ABOVE PAR ON EAST COAST
Golf writer Ian Cruickshank raves about the new Cabot Cliffs, Cape Breton’s already world-ranked course,
INVERNESS, N.S. — We are mostly a modest nation, which is refreshing in an age of hype and hokum, where often the insignificant is elevated to the iconic.
But there are exceptions to every rule and I’ll happily bang on the pots and pans in praise of the new Cabot Cliffs course in Nova Scotia.
Clinging to the edge of ragged, red stone high ground, the Cliffs, along with its adjoining sister course Cabot Links, overlook the immense Gulf of St. Lawrence and the small village of Inverness on the west coast of Cape Breton. Golf Digest, the golfing bible of the sport, recently raved about Cabot Cliffs, awarding the new course 19th spot in the world’s top 100 courses. (There are more than 32,000 courses around the world to choose from.) Serious scenery Designed by the heralded American duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, Cabot Cliffs opened last year for preview play and makes its official debut this June. There are no weak holes but its strength is its last four holes, possibly the most stunning stretch of any course, anywhere.
The exclamation point is the 16th, the par-3 that juts out into the abyss. If you miss the triangular-shaped green or the bunkers sprinkled judiciously around the hole, your ball will smack into the rock and then free fall to its doom. Don’t forget about me The Cabot resort also includes Cabot Links, which opened in 2011. Designed by Canadian Rod Whitman, the Links is also a stellar layout (Golf Digest ranked it 42 in the top-100 list) with six holes that play hard by the water, next to a long stretch of sand and dunes. Every hole has a view out to the gulf. My favourite is the 6th hole, a par-4 that doglegs around the local harbour, where brightly coloured lobster boats bob in rhythm. Matching accommodation One of the great surprises about the Cabot resort is that the accommodation and food match the quality of the golf.
The award-winning, low-slung wooden lodge and adjoining golf villas are perched on the edge of Cabot Links, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the course and the gulf. Its restaurant and bar sport the same views and the food features local and seasonal ingredients — the two favourites are lobster ravioli and the chowder.
Whisky connoisseurs will also be happy. There are more than 50 types to choose from, including a 40-year-old Highland Park from Orkney and Glen Breton Rare, North America’s first single malt, which is distilled near the course. Opening time: Cabot Links opens May 13 and Cabot Cliffs makes a splash with a twoday grand opening June 7-8. Both Cabots are walking-only courses (with a few carts for golfers with medical conditions) and there is an experienced corps of caddies available. Regular green fees change during the year, ranging from $90 to $185, and golfers staying at the resort receive a discounted golf rate.
Keep an eye out for Joe Robinson, the resort’s director of golf emeritus. Robinson, a native Cape Bretoner, has spent his entire career in the game, but that’s a confining definition of the man. The last time Joe and I teed up, we spent as much time watching wildlife and picking blackberries as we did playing golf. Ian Cruickshank is a Toronto writer whose column appears on the fourth Saturday of the month. His trip was sponsored by Golf Cape Breton, which didn’t review or approve this story.