“Forces converge in Dornoch. The place is the essence of golf. There’s a rightness about it” Alan Grant, quoted in “A Season in Dornoch”, by Lorne Rubenstein My copy of the late Peter Matthiessen’s “The Snow Leopard” is by this point battered. I borrowed it from the Oxford Street bookstore where I worked in 1998 - in another lifetime, it feels - and never placed it back upon the shelf, though I recall the moment the cover caught my eye. I must have read it at least annually since, and, like a fine claret or a classic golf course, it seems to offer more with every passing year or visit. And I did pay for it, in case you’re wondering.
What a lovely read on a dreary Sunday, Richard. Dornoch was the first links course I ever played, the start of a 'once-in-a-lifetime golf trip to Scotland' from the States way back in 1997. Then, I had no sense of context or framework for comparison. Now, having since moved to Scotland, I am better able to appreciate just how special the links and the town are -- though I still feel as if I've just scratched the surface. You (and I) will definitely return!
Great, you're on! Interesting...another friend's first experience of the links was also Royal Dornoch. That's the golfing equivalent of leaping into the Channel to learn to swim!
Another masterful sharing of your experience and thoughts. A marvelous way to experience the magical village of Dornoch. “Aye, haste ye back laddie”, I’m sure I hear it in the wind.
Thank you Richard. I have long covid that sucks the energy away from everything I want to do and be. At the beginning of this now two year journey, I decided I would take golf lessons again on an almost weekly basis. My desire was to destroy my swing completely and replace it with a swing that would serve me well as I head into my seventh decade.
What I'm really wanting to do is keep my hope alive, hope that my long covid would leave me without destroying too much of me, hope that I could again be just a bit under a 10 index so I can be a single digit handicapper one more time.
When I read, “The golf course is a sanctuary. You wonder ‘What’s in store for me today?’ There’s hope in your voice, of course. Without hope, there is no golf,” I sobbed. I've been losing hope in every struggle I have.
So, thank you for restoring some hope. I'm happy to share this small village with you.
Your message moved me to the point where I couldn't reply...I had the writing equivalent of a yip. But I read it again this morning and there is in your words what we all need, in our own personal challenges...a certain stubborn streak...a desire to keep going. Maybe that's what golf gives us, I don't know. But if that is what will, in time, make you better, give you hope...how wonderful. I am so grateful for you dropping me this line. And I send my very best wishes your way...
Thanks for taking the time to reply Richard. Maybe your unconscious needed to sit with the experience. I appreciate your kindness.
Yes, a stubborn streak, to persevere without any assurance of a good outcome. To never say die. To, "not go gentle into that good night."
I just had this thought for the first time, that is how I create hope. Now I know why I sometimes bristle when. someone mentions hope. I must sense that somehow they can just grant it. Maybe I believe I have to create or earn it.
Again, I marvel at what a deep dive into the mysteries of golf can produce.
What a lovely read on a dreary Sunday, Richard. Dornoch was the first links course I ever played, the start of a 'once-in-a-lifetime golf trip to Scotland' from the States way back in 1997. Then, I had no sense of context or framework for comparison. Now, having since moved to Scotland, I am better able to appreciate just how special the links and the town are -- though I still feel as if I've just scratched the surface. You (and I) will definitely return!
Great, you're on! Interesting...another friend's first experience of the links was also Royal Dornoch. That's the golfing equivalent of leaping into the Channel to learn to swim!
Another masterful sharing of your experience and thoughts. A marvelous way to experience the magical village of Dornoch. “Aye, haste ye back laddie”, I’m sure I hear it in the wind.
Thank you! Glad someone else is hearing things, John. Meet you there, perhaps...
Thank you Richard. I have long covid that sucks the energy away from everything I want to do and be. At the beginning of this now two year journey, I decided I would take golf lessons again on an almost weekly basis. My desire was to destroy my swing completely and replace it with a swing that would serve me well as I head into my seventh decade.
What I'm really wanting to do is keep my hope alive, hope that my long covid would leave me without destroying too much of me, hope that I could again be just a bit under a 10 index so I can be a single digit handicapper one more time.
When I read, “The golf course is a sanctuary. You wonder ‘What’s in store for me today?’ There’s hope in your voice, of course. Without hope, there is no golf,” I sobbed. I've been losing hope in every struggle I have.
So, thank you for restoring some hope. I'm happy to share this small village with you.
Eddie Reece
Dear Eddie
Your message moved me to the point where I couldn't reply...I had the writing equivalent of a yip. But I read it again this morning and there is in your words what we all need, in our own personal challenges...a certain stubborn streak...a desire to keep going. Maybe that's what golf gives us, I don't know. But if that is what will, in time, make you better, give you hope...how wonderful. I am so grateful for you dropping me this line. And I send my very best wishes your way...
Richard
Thanks for taking the time to reply Richard. Maybe your unconscious needed to sit with the experience. I appreciate your kindness.
Yes, a stubborn streak, to persevere without any assurance of a good outcome. To never say die. To, "not go gentle into that good night."
I just had this thought for the first time, that is how I create hope. Now I know why I sometimes bristle when. someone mentions hope. I must sense that somehow they can just grant it. Maybe I believe I have to create or earn it.
Again, I marvel at what a deep dive into the mysteries of golf can produce.
Keep writing.
Eddie
You have to back
You will
Find your soul there
An excellent and thought provoking piece. Dornoch is a lovely place to spend time in even if you aren’t golfing.