Royal Dornoch Golf Club commission statues of legendary architect Donald Ross and long-running secretary John Sutherland to stand at entrance
ROYAL Dornoch has commissioned Scots sculptor David Annand to create a bronze statue commemorating two key figures in the history of the renowned Highland club.
A new eco-friendly clubhouse is taking shape by the first tee of the celebrated Championship Course – and on target for an official opening next year.
Members and visiting golfers will be greeted at the entrance by a statue of legendary golf course architect Donald Ross and John Sutherland, the influential club secretary who served Royal Dornoch for nearly 60 years from 1883 until his death in 1941.
Annand’s acclaimed sculpture of the “Grand Old Man of Golf,” Old Tom Morris, was unveiled last year in St Andrews near the Royal and Ancient clubhouse.
Morris was lured to Dornoch in 1886 to lay out “nine proper golf holes” on the links where the earliest written record of golf being played dates to the early years of the 17th Century.
Having viewed the terrain and declared “there canna be better for gowf,” he also left his imprint on the original nine holes overlooking the Dornoch Firth.
Ross, who was “keeper of the green” and the first professional at his local club before embarking on a new life in the United States, served an apprenticeship under Old Tom at St Andrews before returning to Dornoch.
With the new £13.9 million clubhouse nearing completion and the 150th anniversary looming in 2027, past captain Professor David Bell and general manager Neil Hampton turned to Fife-based Annand to create a statue which would celebrate the rich legacy of Sutherland and Ross.
“The statue has been made possible by a generous donation by an anonymous member based in America. The club has also set up a charity – the Royal Dornoch Foundation (Heritage) – to channel member donations from both sides of the Atlantic into maintaining and publicising the club’s rich history,” explained Professor Bell.
“A cast of David’s impressive clay model is now with Powderhall Bronze in Edinburgh to be transformed into the finished bronze statue.
“It features two iconic figures in the history of Royal Dornoch and recalls a farewell reception in March 1899 as Donald left Dornoch first to the Oakley club near Boston and subsequently to Pinehurst, North Carolina, which is inextricably linked with both Ross and Royal Dornoch.
“We have close ties with Pinehurst, in particular, and with that in mind the statue will face towards the eastern seaboard of the USA.”
Local Press reports of the time recorded the farewell presentation of “a purse of sovereigns” to the club’s “popular and clever young professional” as Ross departed, having spent five years in the role.
That moment has been captured in Annand’s statue.
Ross, then aged 27, also received gifts from the town’s bible class, brass band and Lodge St Gilbert.
He went on to design more than 450 courses in North America and in 1947 became the first president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
Sutherland had been a member of the club for three years before taking on the secretary’s role at the age of 19, later combining it with the post as Town Clerk.
An 11-time Silver Medal winner, founding member of the executive of the Scottish Golf Union and secretary of the North District, he put the Highlands on the golfing map with regular contributions to London’s “Daily Star” and “Golf Illustrated.”
He was hugely influential in developing Dornoch as a popular holiday destination, not only for golf.
“Sutherland was a lynchpin in developing the reputation of Royal Dornoch and had input to courses at Skibo Castle for Andrew Carnegie, Lairg, Berriedale, Brora and Wick,” said general manager Neil Hampton.
“He oversaw the creation of the clubhouse which opened in 1909, at a cost of £1607.
“Sutherland had encouraged the young Ross to learn club making skills under the eye of Old Tom Morris at St Andrews before luring him back to Dornoch.
“The statue will be a timely reminder of these two hugely influential figures in the history of Royal Dornoch, the Highlands and golf on both sides of the Atlantic as we countdown to another major milestone with the opening of the new clubhouse in 2026.”
