Life inside the gates of The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands

DORNOCH, Scotland - I drove by twice before I found the hidden paradise of the Scottish Highlands.

The gold-and-black front gate leading to Skibo Castle sits along an obscure country road so narrow that it feels like it's meant for one-way traffic ... probably because everybody wants to come and nobody wants not leave.

Did you know that most golfers - including YOU - can get inside these gates? The Carnegie Club is one of the world's most exclusive private clubs, but you can play this magical links if you're willing to jump through a few hurdles.

The first is sending an e-mail request to teetimes@carnegieclub.co.uk and planning your trip around its limited public access. The second is paying the £450 green fee, which equates to roughly $550 with the current exchange rate. That's the second-most expensive tee time in the United Kingdom behind the stay-and-play required to get on Ardfin, on Scotland's Isle of Jura, but still relatively affordable when compared to the priciest tee times in America such as Shadow Creek ($1,000) and the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass ($840). Imagine playing Royal Dornoch one day and The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle the next. That's as good as any 1-2 punch in the world, all separated by fewer than six miles.

"If you get inside the gate, we will treat you like a member," said long-time Director of Golf David Thomson.

And, boy, does membership have its privileges at Skibo Castle, a residence club of 400 memberships consisting of people from around the world. Members and their guests must stay on the 8,000-acre estate, either the elegant rooms in the castle or the nearby lodges, to unlock an incredible array of experiences. My 24 hours inside the gates this fall were, no doubt, my most memorable of the year.

Golf was first played on the estate when owner Andrew Carnegie commissioned a nine-hole course in the 1890s that eventually went fallow. The course triumphantly returned in 1995 with a design by Donald Steel - one of the 20 architects to most influence the majors - and Tom Mackenzie.

A major redesign in 2007 led by Thomson, Mackenzie and Gary Gruber (then the director of golf and now the estate's general manager) created today's 6,903-yard routing lined by fescue grasses. The Dornoch Firth and Loch Evelix frame it all, providing beautiful water views at almost every turn.

Traffic is so light that tee times aren't necessary. A piece of advice: Don't step on the first tee until your range session has your game dialed in. The course's toughest stretch comes in the first six holes. Two triples and a double later, I had learned the hard way how tightly the dunes pinch the fairways and the intimidating depth of the sod-walled bunkers. But I loved every minute of the walk.

The Carnegie Golf Club at Skibo Castle - Carnegie Links Course

Private

I'll never forget the par-3 sixth green set on a dune shelf or the severely tilted fairway on the par-4 eighth along the Firth. The 340-yard seventh, featuring a split fairway, and the 304-yard 17th are banging short par 4s. The 557-yard 18th delivers the same-risk reward drama of the crescent-moon-shaped final hole at Pebble Beach. It doglegs left along the salt marshes of the River Evelix. A halfway house stocked with free food and drinks replenishes your energy for this gorgeous homeward loop.

If you're only in for the day, make sure to come early and stay late. The locker room's main area feels more like a living room than my own does. The clubhouse is also cozy and comfy, with a five-star menu of food and drinks. Some weeknights the clubhouse transforms into the place where everyone drinks and dines for dinner, so it's a versatile space. Don't forget to merch up on logos at the sprawling pro shop before returning to the real world.

As I checked in to my second-floor castle room, "Evelix", I glanced out my window to witness a guest enjoying falconry on the front lawn, one of many activities on the estate.

Once members are on site, they never have to sign a bill. An all-inclusive rate means they can eat and drink as much as they please. Breakfast in the castle is a perfect way to start the day. Afternoon tea is served in the drawing room, one of the many incredible rooms inside the fully restored castle, which has roots back to the 13th century.

If I had more time, I would have swam a few laps in the indoor pool inside a really cool steel-framed, glass-paneled building. Relaxing at the spa, playing tennis on an outdoor clay court, clay pigeon shooting, fishing, archery, renting a bike to explore or a horseback ride out of the Equestrian Centre would have been equally brilliant experiences.

If this lifestyle appeals to you, here's the bad news: Get in line. There's a wait list to join. Enjoy my photos below to give you a glimpse into this one-of-a-kind club.