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By David Brice
Golf International, Inc.

The Royal Burgh of Tain is one of those tiny communities most visiting golfers miss as they speed along the highway in their quest to play Royal Dornoch and Nairn, the top ranked courses in the Scottish Highlands. For those who wander less than a mile off the main road, following the signs to Tain, there will be plenty of rewards.

The Royal Burgh of Tain is one of Scotland's oldest towns.

Established here on the shores of the Firth of Dornoch during 9th century Viking times, little Tain (population 4,000) is a treasure trove of iconic Scottish discoveries, just waiting to impress those who will linger awhile.

The town received its Royal charter in 1066, one of the first Scottish towns to be so honored. Despite its small size it is filled with impressive architecture and narrow winding streets, evoking a very special charm. On the north side of town is the Glenmorangie whisky distillery and not far from the town center, a gem of a golf course that is as Scottish as any you will find in the home of golf -- a brilliant piece of design artistry from the greatest golf architect of the late 19th century, Old Tom Morris.

Tain is an Old Tom Morris design dating from 1890.

Bordered by a sheep farm on one side and the town on the other, it's ironic that such a golf treasure escapes most visiting golfers. Unpretentious and adverse to blowing its own trumpet, low profile, Tain Golf Club sits tucked away in this tiny town, too modest to tell the world just what they are missing as they speed by in their rented cars.

Tain Golf Club was founded in 1890 and Morris was brought in during the spring of that year to survey a parcel of land being considered for a golf course. He found only 15 natural locations for greens, so the end result in those uncomplicated days was a 15-hole course. Even this, the small membership found too expensive to maintain, reducing the layout to only 12 holes within two years of the opening.

Void of artificial gimmickry, Tain is as natural as they come.

Today, Tain sports a full 18-holes, including the 10 that have survived the 117 years since Old Tom Morris first laid them out. Not surprisingly, among "Tom's 10" are the best holes on a course filled with challenge from start to finish; they stand as a tribute to the artistry and abilities of one of golf's greatest design talents ever.

Immaculately maintained with greens as good as presented by any Scottish layout, this combination of links and heathland boasts an idyllic setting. The course skirts the shoreline of the Dornoch Firth, with some dramatic views to a mountain backdrop, evoking a feeling of total solitude, even reverence.

The best holes on the front nine are the second, third and fourth, all provided courtesy of Mr. Morris.

Tain's 3rd is vintage Old Tom Morris.

An unexpected stream meanders through the second that measures 391 yards from the back tee. There's a deceiving fairway, dissected by a large ridge that runs through the middle with a 20-foot drop as the fairway approaches the dangerous burn. This leaves a further 70 yards to the slick green -- tricky, but good preparation for the hardest hole on the course that follows.

The difficult third hole is vintage Morris -- a dogleg left which can be reached in two, but for the cautious, a wiser approach will be taken with three shots. There's a generous heaping of ominous gorse on the left and out of bounds to the right. Big hitting on Tain can be folly and an expensive exercise unless accompanied by pinpoint accuracy and total ball control.

The combination of links and heathland presents a daunting variety of challenges.

The par-5 fourth offers the daunting task of a tee shot through an avenue of gorse and whin. Stray from the fairway here and even bogey will be an accomplishment, made all the more difficult by the small green, jealously protected by a trio of deep pot bunkers.

16th provides a dramatic example of how Morris used the natural features of the land to create a gem of a hole. The green is placed immediately alongside the stream so the tee shot must first clear the water and then avoid it again on the right. Play this one safely down the left and deep pot bunkers await.

Gorse is in bountiful supply on Tain's 10th.

Water again comes into play on the 17th, with the stream making an S curve in front of the hard, flat green. A large mound to the front of the green rules out a bump and run approach and a couple of greenside bunkers only complicate matters further.

Most of us travel to Scotland to gain a golf experience that is as old as the game itself. We want to sample the game as it was originally intended to be, with none of the artificial Disneyesque gimmickry, so common in modern day layouts. On these points, Tain delivers in grand style - nowhere else will you find a more genuine Scottish golf experience.

Tain's greens are as testing as any Scottish course presents.

Complete the day with an hour or two in the clubhouse, one of the most welcoming in the Scottish Highlands. You will find the local members more than eager to join in reliving your round and providing a few pointers as to where you may have gone wrong. They are justly proud of a course, which may lack the celebrity of some other Tom Morris achievements, but they prefer it that way.

There is no question that Tain presents a classic challenge to all who have the good fortune to play here. It offers a basketful of never ending variety that require some shrewd thinking and the ability to constantly adapt to new tests - the memories will last a lifetime.

For a few suggestions on how to include Tain in your Scottish golf itinerary, click here.

© 2007 David Brice / Golf International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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