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Cabot Highlands: Northern Scotland’s New Golf Hub
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Cabot Highlands: Northern Scotland’s New Golf Hub

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When Canada-based golf resort developer Cabot announced it was acquiring Castle Stuart in 2022, Ben Cowan-Dewar, CEO and co-founder of Cabot, said: “Castle Stuart has been considered a benchmark of exceptional Scottish golf since it first opened 13 years ago. We are honoured to be a steward of the land and carry the original vision for the property forward. Our goal is to create unforgettable memories in magical places, and there are few places in the world more awe-inspiring than the Scottish Highlands.”

With the hiring of Tom Doak to design Cabot Highland’s newest course, Old Petty, making memories at this magical place is more real than ever. Located just 10 minutes from Inverness and now boasting 36 holes of championship golf, Cabot Highlands has positioned itself as a hub of Scottish Highlands golf.

Castle Stuart

Castle Stuart opened in 2009 to wide applause from the golf community. The “modern links” designed course by Gil Hanse and Mark Parsinen was named the best new course of 2009 by Golf Magazine, among other awards.

Hanse and Parsinen masterfully created a figure eight style routing for Castle Stuart. The course weaves its way between holes situated along the Moray Firth and multiple holes atop a mezzanine like level that offer dramatic views of the firth and countryside around it.

This routing does a brilliant job of of taking you along the Moray Firth on the first three holes, offering views across the firth to the Black Isle in the distance. The second hole offers a green that looks like it is hanging in the sea as you attempt to hit your approach shot, one of the multiple infinity greens on the course.

As you turn inland, you play the par 3, fourth hole, with Castle Stuart in the backdrop, for which the course is named. The Castle was built on land granted to the 1st Earl of Moray by Mary, Queen of Scots in 1561. After murders of both the 1st and 2nd Earl of Moray, the castle was finally completed in 1625 by the 3rd Earl of Moray. After that, the castle fell into disrepair and sat empty for around 300 years, before being converted into a hotel. The unique crowned spire on top of the castle has become the logo for the golf course.

The 7th hole at Castle Stuart is a delight for golfers who crave holes that offer up strategy as main aspect of the design. A tee shot down the left side of the fairway will offer a player a much better angle and feel for the approach shot. Drives down the right side of the fairway will give players an uneasy feeling on their approach as the green contours look as if they could repel your ball into the gorse. After you have successfully finished this hole, make sure to take a minute to appreciate the views of the firth and the Chanonry Lighthouse in the distance.

As you make the turn to the back nine, you are again brought down to the Moray Firth by the figure eight design and again play three holes along the sea. Hanse and Parsinen did a spectacular job in making sure the design and routing of the course uses as much of the 1.4 miles of coastline along the firth as possible.

The par 3 eleventh hole stands out on this stretch and may be an example of one of the best short par 3 holes that we have in modern golf architecture. No matter the tee box, most players will have a wedge at most into this intimate par 3 that plays back toward the sea.

While short, big numbers lurk all around for players who hit a wayward tee shot. A slightly elevated green, that is is well protected offers up a challenge for golfers of all ability levels who hit a poor tee shot. If you do manage to find the putting surface, a green with multiple contours awaits your birdie putt.

After playing one more hole, the twelfth, along the firth, the course makes a turn inland for the duration of the round. While playing the inland holes of the back nine, you get a great mix of both longer holes with dunes framing them to short, driveable par 4’s that offer a great risk/reward for those willing to take on the challenge.

After playing the challenging 17th, a long par 3, you get to the hole that may sum up Castle Stuart the best, the par 5 18th. The finishing hole runs back to the clubhouse and is a great chance for a finishing birdie if you can get your tee shot in the fairway. As you walk down the 18th, you can see the Kessock Bridge in Inverness off in the distance and the art deco clubhouse awaiting you for a cold pint after a great day on the links. Before you head there for that pint however, make sure to look around and take in the beauty of Castle Stuart one more time, there are not many courses in the world with this kind of setting.

Old Petty

Having one championship golf course that consistently ranks on the top 100 list in the world is a major accomplishment and should be commended, but Cabot Highlands is taking the golf experience in Northern Scotland to the next level with the addition of Old Petty.

Set to make its official opening in May of 2026, Old Petty, created by world renowned architect Tom Doak, opened for preview play last fall. After playing it, one can easily see how Doak created the perfect course to complement Castle Stuart and its stunning views.

