How to Play the Best Golf in Inverness and the Highlands
An hour's radius around Inverness now holds the most exciting concentration of links golf in Scotland: Royal Dornoch, the course the architects worship; Cabot Highlands, where Tom Doak's Old Petty joined Castle Stuart in 2025; Nairn's championship links; and a supporting cast, Brora, Fortrose, Moray, Tain, that would headline any other region. Here is how to play it all, with access and indicative 2026 fees.
Photograph: Royal Dornoch Golf Club, via Google
The short version
Fly into Inverness, the airport sits practically on Cabot Highlands' boundary, and base yourself once: either in Inverness and Nairn for the southern shore of the firths, or in Dornoch itself for the northern run. Royal Dornoch is the round the trip is named for, booked the day its tee sheet opens. Cabot Highlands gives you the modern masterpieces, Nairn the championship test, and then the region's quiet glory: club links a century or three old where the green fee is a third of the headline names and the golf is barely a notch below.
Distances are short by Scottish trip standards. Nairn is 25 minutes from Inverness, Cabot Highlands 15, Dornoch an hour north, Brora 20 minutes beyond that, and Moray's Lossiemouth links 50 minutes east. One base, no ferries, and in June and July, daylight until 11 at night that lets you play 36 without hurrying. Below are the courses to target, who can play them and what they cost in 2026.
The courses to build a Highlands trip around
Royal Dornoch, Championship Course
The pilgrimage. Golf has been played at Dornoch since the early 1600s, the club dates to 1877, and the Championship Course, shaped by Old Tom Morris and later by John Sutherland and George Duncan, is the links that taught Donald Ross what a golf course should be. Plateau greens, gorse in bloom, and the curving bay beyond the 10th make it many fine judges' favorite course in the world. Visitors are welcome; the 2026 single round fee is 360 pounds in the April to October season, and summer times go many months ahead. Handicap limits apply.
Cabot Highlands: Castle Stuart and Old Petty
The modern counterweight, 15 minutes from Inverness. Castle Stuart, by Gil Hanse and Mark Parsinen in 2009, is the great modern links of the firthlands, all infinity fairways and views to the Kessock Bridge, with 2026 fees around 385 pounds. Beside it, Tom Doak's Old Petty opened in 2025, a wide, running, instantly loved second course that turned the property into a true 36 hole destination with lodging on site. Both are fully public; resort packages bundle the two rounds.
The Nairn Golf Club
The championship links of the southern shore, founded 1887 and shaped in turn by Archie Simpson, Old Tom Morris and James Braid. Nairn hosted the 1999 Walker Cup and the 2021 Curtis Cup, and its opening seven holes run so close to the Moray Firth that the beach is in play. Famously, you can putt from almost anywhere; the greens are the examination. Visitors welcome, with a 2026 green fee around 350 pounds in high season.
Brora
The connoisseur's links. James Braid's 1924 routing at Brora, 20 minutes north of Dornoch, remains gloriously old fashioned: sheep and cattle graze the fairways behind low electric fences, the greens are quick and true, and the golf is pure running links. It peaks at around 180 pounds in 2026, half or less of the marquee fees, and pairs with Golspie for the best value 36 in the north. The James Braid Society holds its annual gathering here for a reason.
The supporting cast: Fortrose, Moray, Tain
Fortrose and Rosemarkie, on the Black Isle 30 minutes from Inverness, is among the oldest golfing grounds in the world, with golf recorded in 1702 and a Braid revised links squeezed onto Chanonry Point between sea and firth; 2026 fees run about 110 to 125 pounds. Moray Old at Lossiemouth, an 1889 Old Tom Morris design with a famous finishing hole into the town, is around 125 pounds in summer. Tain, Old Tom again from 1890, is the quiet gem of the Dornoch road at a modest fee. Any of the three would be the best course in most English counties.
Key courses and how to play them
| Course | Designer and pedigree | Indicative 2026 fee |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Dornoch Championship | Old Tom Morris and successors; club 1877 | 360 pounds single round, Apr to Oct |
| Castle Stuart, Cabot Highlands | Hanse and Parsinen, 2009 | Around 385 pounds |
| Old Petty, Cabot Highlands | Tom Doak, opened 2025 | Resort rates, packages with Castle Stuart |
| Nairn | Simpson, Old Tom Morris, Braid; 1999 Walker Cup | Around 350 pounds high season |
| Brora | James Braid, 1924 | Around 180 pounds peak |
| Fortrose and Rosemarkie | Golf from 1702; Braid revisions | 110 to 125 pounds |
| Moray Old, Lossiemouth | Old Tom Morris, 1889 | Around 125 pounds summer |
Designers, dates and access verified June 2026 from club rate cards and ranking sources. Green fees move with season and demand and are indicative for 2026. We do not quote our own pricing, so always confirm directly before booking. Check tee time availability.
Where to stay and when to go
Two bases work. Inverness or Nairn puts Cabot Highlands, Nairn and Fortrose within half an hour and Dornoch within a day trip; the city has the restaurants and the airport. Dornoch itself is the romantic choice, a cathedral town where you walk to the first tee, with Brora, Golspie and Tain up the road; split the week between the two and you drive less than two hours total. May to September is the season, with June and July offering northern daylight that makes 36 hole days feel leisurely. May and September bring firm turf and softer rates. Book Dornoch first, Cabot Highlands second, and leave one afternoon free for the drive around the Black Isle.
Need a base near the golf? See our recommended Inverness and Dornoch hotels.
Plan your Highlands golf trip
Dornoch tee times and Cabot Highlands packages are the bottlenecks. Tell us your dates and group size; one concierge sequences the firth courses, books the bases and costs the trip to the head. No obligation.
Inverness and Highlands golf questions
How much is the green fee at Royal Dornoch?
A single round on the Championship Course at Royal Dornoch costs 360 pounds in the April to October 2026 season, with lower rates in the shoulder months. The Struie, the second course, costs far less. Summer tee times book many months ahead. Fees are indicative; always confirm directly with the club before booking.
Is Castle Stuart now Cabot Highlands?
Yes. Castle Stuart Golf Links, the Gil Hanse and Mark Parsinen design from 2009 just east of Inverness, became Cabot Highlands after Cabot acquired the property. The original course still plays as Castle Stuart, with 2026 visitor fees around 385 pounds, and Tom Doak's new Old Petty course opened alongside it in 2025, making the property a genuine 36 hole destination. Always confirm rates and access directly before booking.
What is the best value golf in the Highlands?
The supporting cast is the secret. Brora, a James Braid links from 1924 with sheep and cattle still grazing the fairways, peaks at around 180 pounds in 2026. Fortrose and Rosemarkie, among the oldest golfing grounds in the world, runs about 110 to 125 pounds. Moray Old at Lossiemouth is around 125 pounds in summer, and Tain, an Old Tom Morris design, costs less still. All are indicative 2026 rates; confirm directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf around Inverness?
May to September. June and July bring almost endless daylight this far north, with evening rounds possible past 10 at night, while May and September offer firm links, fewer visitors and softer rates. April and October are playable with the right clothing. The wind is part of the golf year round; pack for four seasons in a day regardless of month.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Course access changes, openings and the trips worth taking. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designers, access and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.