A Sea of Pink on the Links: Inside Royal Dornoch's Pinky Col Charity Day

If you drove past the Struie course one bright morning this month and thought the gorse had bloomed a shade too rosy, you weren't seeing things. That was the annual Pinky Col Invitational in full swing — golfers head to toe in pink, caddies in pink, even a few dogs in pink bandanas, all out on the links at Royal Dornoch to raise money for good causes.

What the Pinky Col actually is

The Pinky Col Invitational is a fixture on the Dornoch summer calendar — a friendly, teams-based tournament played over Royal Dornoch's Championship and Struie courses, with every player asked to wear as much pink as their wardrobe (and dignity) will allow. The Northern Times' picture spread captured the mood better than any word count can: pink jumpers on the first tee, pink umbrellas by the clubhouse, and a proper Highland grin on nearly every face.

Behind the fancy dress is a serious purpose. Entry fees, sponsorship and raffle takings all go to charity, and the day regularly raises thousands of pounds for causes chosen by the organisers and members. It's one of those events where the score on the card matters a lot less than the cheque at the end.

Why the town gets behind it

Ask anyone in Dornoch and they'll tell you the club is stitched into the fabric of the parish. When Royal Dornoch has a good year, the whole town feels it — and 2026 has been a very good year. The new clubhouse, opened in December 2024, has been drawing record numbers of visiting golfers and creating jobs across the parish, according to reporting in the Northern Times. Add in the 112th Carnegie Shield finals in August, a golfing legend recently ranking the course Scotland's finest, and the countdown to the 2028 Curtis Cup, and the pink day starts to feel like the club's warmest, most human answer to all that international attention: we're still a wee Highland town, and we still look after our own.

"It's a proper community day. Members, visitors, staff — everyone's in pink, everyone's chipping in."

Locals, visitors, and a guide in pink

That's one of our own Ghost Tour guides in the photo above. The team at Dornoch Tour lives here too — we walk the same square, drink in the same pubs, and turn out for the same fundraisers. When Royal Dornoch throws a charity day, our guides show up in pink; when the cathedral needs a hand, folk from the club are there too. That's just how a town of two-and-a-bit thousand people works.

It also means visiting golfers who come for a Pinky Col weekend, or for any tee time at Royal Dornoch, tend to discover a town that punches well above its weight after the last putt drops. A round on the Championship in the morning, a stroll around the nine-century-old Dornoch Cathedral in the afternoon, and our candlelit Ghost Tour in the evening — that's a proper Dornoch day, and one plenty of Pinky Col players end up stitching together without much prompting.

How to get involved next year

You don't need a single-figure handicap — or a handicap at all — to be part of this. A few ways in for locals and visitors:

• Play or sponsor: Watch Royal Dornoch's news page in early summer for entry details and sponsorship packages.
• Donate on the day: The raffle and collection buckets around the clubhouse welcome walk-up donations from non-players — well worth a detour if you're in town.
• Wear the pink: Even spectators are encouraged to join the colour scheme. Nobody in Dornoch will bat an eye.
• Make a weekend of it: Pair your visit with a daytime historic walk and an evening Ghost Tour — book directly through Dornoch Tour and your ticket helps fund local guiding jobs too.

The bigger picture

Between the Pinky Col, the Carnegie Shield, the record-breaking clubhouse and the Curtis Cup on the horizon, Dornoch is having a moment — and the pink day is a lovely reminder of what keeps it grounded. Tourism here isn't just something that happens to the town; it funds the town, and days like this one are where you can actually see the money go round.

So whether you're a Sutherland neighbour who fancies teeing it up next August, a golf traveller mapping out a Highlands trip, or simply someone who likes the sound of a fairway full of pink jumpers — consider this your invitation.

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