Tee Box Station Design Named: Easy Access Wins on the Old Clubhouse Pad

DORNOCH — The Royal Dornoch Gondola Company has named a winner in the design competition for the Royal Dornoch Tee Box station: a raised platform on the old clubhouse building pad that puts members and guests within a polite walk of the first tee, and within an impolite reach of a Standard Class cabin.

The selected scheme reuses the footprint of the former clubhouse pad rather than inventing a new one on virgin turf. Stairs rise to a glazed platform; the cabin arrives above; the Championship first tee waits below. Members and guests who have historically negotiated bags, wind, and a certain amount of Highland optimism between transport and the starter's box report they are already excited about the easy access.

Neil Hampton, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, welcomed the choice with the measured enthusiasm of a man who has seen many proposals and fewer staircases that actually go somewhere useful. "This innovative design and golfing access will further reinforce Royal Dornoch as a leader in Golf Courses," he said. "Other clubs offer parking. We offer descent. When your first tee is a short walk from a cabin that arrived by cable over the firth, you are not merely a golf destination. You are infrastructure with a handicap."

Hampton added that the old pad had been "patient" and that patience, like a well-timed four-iron, is eventually rewarded. "We have not moved the tee," he clarified. "We have moved the arrival. History may struggle to tell the difference."

CEO Dr. Gary Bethune confirmed that the station sits squarely within the Tain–Brora alignment and the company's longstanding preference for building on land that has already been argued over. Station Master Stan Pennington, extension 00, said the one-way principle still applies: "Arrive by cabin. Leave by score. Do not reverse on the stairs."

The winning rendering shows the cabin suspended above the platform, the Royal Dornoch Golf Club board in the foreground, and golfers who appear to have already decided the walk is shorter than the alternative. Formal planning steps remain subject to the usual Highland formalities. Informal celebration may begin at the turn.

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