The newly branded golf resort in the Scottish Highlands is building a new course and resort accommodations to complement Castle Stuart.
INVERNESS, Scotland – Wherever Tom Doak and Ben Cowan-Dewar go, big expectations follow.
Now imagine the possibilities with two of the hottest names in golf working together in one of game’s most revered, if untapped, golf destinations.
Doak, who has designed more World Top 100 courses (7) than any other architect, and Cowan-Dewar, CEO and co-founder of Cabot, are embarking on a project that will forever alter the golf landscape of the Scottish Highlands. Cowan-Dewar announced in June the purchase of Castle Stuart – one of Scotland’s most scenic and beloved links – and the hiring of Doak to design a second course. The property has been renamed Cabot Highlands, continuing an impressive brand expansion led by Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs, the top two resort courses in Canada, and emerging golf communities in British Columbia (Cabot Revelstoke), Florida (Cabot Citrus Farms) and the Caribbean (Cabot St. Lucia).
Castle Stuart has always been ripe for bigger things. At one point, former Castle Stuart Owner and Co-Designer Mark Parsinen tabbed Arnold Palmer Design to build the second course and lead fundraising efforts for the new resort accommodations, but with the passing of Palmer (2016) and Parsinen (2019), the deal fell apart.
Enter the dynamic duo of Doak and Cowan-Dewar, who have known each other for years but never worked together. Doak understands the importance of the second course, not just to Cabot but the Highlands. In early October, I got a chance to see the land and hear Doak wrestle with the tough decisions in creating engaging links that will interact with Castle Stuart’s 400-year-old castle, the Moray Firth and a pronounced ridge overlooking it all.
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