MONDAY MEMORIES: HAMISH MACRAE

PAST captain Hamish Macrae was born and bred in the town and in a fascinating contribution to Royal Dornoch’s “Oral Memories Series” he assesses how the golf courses have changed down the decades. 

His father, JS Macrae, was a two times winner of the Carnegie Shield and a four times Silver Medallist, so golf is very much part of the family DNA. 

In an interview for the club’s YouTube channel, Hamish admits to an enduring fondness for the Struie Course. 

He recalls it as a fun nine-hole challenge in the early 1960s and looks forward to plans coming forward to continue the evolution of the “Bottom Course.” 

“There were some wonderful holes down there and the old second was my favourite,” he recalls. 

Tee shots from an elevated green left a second shot over the burn to a green, reminiscent of the first hole on the Old Course at St Andrews.  

But Hamish admits the arrival of the caravan site, and modern health and safety considerations, prompted changes on the Struie to prevent golf balls shelling unsuspecting tourists and cars making for the beach.