Precision for the Long Term at Royal Dornoch

At Royal Dornoch, one of the world’s most highly regarded links courses, workshop standards have a direct influence on the quality of surfaces golfers travel from around the world to experience. Maintaining cutting equipment to an equally exacting standard is therefore an essential part of course preparation.

Head Mechanic Willie Nicholson has worked at Royal Dornoch for almost two decades and relies on a Hunter Jupiter ATI grinder to keep the club’s cylinders and bottom blades performing accurately. The relationship with Hunter Grinders stretches back further, with the club having operated an earlier Hunter machine before upgrading to its current Jupiter ATI, manufactured in 2006.

Nearly 20 years later, the grinder continues to provide the accuracy Royal Dornoch requires. For Willie, its enduring value lies in both precision and versatility. The Jupiter enables the workshop to relief grind, spin grind and grind bottom blades on one machine, while giving confidence that cylinders are held parallel and returned to the required specification.

Accurate preparation of cylinders and bottom blades supports a clean, consistent quality of cut, while relief grinding helps reduce unnecessary metal-to-metal contact and maximise component life.

Having that capability in-house also allows the workshop to react immediately to unexpected damage. Willie recalls a freshly prepared cylinder being damaged by a two-pence piece on a fairway before the first cut of the season. With the Jupiter on site, it was repaired and returned to service without avoidable downtime.

Just as important has been the support behind the machine. Throughout the Jupiter’s working life, Hunter Grinders has provided technical advice, parts support, annual servicing and practical training.

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“David’s always at the end of the phone,” says Willie. “When I first took over the workshop, he talked me through settings, what to look for and exactly what to do.” _

That accessibility to experienced technical support remains an important part of Hunter ownership. Annual service visits also give Royal Dornoch’s mechanics the opportunity to develop their knowledge directly with Hunter, helping skills pass through the workshop.

For Royal Dornoch, the value of the Jupiter is therefore measured not simply in years of service, but in the precision it continues to deliver and the technical support that has stood behind it throughout its working life. At a venue where expectations of turf quality remain exceptionally high, that long-term combination of accuracy, durability and service continues to matter.