MacKenzie Greens: A baker's dozen at Brora

Dr MacKenzie set down his 13 points for the ideal golf course in his book Golf Architecture, published in 1920. In 2004, his baker's dozen is still a sound checklist.
Brora, a remote James Braid links even further north on the east coast of Scotland than Dornoch, ticks more boxes than most.
Here's MacK's list, with annotations for Brora:
1. Two loops of nine holes are preferable. No. Brora is essentially an out-and-back links, with some changes of direction, particularly for the short holes. (Click here for the routing). But MacK amplifies this point, stressing that though two loops are preferable, they should not come at the expense of good use of the terrain. Most of the great links, and many of his own courses, including Cypress Point and Alwoodley, do not conform to this point.
2. At least four one shot holes, two or three drive and pitch holes, and a large proportion of good two shot holes. Yes. Each of the par 3s face in a different direction, further adding to the variety. The opening hole is a particularly fine example of the drive and pitch genre, forgiving the stiff opening swing while exacting of those trying to force an early birdie.
3. Short walks from green to next tee, preferably forward to allow elasticity for future lengthening. Yes, though at 6,110 yards and par 69, Brora is perfect proof a course doesn't need length to be both fun and testing enough for most.
4. Undulating greens and fairways without hill climbing. Yes. The terrain is superb, as the pictures below show.
5. Every hole should have a different character. Yes - and the wind that blesses links means each hole will have a different character each time, depending on the wind strength and direction.
6. There should be a minimum of blindness for the approach shots. Yes - by 1920 standards. MacK was writing at the tail end of an era when courses had been laid out at the gallop by the star professionals of the day and blind holes were ubiquitous, because of a combination of carelessness, inability to move much earth and a belief that they were "sporty". Mac's stricture was directed at excessive and unnecessary blindness and though there are one or two approaches at Brora where the bottom of the pin is not visible even after a well-placed drive, I believe MacK would find them acceptable.
7. The course should have beautiful surroundings with the man made features indistinguishable from nature. Yes.
8. Sufficient number of heroic carries from the tee with the option of alternative routes for the shorter player if he is prepared to sacrifice a stroke or portion of a stroke. Yes, though in a few cases the only alternative to a heroic carry over the burn is putting across the bridge!
9. Variety in the strokes required to play the various holes, ie. challenging shot making. Yes. Like most links, a shot-maker's delight. Low, high, draw, fade - the options are endless.
10. No lost balls. Yes. The most Utopian of MacK's 13 points, but Brora scores here, thanks to the livestock that act as nature's greenkeeper on the rough. Go offline and you will generally have a tough angle to the green, often have a dubious lie but almost always find your ball.
11. Playing interest to stimulate improvement in even the plus handicap golfers game. I wish my own game were good enough to offer an opinion here, but for what it's worth a disproportionate number of crack Highlands golfers have apparently been members at Brora.
12. High scoring golfers should still be able to enjoy the course. Yes. A good test of a fine course this (and also of the golfer's own character). You always want to play well but if your game deserts you there's still ample pleasure here to be found in the architecture and the surroundings.
13. The course should be equally good in summer and winter with perfect texture to greens and fairways, and the approaches of same consistency as the greens. In as far as this can be true anywhere - and bearing in mind the reasonable fees for members and visitors - emphatically yes.

Here's some pictures. They're not necessarily the best holes - just the ones I managed to grab snaps of.
In the evening the sheep reclaim the course. This is the approach to the long 8th. As the excellent GolfClubAtlas review that inspired my visit points out, there's a pit short right that deters those "sort of going for it" in two:

This shot from the left of the 8th green shows the interesting green contours. The GCA review described the greens as slow, but the human greenkeepers can get them quick enough when they want to - when I visited for a 36-hole Open Brora's greens were faster than Dornoch's.