Royal Dornoch Golf Club’s latest US intern investigating how AI can help visitors immerse themselves in ‘special’ town
Stanford University student Michael Bakan has been immersing himself in the life of Royal Dornoch Golf Club and the Highland town as the latest visitor to be welcome to the club on a four-week internship.
A graduate of Georgetown University in Washington DC before going on to gain business experience there and New York, 27-year-old Bakan has returned to his back yard in California to complete his educational journey.
Before completing his studies at a university which includes Tiger Woods and Tom Watson among its alumni though, he has been spending a month at a golf club where the latter enjoys honorary membership.
“Time has flown by and it’s been a wonderful experience spending time at the golf club and meeting people in the local community,” Bakan said.
“As part of the MBA, you have to spend time working on a project abroad. The internship here appealed to me immediately given the intersection of two of my passions – golf and business."
The partnership between Stanford and Royal Dornoch originated three years ago when Jerret Smith spent his summer month supporting the financing the new clubhouse, and last year Katie Dickenson explored aspects of sustainability, including documenting the club's carbon footprint.
Bakan has had a different focus, explaining: “This year, I have been examining how AI might help with the clubhouse project going forward, further enhance the member and visitor experience and reduce the time staff spend on laborious manual tasks here and at golf clubs in general.
“With work on the clubhouse structure well under way, it has been an exciting time to be here.
“There is a tangible sense of pride in seeing this all coming together and it can only add to the Royal Dornoch experience when it comes on stream.
“The golf club is very much part of the community and has been for nearly 150 years. The town and its history is very special.
“I’m sure AI can assist visiting golfers looking to immerse themselves in that away from the golf course.
“Royal Dornoch welcomes visitors from around the world and all sorts of different backgrounds and you also have staff and members with generational bonds to the club. The oral history I have picked up on has been awesome.
“Everyone has been so welcoming and I have been so fortunate to get to experience the Championship Course and the Struie Course, in all kinds of weather.
“It was immediately obvious why it is rated among the very best in the world and why so many of my fellow countrymen have it on their bucket list.
“So much creativity and imagination is required. It is uplifting. The views are amazing and depending on the weather and pin positions, it is different every day. I am a seven handicapper and this is the most fun I have ever had on a golf course.
“I have been lucky to play with so many individuals with storied ties to the club – from juniors to older members to former club champions – and they have stories about each hole.
“The visitors come for the golf but find so much more in the town and the community. There is such passion for the game, its history and the heritage here.”
