New golf course set for Revelstoke
The developer of two of Canada’s top golf courses is adding a shiny new club to its bag in the form of a luxurious new resort nestled among the mountains in Revelstoke, B.C.
Cabot Revelstoke, located two hours north of Kelowna, is set to bring world- class golf and luxury real estate to the base of Mount Mackenzie — a mere chip shot away from the gondola that grants access to some of the best ski slopes the country has to offer — when it opens in 2023. The project is Cabot’s third resort, following in the footsteps of the scenic Cabot Cape Breton in Nova Scotia and the highly anticipated Cabot St. Lucia in the Caribbean.
“We had this idea that if we were going to do something in Canada again, following on the project in Cape Breton, we needed to find a piece of ground that was spectacular,” Ben Cowan- Dewar, the CEO and cofounder of Cabot, told the National Post. “Cape Breton, which is so stunning with its big hills and ocean is tough to beat, but when we saw the site in Revelstoke I called Rob Whitman — who is our architect who had done Cabot Links, our first course in Nova Scotia — and said, ‘Rob, I think I’ve got it.’”
Routinely ranked among the best courses in the country, if not the world, Cabot Links has become one of the most desirable destinations for amateur golfers and even the PGA, which hosted its Championship of Canada there five years ago. “I hope we can do something that is really special and will stand the test of time,” Cowan- Dewar said. “If I didn’t think we had the chance to build one of the best courses in the West, I don’t think we would have done it.
“I sort of feel like we’re putting the band back together and hoping to find the same magic, which I think we probably can.”
The Cabot Pacific will be an 18- hole golf course that winds its way through Revelstoke, offering breathtaking views of the Columbia River below and the towering beauty of the Monashee and Selkirk mountain ranges above. The resort will provide a welcome offset to Revelstoke’s ski season, which typically runs until April, and its 150- room luxury lodge will serve as a hub for community events yearround. Amenities will include dining, a ski concierge and a spa with an outdoor pool and hot tub complex.
The news couldn’t come at a better time with interest in golf rapidly rising thanks to a pandemic that has people in search of socially distanced ways to have fun with their families. “It’s been such a great sport for so many in this surreal year,” Cowan- Dewar said. “You’re seeing it in golf club sales, and golf balls sales have been through the roof. All of this bodes well for Revelstoke, but skiing feels like it’s the next thing coming. It’s hard to find skis in the city of Toronto and I think people are thinking about what are those leisure pursuits that they can do with the family outdoors.”
While the price of play has yet to be determined, Cowan- Dewar said it will be in the range of what one might expect for mountain golf and definitely worth the trip for the Revelstoke experience. “We don’t have a target green fee,” he said. “I think even in Cape Breton, where certainly our pricing is above perhaps Nova Scotia or Atlantic Canada, among all the great public courses in the world it’s a steal.”
And even though the course sits among the mountains, golfers shouldn’ t expect the altitude alone to carry their balls to new heights. “The base is pretty low,” Cowan- Dewar said. “At a couple thousand feet you’ll get a little bit of a bump but not that much help, so you’ll have to bring your own game.”