A tee marker at The Country Club of North Carolina, the only club in the U.S. with a reciprocal relationship with Royal Dornoch in Scotland.
Erik Matuszewski
On the heels of a contentious Ryder Cup, a different scenario played out recently at The Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC). The focus for the American and European amateur golfers on hand in the Sandhills of Pinehurst was instead on fun and friendship.
Two teams of 12 players played a Ryder Cup format match over three days at the Dogwood and Cardinal Courses of CCNC as part of the annual competition between The Country Club of North Carolina – one of the top private clubs in an area known as the “Home of American Golf” — and Royal Dornoch, the heralded Scottish club home to a course that sits No. 2 in Golf Digest’s ranking of courses outside the United States. The matches have been contested, home and away, since 2011.
CCNC, which opened in 1963, is the only club in the U.S. with a reciprocal relationship with Royal Dornoch Golf Club, the birthplace and home of legendary golf architect Donald Ross, whose work is embraced by golfers throughout the Pinehurst region – from a handful of courses at the Pinehurst Resort to popular facilities like Mid Pines and Pine Needles. Dick Urquhart, the founding father and first club president at CCNC, called the land on which the club is located the Royal Dornoch Golf Village.
The ties between The Country Club of North Carolina (pictured) and Royal Dornoch in Scotland extend back more than 60 years, with an annual competition that dates back to 2011.
Erik Matuszewski
On the wall of CCNC’s Dornoch Grill, a prominently displayed framed scroll reads: ‘With this message of greeting goes our hope that Dornoch, Sutherland and Dornoch, North Carolina may continue to have close and increasingly friendly relations for many years to come.’ It was signed and sealed by Royal Dornoch GC captain W.B. Alford in 1971, and the annual match is a byproduct of that lasting relationship.
CCNC General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Jim Sutton said the competition is an important tradition that goes back to the vision of the founders of the club.
“The connection that Pinehurst and the area and CCNC have to Donald Ross and Dornoch Scotland means a lot,” said Sutton. “What’s fun each year is the camaraderie. It’s really just all about golf. It’s been great to host these guys. The connection with Donald Ross having been born in Dornoch and then coming here to the States to work (and) doing a lot of his best work in Pinehurst. There’s a fraternal connection and, even though we are separated by a lot of distance, the spirit of the game is alive in both destinations.”
The Roly Bluck putter at The Country Club of North Carolina.
CCNC
The eagerly anticipated match between CCNC and Royal Dornoch didn’t finish with a final score as close as the at-times contentious and controversial Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. The team from CCNC won the match prize, the Roly Bluck Putter, on their home turf by a score of 18.5 to 6.5.
Royal Dornoch captain Gary Bethune took the loss with a large dose of sportsmanship.
“It is played in the friendliest manner you could imagine,” he said. “There’s a lot of banter. There’s some alcohol involved, which can fuel the banter. Each match just gets better and better. The camaraderie amongst the guys is lovely.”
But he also offered some words of caution, with a laugh, about next year’s match at Royal Dornoch: “They have a chance, but it’s a small one.”
Members of the Royal Dornoch team show their team spirit.
CCNC
The event is one of many around the U.S. that’s played in the spirit and format of the Ryder Cup – a team golf competition intended to foster rivalry and camaraderie.
But perhaps none have ties that run quite as deep in the golf world as the CCNC-Royal Dornoch matches. Some connections are even tangential. Consider, for example, that the designer of CCNC’s Dogwood Course, prominent North Carolina golf architect Ellis Maples, is the son of Frank Maples, who served as Donald Ross’ course construction supervisor and was superintendent of Pinehurst No. 2.
The historical ties are why the team from Royal Dornoch isn’t just eager to try and reclaim the title in the U.K. in 2026 but to return to the U.S. and Pinehurst region in 2027.
“It’s something we want to build on,” said Royal Dornoch General Manager Neil Hampton. “We’ve got so many players that want to be part of it. Not just to come to CCNC, which is one of mainstays but Pinehurst itself and soak up the atmosphere here and see what golf means to everybody in America and what Donald Ross has given everybody in America. We are so happy that we share Mr. Ross with everybody, and he’s left his legacy that we can come and enjoy too.”
A house in the community at The Country Club of North Carolina flies a Scottish flag during the week of the “Ryder Cup” style competition between CCNC and Royal Dornoch.
CCNC
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