Do I think a Cabot experience is worth $2,500? Emphatically, yes. Yes because it reliably delivers an experience that feels more valuable than its cost. Yes because it's more than a golf destination; it's a spiritual adventure.
Absolutely, yes. We highly recommend getting a caddie, especially if it is your first time playing a links course. Caddies allow you to walk the course hands-free and provide assistance with alignment, club selection, yardages, and putting.
Players can also get warmed up for their round at the driving range found at the Cliffs course (there isn't one at Links).
Featuring 46 holes of exhilarating golf, including two acclaimed World Top 100 courses, 72 rooms of award-winning accommodation, 19 upscale Golf Villas, and exquisite dining in three on-site restaurants, Cabot Cape Breton is intended to excite and inspire at every turn.
Caddie Rates 2022*Class ADouble Bag$65 per bagSingle Bag$70 per bagMedical Cart Caddie**$70 per bagGroup Caddie$100 per group1 more row
Both Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs are walking-only courses. We offer carts for people who have genuine mobility-related disabilities. Please call ahead to ensure availability.
Ben Cowan-DewarQuick FactsCabot Cliffs GolfYards6765Course DesignersBill Coore and Ben CrenshawOwnersMike Keiser and Ben Cowan-DewarRanked- Number 1 public course in by Links Magazine 2015 .4 more rows
The closest commercial airport is Halifax on the Nova Scotia mainland, 3.5 hours away. (Private fliers can use Port Hawkesbury Airport, 50 miles from Cabot Links.)
The “length” of the course is in two long par 3's at 221 (4th) and 245 (12th) while the par 5's are 581, 589, 549, 557, 560 and 532. From the Black tees the yardage is 6764 but without wind it feels a couple hundred yards shorter. The Green tees are 6385. The ratings are 74.3/144 and 72.5/142.
Cabot Cliffs is a walking-only course, a style of play that heightens the experience of the game, connecting the golfer with the landscape and inviting creativity into every shot. Of course, exceptions can be made – and carts provided – for those of our guests with medical limitations.
With rough plans on the empty middle seat between them, Keiser, in the aisle, and Coore, on the window, discussed the routing of Cabot Cliffs, a 200-acre course to be built on a 600-acre piece of land a few miles north of Cabot Links, which opened to solid reviews in June.
Note to motor-cart lovers: you can only use a motor cart if you have Doctor's approval. The walk on Links is not arduous, the walk on Cliffs is more challenging. Push carts are complimentary, but the best way to enjoy the golf is to walk with a caddie carrying your bag.
What distinguishes Cabot Links from its Scottish roots is the style factor. The rooms and cottages have an upscale design aesthetic, more comfortable than the comparatively spartan offering at Bandon Dunes, for example. The Panorama restaurant overlooks the Links course, and the food matches the view, while the Cabot Public House menu is more down-home.
If you need those elements that tend to clutter the experience in so many places — lush, over-tended courses, luxurious spas, more restaurants than you have nights on property — try someplace else. There is an authenticity to the Cabot Links experience. Nothing is overdone. No needless bells and whistles. If you love golf, it’s all you need. And all you’ll want.
No. 10, Par five, 565 yardsOne of nine holes at Cliffs set hard along the coastline, the 10th plays straight back toward the clubhouse, with a ravine on the right that dictates strategy on your second shot.
No. 16, Par three, 180 yardsWhen he finally found the words, Kooch remarked: “I never thought I’d see something that made Cypress Point seem small.”
Played both Links and Cliffs on same day with caddy Neil (he's awesome and a turbo energizer bunny... couldn't keep up with him!). Went off at 7am on Links, played in 3.25 hrs. Course in great shape, greens were tricky, but true and fast.
Cabot Cliffs combines a playable friendly layout for golfers of all skill levels with spectacular breath taking views. It truly is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I don’t normally walk courses but this is one that you’ll enjoy and be very glad you did. Conditions are pristine for a course that’s only been open for a few years and hasn’t quite matured yet.
Cabot Cliffs (and sister course Cabot Links) are definitely worth the trip. These are 5 star links style courses. Both courses are in great shape (links style). This is yellow/brown and some green, hard and fast fairways, firm but slow greens. Lots of danger around but reward if you play the right shot. Basically really good links courses. Cabot Links is more "links". Both are walking courses the links being an easier walk. Get a caddie (even a carry caddy on the Cliffs).
Cabot Cliffs is the second course at the Cabot Links Resort in Nova Scotia. Designed by Coore + Crenshaw, Cliffs is a special addition to the top courses around the world.