With shorter stretches along the water and playing much more inland, Doak knew he could not compete with Castle Stuart’s land and views, so he took a different route.

“This was kind of a tough assignment, because there’s a really good golf course already here that used up a lot of the most spectacular views in parts of the property,” Doak said. “And I know, even some of my clients would say, ‘Oh, that’s a hard job because you’ve got to compete with that other golf course.’ And I don’t think of it like that. I mean, I think we’re trying to complement the other golf course, and whichever one of them that people like the most, at the end of the day, you want to have built something that they want to play.”

Old Petty has a wonderful routing that brings you through gently rolling terrain with fairways that are rumpled and mounded to bring an old-time links feel to a modern golf masterpiece.

After college, Tom Doak spent a year in Scotland learning about traditional links golf and the intricacies to a style of golf that isn’t all about shooting a number and hitting it at the flagstick. He imparted that knowledge in the creation of Old Petty.

“You’re trying to build a course that plays like a links, whether or not some people may want to disqualify it from being a ‘true links’ because we had to move a lot of dirt around and manufacture it. We’re still looking for it to play like that,” Doak said. “It’s not a course where you can just hit it at the flag all day. You have to allow for the ground game. That means you have to take into account the contours around the green, because you’re not just flying it within 10 feet of the hole.”

Weird bounces and playing the ball on the ground is such an integral part of links golf. At Old Petty, a lot of micro-shaping of fairways and greens was done to give land that used to be farmland, a classic links feel.

“The most important thing you can have in golf is a difference between where the ball lands and where it winds up,” Doak said. “Here, it’s because of the firmness of the ground and the wind. And you don’t get that in every place that you work. But when you have it, it’s much more interesting.”

One of the most unique holes on Old Petty is the par 4 fifth. Not overly long at only 430 yards from the back tees, the fifth hole offers both challenge and uniqueness. A burn runs along the left side of the hole, so any drive up the left side has a chance of finding this hazard.

The most unique part of the fifth hole is when you approach the greensite. After walking over a slope you will find a wonderfully cantered green, but what might be the most unique part of the course is what sits right next to it, the Bothy.

A bothy is a Scottish cottage or hut, and at Old Petty it is now used as a halfway house off the fifth hole. For being right next to the green, this unique halfway house seems to blend in to the landscape and doesn’t look out of place on a modern golf course that has been built around it. The bothy is truly a one-of-a-kind halfway house in the world of golf.

There are many great holes at Old Petty, but the 13th is one that will stand out for many golfers. At 320 yards from the back tees, this driveable par 4 is a delight to play. As you crest the hill in front of the green, you see a beautiful infinity green that slopes from left to right. Across the estuary, you get a view of the third hole on Castle Stuart and the Moray Firth next to it.

While it may be a modern links course, Tom Doak did a fantastic job giving Old Petty a true links feel. It is the perfect pairing to go with Castle Stuart at Cabot Highlands. As Old Petty grows in and matures, it will prove to be one of the best 36 hole golf properties in the world and one that should not be missed if in the Scottish Highlands.

Amenities

Cabot Highlands is chalk full of amenities to enjoy both before and after your round. The property boasts a great practice area, with a full-length driving range, dedicated short game area and a massive practice putting green right off the clubhouse to prepare you for your round, or help settle bets that may have ended in a tie.

The art deco style clubhouse sits atop the property and offers panoramic views of the golf courses and surrounding firth and landscape. The clubhouse features a full bar and restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to meet the needs of golfers and families. The top floor lounge offers the best views on property and a great way to unwind with a drink after a day on the links.

The pro shop at Cabot Highlands has all the merchandise and golf equipment that a player needs to either get them ready for their round or as a commemorative piece to take home with you from the highlands.

Lodging

Cabot Highlands also offers on-site lodging to meet the needs of golf groups of up to eight people. Whether it is the castle cottage, on the grounds of Castle Stuart, the golf lodge on the Castle Stuart course or the old Farmhouse that has been outfitted with all the modern amenities a person needs, there is lodging to meet your needs at Cabot Highlands.

Final Thoughts

For those looking for a stand alone golf destination in Scotland or a jumping off point for all the great golf in the Scottish Highlands, Cabot Highlands can’t be beat. Both courses are wonderful to play and give golfers of all ability levels a unique blend of golf course styles, all in one fantastic property.

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