From Design to Completion: Fairhurst's Role in Royal Dornoch's New Clubhouse

Golf has been played in Dornoch for more than four centuries, with records dating back to 1616, when Sir Robert Gordon submitted expenses for golf clubs and balls. The golf club was formally established in 1877, beginning as a 9‑hole layout and later expanded to 18 holes by Old Tom Morris in 1886. Today, the Championship Course is ranked second in the world by Golf Digest and is widely recognised as one of the finest courses globally.

The commission for the new clubhouse at Royal Dornoch Golf Club included a new three-storey clubhouse built into the landscape, with a ground-floor partial basement level providing the main entrance for golfers from the new car park. The clubhouse has been constructed using traditional sandstone and slate external finishes and features a modern restaurant, bar, and locker rooms. Large glazed elements offer scenic views across the world‑class Royal Dornoch golf course and the surrounding Dornoch area.

Fairhurst provided geotechnical, civil, and structural engineering services to bring this project to life, designing the three‑storey steel frame structure with large reinforced concrete retaining walls and generous open‑plan circulation areas. The combination of extensive curtain wall glazing and tight movement tolerances within the stone masonry created an engineering challenge, particularly in providing bracing for global stability while ensuring the lintels appeared natural.

The large vaulted ceiling over the main lounge and dining area was constructed using cranked steel beams supported at ridge level, along with a feature circular column and beam arrangement at the glazed curtain wall.

Fairhurst’s deep knowledge and understanding of natural stone masonry in local historic buildings informed the specification of a hydraulic lime mortar, allowing wider movement joint spacing on the external elevations. This avoided the unsightly grid pattern of joints that might otherwise have appeared along the building.

While the clubhouse is now firmly established as part of the Royal Dornoch experience, the project remains a particularly memorable one for the Fairhurst team. This past Christmas, Donald Macarthur, Technical Director (Structures) in our Inverness office, visited the clubhouse as a guest at Royal Dornoch Golf Club’s Christmas Dinner, hosted by Neil Hampton and his team.

Having been involved with the project since its early stages in 2018, Donald reflected on the unique collaboration that helped shape the development:

“I remember my first meeting with the client’s team of retired professionals and being somewhat taken aback by the knowledge and experience they brought to the table. This expertise helped drive the project forward and has resulted in one of the most iconic and stunning golf clubhouses in the world being constructed in the Highlands of Scotland.”

Returning to the completed building provided an opportunity to appreciate the finished clubhouse in use and celebrate its success alongside the client, design team and project partners. For Donald, seeing the spaces enjoyed by members and visitors alike was a fitting reminder of the value of the engineering solutions developed throughout the project.

The completed clubhouse demonstrates the successful integration of complex structural, geotechnical, and façade engineering within a sensitive site context. Coordination between steel framing, reinforced concrete retaining systems, and natural stone masonry allowed the building to achieve the required performance and aesthetic objectives. The project reflects a robust technical approach that ensures long‑term stability and functionality for the club’s continued development.

Donald Macarthur, Technical Director (Structures), outside the completed Royal Dornoch Golf Club clubhouse during a return visit to celebrate the project’s successful completion.

I remember my first meeting with the client’s team of retired professionals and being somewhat taken aback by the knowledge and experience they brought to the table. This expertise helped drive the project forward and has resulted in one of the most iconic and stunning golf clubhouses in the world being constructed in the Highlands of Scotland.

— Donald Macarthur, Technical Director