People comment about the unusual design and routing of Cabot Cliffs with six par 3’s, six par 4’s, and six par 5’s. What they often do not comment on is that none of the par 4’s is long and nearly every par 5 is level or downhill. The par 4’s are 402, 389, 330, 404, 398, and 331. The “length” of the course is in two long par 3’s at 221 (4th) and 245 (12th) while the par 5’s are 581, 589, 549, 557, 560 and 532. From the Black tees the yardage is 6764 but without wind it feels a couple hundred yards shorter. The Green tees are 6385. The ratings are 74.3/144 and 72.5/142. Please note I believe some of the yardages have changed slightly for the Green tees since I played there.
Since the opening of the first 18 called Cabot Links -- the focus of the golf world has turned its eye to a location in Canada to the province of Nova Scotia -- which translates to New Scotland.
Keith Cutten should also be mentioned for completing the construction of the bunkers. In 2019, Rod Whitman and Dave Axland collaborated on a 10-hole par three course which is located inland and uphill from Cabot Cliffs, with the holes overlooking the final eight holes on the 18-hole layout.
It didn’t take long for Cabot Links to make a startling impact on the Canadian Top 100 rankings, soaring almost to the top of this prestigious national chart within months of its opening. Indeed, such was the impression made by Rod Whitman’s celebrated new course, it also entered the World Top 100 in a very respectably high position. No pressure then on Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw to deliver when their much awaited Cliffs layout debuted three years later.
Caddies at Cabot Links are expertly trained and as such, offer invaluable insight with regard to pin placements, yardage, strategy, club selection, and, last but not least, moral support!
Our practice range is located at Cabot Cliffs, which is about a five-minute drive from the Lodge. If you’d like to visit the practice range before a round at Cabot Links, please factor in the extra few minutes of travel time.
It is a rare experience to walk beside the ocean with a brisk breeze on your cheek and firm, sandy turf beneath your feet, experiencing golf not only as it was hundreds of years ago, but arguably as it should be today: a simple, beguiling game in need of no embellishment.
Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs are walking-only courses. It’s how the game was played hundreds of years ago in the sport’s humble beginnings, and it’s the best way to get the true links golf experience. Feeling the turf under your feet as you walk towards your ball, thinking about your next shot, and taking in the coastal vistas is an experience that cannot be matched in a power cart. It’s golf the way it’s meant to be played.
Here are some tips for planning an amazing golf adventure in Nova Scotia. Cabot Links is only open from early May through late October.
If it’s fine dining that you’re looking for, Cabot has got that as well. Panorama Restaurant, also overlooking the 18th hole of Cabot Links, offers the perfect place for dinner after your round. The restaurant is aware that you’re looking for the perfect meal (and perhaps the perfect glass of wine) to cap off your evening, and it certainly provides it, along with an amazing view of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
There are two courses at Cabot Links: Cabot Links, the original course, and Cabot Cliffs, which opened a few years later. Both were designed in the true links style, which was the idea behind the entire golf resort. Links golf originated next to the sea in Scotland, and Inverness, Nova Scotia, is very similar to the Scottish Highlands in appearance.
Cabot Links Lodge, which is less lodge than modern, sleek hotel, has 72 rooms. If you’re traveling in a group of four and looking to save on lodging, you can book a double and all stay in the same room. There are also king rooms at the lodge that will accommodate one or two people.
For an exotic golf destination a little closer to home, consider the Cabot Links Golf Resort in Nova Scotia, Canada. The course is a 3-hour drive from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, but a flight from New York City to Halifax takes less than 2 hours. With a 2-hour flight and a 3-hour drive, someone on the East Coast can leave in the morning and be golfing that afternoon.
Cabot Links is only open from early May through late October. It’s located in Inverness, Nova Scotia, which is similar, weather-wise, to Duluth, Minnesota. That means that for at least four months of the year (and many times longer than that), the course is covered in snow.
The entire course is spectacular, but the final three holes have become legendary. The 16th hole is a par 3 over a rocky cliff jutting out into the sea. The 17th hole is a par 4 that can be shortened if you’re willing to hit over the craggy cliff. And the 18th hole is a par 5 that parallels the same cliff for 500 glorious yards.
The fastest way to get from Halifax Airport (YHZ) to Cabot Links is to fly and drive which takes 3h 4m and costs $95 - $480.
Wearing a face mask on public transport in Cabot Links is recommended.