High tee at Cabot Cliffs in Canada
When Cabot Links debuted in Inverness, Nova Scotia, three years ago, golfers around the world asked, “Where?" Now that a second course, Cabot Cliffs, is opening, enthusiasts should be wondering how and when they can get to this remote golf resort on Cape Breton Island in Canada.
Even more dramatic than its predecessor, the par-72, 6.2 km Cliffs course begins in giant, Ireland-evoking dunes before rising to bluffs high above the Gulf of St. Lawrence. If the jaw-dropping views don’t get your blood pumping, the do-or-die shots will.
Cabot Cliffs is the work of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, the design duo behind Sand Hills in Nebraska, two courses at Oregon’s Bandon Dunes, and the Plantation Course at Maui’s Kapalua resort. The course opened for limited play during the 2015 season but officially debuted in June. Ten holes play along and above the gulf, but the water is in view from just about every spot on the course.
The elegantly spartan Cabot Links Lodge, located at the original Links course, features 72 guest rooms. The resort also has a collection of 14 two- and four-bedroom villas (with more on the way), plus three very fine restaurants.
Getting to Cabot takes time: Inverness is a 3.5-hour drive from the Halifax airport and 2 hours from the Sydney airport.
