Nova Scotia, Canada
Cape Breton is a Canadian island reaching out into the Atlantic, tethered only to the mainland by a man-made bridge. That Cabot is set on a mile of sandy-shored, cliff-edged coast next to a place called Inverness in a land known as ‘New Scotland’, means finding world-class links golf should be of little surprise. But in the short time that this golf resort has been open – little over a decade – it has risen through the bucket-lists of every discerning golf traveller, with a reputation as Canada’s equivalent to Brandon Dunes in Oregon. But so unique are both Cabot Links – the first course, open in 2011 – and Cabot Cliffs, thanks to this rugged chunk of Nova Scotia land, that they shoudn’t be compared to anything else. Cabot Cliffs, which was added in 2015, having been designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore – the team also behind three Bandon courses – immediately rose to Canada’s No.1 golf course, ranking in the world’s top fifty too.
Played consecutively over two days, you’ve got a pairing of golf courses that must surely rank in the top ten in the world. But aside from golf, there’s also fresh-from-the-Atlantic seafood, cooked up by your own chef for dinner on a private beach, fishing, whale watching, distillery tours (it’s not called New Scotland for nothing), or visits to nearby Sable Island, where wild horses roam its shifting sand dunes. And all of this encased within a resort that offers luxury lodges to meet every need.
Where You Stay
Cabot Links Resort
Bringing a bit of nature into the 72-room Cabot Links Lodge, local cedar and timber has been used to give a distinct Nova Scotia feel to the rooms, which vary from ocean-view doubles to terraced deluxe king balcony rooms which are perfect for watching the Atlantic sunset.
Keltic Lodge
On the east coast of Cape Breton on a slither of land reaching out into the ocean, you’re surrounded by the Atlantic in the heart of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Fully kitted out on the spa front, you’re well situation for hiking, whale watching and even swimming at Ingonish beach as well as having the 18-hole Championship Highlands Links Golf Course.
Lord Nelson Hotel
Set in the Nova Scotia capital of Halifax, Canada’s ‘ocean playground’, where Canadians go for strolls on the boardwalk, ice creams on the pier, street performers and then every activity the Atlantic can offer. The 90-room historic Lord Nelson has been a landmark of the town for almost a century, and the perfect place to indulge and take in the best Halifax has to offer.
Where You Play
Cabot Links
The first course has an oceanfront landscape, with holes spread between the Atlantic and the village of Inverness, typically rugged, with every hole allowing you to keep one eye on the big blue. Ranked number 35 in the world, it was Canada’s first authentic links.
Cabot Cliffs
The cliffs are far more than a namecheck in this Coore & Crenshaw ‘instant classic’, as, on several holes, you find yourself facing them, not least the 16th, where you have a par 3 – from 89 to 176 – with a chasm opening up in front of you or the 17th, where you’re faced with a bank of rugged cliff face and the Gulf of St Lawrence to conquer before reaching the safety of rolling fairway or, if you’re brave enough, pristine green. Every hole is an adventure.
Fox Harb’r
Few know better how to harness the natural assets of Canadian landscapes than Graham Cooke, the man behind this Championship course on the northern shores of Nova Scotia. The course weaves its way from sea to forest to wetlands and lakes with a distinct Scottish feel to the back nine.
Highlands Links
Taking you from a rocky outcrop in the Atlantic to the mountains of a national park and back, this Stanley Thompson course dates back three-quarters of a century and is one of Canada’s most unique, and arguably most Scottish in feel, courses.
The Must Do
Take a Mabou Harbour Boat Tour from this small town nearby, and the local skipper will take you through the history – both natural and man-made – of this Scottish corner of Canada, taking in wharfs and whales, lobsters and lighthouses.
When To Visit
June to September.
