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Golf guide • Scotland • Highlands

Golf in Inverness: the Moray Firth links at the gateway to the Highlands

Inverness, capital of the Highlands at the head of the Moray Firth, is the base for three first-rate links within half an hour: Cabot Highlands, with Castle Stuart (Gil Hanse and Mark Parsinen, 2009) and Tom Doak's Old Petty, and the Championship course at Nairn, founded in 1887. Royal Dornoch makes a day trip, about an hour to the north. The best season runs from May to September.

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Inverness grew up at the mouth of the Ness, the river that flows from Loch Ness down to the Moray Firth. The city has just under fifty thousand inhabitants and keeps a human scale: you walk from the centre to the riverbanks, cross the footbridges of the Ness Islands and dine by the water. To the east, the coast opens onto a broad, sheltered firth lined with dunes and low cliffs, ideal ground for links golf.

Two addresses justify the journey. Cabot Highlands, a quarter of an hour from the city and a few minutes from the airport, brings together Castle Stuart, a modern links ranked among the best in the world, and Old Petty, designed by Tom Doak and officially opened in May 2026. A little further, half an hour away, Nairn has unrolled a classic links since 1887, where the sea is visible from every hole and where the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup have been played.

Royal Dornoch, about an hour north on the A9, makes a natural day trip for anyone who wants one of Scotland's most revered links. Between rounds, Culloden and Cawdor Castle are a few minutes from the greens, and Loch Ness a quarter of an hour from the city. Three to five nights are enough to play the essentials without rushing, dining in Inverness every evening.

The courses

Links green beside a sandy beach, turf-faced bunkers, flowering gorse and distant hills

Cabot Highlands – Castle Stuart

  • Architect: Gil Hanse, Mark Parsinen
  • Opened 2009
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Opened in 2009 on the shore of the Moray Firth, Castle Stuart is the work of Mark Parsinen, who led the project, and the architect Gil Hanse. The course hosted the Scottish Open in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016 and features in world rankings. The tees of the opening holes are cut into a low cliff, the greens seem to hang above the water and the Black Isle closes the horizon. The wind off the firth dictates your lines more than length does. Since 2022 the estate has belonged to the Cabot group.

Signature hole. The 17th, a par 3 of about 220 yards played along the clifftop above the firth, is the most intimidating shot on the card.

Official website

Cabot Highlands – Old Petty

  • Architect: Tom Doak
  • Opened 2026
  • 18 holes

The estate's second course, Old Petty was designed by Tom Doak, opened for preview play in summer 2025 and then officially inaugurated on 15 May 2026. It takes its name from the old Petty church, built in 1839, which borders the layout. The course follows the natural contours, between slopes and open ground, runs along a tidal estuary and passes close to the four-hundred-year-old Castle Stuart itself. A rare detail in contemporary golf: the 1st and 18th cross. A course to play on the same visit as Castle Stuart, to compare two readings of the same shoreline.

Official website

Nairn Golf Club (Championship Course)

  • Architect: Archie Simpson; Old Tom Morris (1889); James Braid (1909)
  • Opened 1887
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

Founded in 1887 on an original layout by Archie Simpson, reworked by Old Tom Morris and then James Braid, Nairn's Championship course was refined by Mackenzie & Ebert between 2018 and 2020. It is a classic links, laid over rolling dunes along the Moray Firth, with the sea visible from every hole, and the wind often decides the scorecard. A par 71 of 6,832 yards from the back tees, it hosted the Walker Cup in 1999, the Curtis Cup in 2012 and the Amateur Championship in 1994 and 2021.

Signature hole. The 14th, Kopjes, is a par 3 of about 220 yards whose Biarritz-style green is split by a deep swale: finding the right tier is the whole challenge.

Official website

Royal Dornoch Championship Course

  • Architect: Old Tom Morris; George Duncan; Mackenzie & Ebert
  • Opened 1877
  • 18 holes
  • Par 70

About an hour north of Inverness, Royal Dornoch is the excursion you will not regret. Golf was already being played here in 1616; the club dates from 1877 and Old Tom Morris extended the course to eighteen holes in 1886. Donald Ross was its first professional before leaving for the United States, and Dornoch's domed greens shaped his entire body of work. The out-and-back layout runs along the Dornoch Firth, a par 70, and ranks among the highest-rated links in the world. Allow a full day and book early.

Signature hole. The 14th, Foxy, is a par 4 of about 445 yards that follows the land as it lies and finishes on a domed green, in the purest Dornoch tradition.

