Club
A James Braid links lost in time on the far north coast. Brora is the kind of place modern golf has forgotten: a natural, firm running links where sheep and cattle graze the fairways, low electric fences ring every green, and the round costs a fraction of its famous neighbour Royal Dornoch twenty minutes south. It is a pilgrimage course, beloved by those who make the trip.
Photo: Brora Golf Club via Google.
The verdict
Brora is the connoisseur's links, a course that asks you to drive an hour past Inverness into the empty north and rewards you with golf as it used to be. Founded in 1891 and given its enduring shape by James Braid in 1923, it runs out and back along a strip of natural duneland beside the North Sea, firm and fast in a dry spell, with greens built into the land rather than onto it. The famous architect Donald Steel called it one of his favourite courses in the world, and the great Peter Thomson loved it enough to lend his name to its golfing society in spirit, though it is Braid the club honours.
What makes Brora unforgettable is its working landscape. The links is common grazing land, and sheep and cattle wander the fairways, kept off the greens only by the two foot electric fences that have ringed every putting surface since 1967. Step over them, play around the livestock, and you are golfing in a living piece of Highland history. For the travelling golfer building a north Highlands trip around Royal Dornoch, Brora is the round that turns a good week into a great one, and at the price, an absolute steal.
Brora at a glance
- Founded
- 1891
- Designer
- James Braid, 1923
- Type
- Links
- Par
- 70
- Yardage
- 6,110 yds
- Green fee
- Around £50
Founding year, designer, par and yardage verified June 2026 from the club and course databases; Brora was founded in 1891, redesigned by James Braid in 1923, and plays around 6,110 yards, par 70. The green fee is indicative, around 35 to 50 pounds in 2026 depending on weekday or weekend and round or full day, with multi round Highland passes available. Always confirm directly before booking.
The holes worth the trip
Brora is not about a handful of signature holes so much as a complete, harmonious round, but a few stand out. The opening stretch runs north along the shore with the beach close on the right, easing you into the rhythm of links golf before the wind has its full say. The par 3s are a particular delight, small natural greens perched in the dunes where the right club is anyone's guess once the breeze gets up.
The closing holes, with Braid's bunkering and the famous 18th, the Plateau, bring you home past the clubhouse on greens that fall away and ask for a deft touch. Throughout, the angles Braid built into the routing reward the player who thinks, placing drives to open the best line in rather than simply bombing it down the middle. It is strategic golf of the old school, written into firm ground.
And then there is the texture of the place: the electric fences you unhook your mind to step over, the sheep that scatter from a fairway, the larks overhead and the sea always within a few paces. Brora gives you a round that feels less like a modern golf experience and more like a window into how the game was first played on the Scottish coast.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | A members club that warmly welcomes visitors through the season, with tee times far easier to secure than at the marquee Highland links |
| Green fee | Around 35 to 50 pounds in 2026 depending on weekday or weekend and round or full day (indicative), with multi round Highland passes available |
| Booking | Book ahead in summer, though Brora is rarely as pressured as Dornoch; midweek is quietest |
| On the day | Walking course; mind the livestock and the electric fences around the greens, which are immovable obstructions; a friendly clubhouse with a fine view |
| Getting there | On the Sutherland coast about an hour north of Inverness, twenty minutes beyond Royal Dornoch, with a station on the Far North railway line |
| Best months | May to September for the firmest turf and longest days; the far north stays light very late in midsummer |
Access and indicative green fees verified June 2026 from the club; they change without notice, so always confirm directly before booking with Brora Golf Club or your trip planner. Check tee time availability.
Where to stay nearby
The natural base for a north Highlands links trip is Dornoch, a handsome cathedral town twenty minutes south with hotels and guest houses within walking distance of Royal Dornoch's first tee. From there Brora, Golspie and Tain are all short drives up and down the coast, an easy loop of value links built around one of the world's great courses.
Brora itself has a comfortable hotel or two and the famous Clynelish distillery on the edge of the village, while Inverness an hour south offers the fuller range of hotels and the airport. Many golfers simply base in Dornoch and let the concierge sequence Brora and its neighbours across a relaxed Highland week.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Dornoch and Brora.
Play Brora and the north Highlands
We build north Highlands links trips around Royal Dornoch, Brora, Golspie and Tain, secure the tee times and sort a Dornoch base and the transfers from Inverness. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Brora questions
Who designed Brora Golf Club?
Brora was founded in 1891 as a nine hole course laid out by John Sutherland, the long serving secretary of nearby Royal Dornoch. The course played today is the work of James Braid, the five time Open champion and prolific architect, who visited in 1923 to select new tees and greens and returned that December for final adjustments. Brora is now home to the James Braid Golfing Society.
What is the par and length of Brora?
Brora is a par 70 of around 6,110 yards, a modest length that belies its challenge. The defence is the firm, natural links ground, the angles Braid built into the routing and the wind off the North Sea, which can turn a short hole into a long one in a single gust.
Why does Brora have electric fences around the greens?
The links shares its grazing land with local crofters whose sheep and cattle have roamed the course for generations. To protect the putting surfaces, low electric fences have surrounded every green since 1967. They are treated as immovable obstructions under the local rules, and stepping over them, and the occasional sheep on the fairway, is part of what makes Brora unlike anywhere else.
How much does it cost to play Brora?
Brora is one of the great value rounds in golf. Indicative 2026 visitor green fees are around 35 to 50 pounds depending on weekday or weekend and round or full day, with multi round Highland passes available. Fees change by season and year, so always confirm current rates directly before booking.
Where is Brora and what is nearby?
Brora sits on the Sutherland coast of the far north Highlands, about an hour north of Inverness and twenty minutes beyond Royal Dornoch. It pairs naturally with Dornoch, Golspie and Tain on a North Highlands links pilgrimage along the James Braid trail, a quiet, beautiful corner of Scotland.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Hidden links, Highland value rounds and the trips worth taking. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Founding year, designer, par and yardage verified June 2026; indicative green fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.