Official website

Where to stay

Ness Walk

A five-star hotel on the banks of the Ness, a few minutes' walk from the centre, Ness Walk occupies a carefully restored listed villa of honey-coloured sandstone. The rooms and suites keep their original cornicing, and the Torrish restaurant, in the former drawing room, serves fish, Highland beef and produce from local suppliers facing the river. The best address for walking to dinner in town and reaching the golf in a quarter of an hour.

Culloden House Hotel

Some six kilometres east of the centre, in nearly sixteen hectares of woods and gardens, this Georgian mansion stands on the estate where Prince Charles Edward Stuart set up his headquarters before the battle of 1746. There is no lift: ask for a superior room on the first floor, overlooking the lawns, and have a tasting in the Ferintosh Whisky Bar booked forty-eight hours ahead. Close to Cabot Highlands and the battlefield.

Bunchrew House Hotel

West of Inverness on the Beauly Firth, Bunchrew House is a Scottish manor with four AA stars; in the panelled drawing room, a 1621 plaque records the marriage of the eighth Lord Lovat. Of its sixteen rooms, ask for one of the two Premium rooms in the oldest part of the house. The dining room, with two AA rosettes, faces the Black Isle. Further from the courses, but with a drying room and a locked store for golf bags.

Victorian stone villa on the bank of a broad river, surrounded by tall trees, in golden evening light

Where to dine

Rocpool

At 1 Ness Walk, on the bank of the Ness, Rocpool has welcomed diners since 2002 in a bright, colourful room. Modern British cooking built on Scottish produce, with influences from further afield: Shetland monkfish, roasted prawns with 'nduja. Listed in the Michelin Guide, it closes on Sundays and Mondays; book ahead.

River House

A small dining room at 1 Greig Street, facing the Ness, River House is run by chef Alfie Little and devoted to seafood: oysters, crab, mussels, langoustines, halibut, sea bass. Open Tuesday to Saturday from late afternoon into the evening, with two-hour table slots. The ideal dinner after a day on the links.

Beyond golf

Culloden, the end of the Jacobites

On 16 April 1746, on Culloden Moor, about eight kilometres east of Inverness, the army of Prince Charles Edward Stuart was defeated: it was the last pitched battle fought on British soil, and it ended the Jacobite rising. The National Trust for Scotland manages the site and its visitor centre, opened in 2007, and is gradually returning the moor to its appearance at the time.

Cawdor, the castle of legend

Between Inverness and Nairn, Cawdor Castle grew around a 15th-century tower, itself built around a holly tree that was alive when it was built. Shakespeare made Macbeth Thane of Cawdor, but the castle did not exist in the king's lifetime: the link comes from the chronicler Hector Boece. The walled, flower-filled gardens are worth the visit on their own.

The River Ness and Loch Ness

In town, a path follows the Ness to the Ness Islands, wooded islets linked by footbridges since the 1840s, for an end-of-day stroll. Loch Ness begins a quarter of an hour's drive to the south-west: explore its shores by car or by boat, without necessarily looking for the monster.

Highland heather moor crossed by a stone-edged gravel path, a cairn and pine forest in the distance

When to go

The golf season runs from May to September: very long days around June, mild temperatures that are rarely hot, and courses at their best. Inverness has an oceanic climate, relatively dry for Scotland, with about 755 mm of rain a year, but the wind off the Moray Firth changes everything from one hour to the next. April and October remain playable, quieter and cooler, with noticeably shorter days.

Getting there

Inverness Airport (INV), at Dalcross, is about thirteen kilometres from the centre, some twenty minutes by road, and a few minutes from Cabot Highlands. It is linked with London (Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton) and Amsterdam. A station has served the airport since 2023, on the Aberdeen–Inverness line, and the Caledonian Sleeper arrives from London Euston. Once there, a car is essential to move between the courses.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course near Inverness?

Castle Stuart, at Cabot Highlands, a quarter of an hour from the city, ranks among the best links in the world. Nairn, half an hour away, is the great classic of the Moray Firth, and Royal Dornoch, about an hour away, is the most celebrated in the Highlands.

Are Castle Stuart and Cabot Highlands the same golf resort?

Yes. The Cabot group bought Castle Stuart in 2022 and the estate is now called Cabot Highlands. It has two courses: Castle Stuart, opened in 2009, and Tom Doak's Old Petty, inaugurated in May 2026.

How long does it take to get from Inverness to Royal Dornoch?

About an hour's drive north on the A9. It is therefore played as a day trip from Inverness.

When is the best time to play golf in Inverness?

From May to September, when the days are long and the links in their best condition. April and October are playable but cooler, with shorter days.

Do you need a handicap to play Cabot Highlands?

No, no handicap certificate is required. Both courses are walking-only, with trolleys and caddies available on request.

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