Golf 24 hours a day? It’s possible at Lofoten Links, but that’s only a part of the attraction.
As Cabot has expanded in the past several years from its roots with two courses in Nova Scotia into a global operator with resorts stretching from Europe to western Canada, there have been long summer nights when the sun never sets on the Canadian-based company.
That’s now more true than ever.
Cabot will announce this week that it is investing in Lofoten Links in Gimsøysand, Norway, one of those mind-bending locations for golf with a rugged seaside layout that has earned a spot on plenty of traveling golfers’ bucket lists. The course ties for No. 72 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of international courses.
During the summer, the sun never drops below the horizon at Lofoten Links, which is nearly 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle and flush against the Norwegian Sea. Twilight simply rebounds into morning for golfers with the stamina to keep swinging, and the course is open 24 hours a day in June and July.
“Having played golf there a couple of times, teeing off just before midnight, it’s just one of those experiences that I think every golfer should aspire to have in their lifetime,” said Ben Cowan-Dewar, co-founder and CEO of Cabot. “If you’ve had a taste of it, you’re keen to go back.”
But don’t confuse Lofoten Links as some sunshine gimmick. Originally opened in 1998 as a six-hole layout, the course has been expanded by architect Jeremy Turner, reaching a full 18 in 2015. Built on an old Viking site with two Viking graves on the course, it’s as mind-bending and extreme a golf environment as might be imagined. The coastal holes in particular are lined with rocky outcroppings, the links having been carved into stone.
“I was there five years ago and sort of fell in love with the property and the destination,” Cowan-Dewar said. “I mean, it’s just such a beautiful sight. … It’s a course that has gained a lot of recognition globally and for great reason. I think the chance to be a part of it just felt too good to be true.”
The northern lights shine above Lofoten Links in Norway. (Courtesy of Cabot and Lofoten Links/Jacob Sjoman)
Cowan-Dewar has overseen Cabot’s rapid expansion from its Cape Breton foundations in Nova Scotia to include ownership of courses at several far-flung points. The company’s properties now include Cabot Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, Cabot Citrus Farms (formerly World Woods) in Florida, Cabot Bordeaux (formerly Golf Du Médoc Resort) in France, Cabot Highlands (formerly Castle Stuart) in Scotland and the in-development Cabot Revelstoke in western Canada.
Cowan-Dewar said Cabot will work with Lofoten Links’ current ownership group, led by founder Frode Hov, whose family has owned the land for more than 400 years. Cowan-Dewar and Hov discussed a possible partnership several years ago, but talks ceased during Covid. With global golf travel buzzing these days, Cowan-Dewar said now is the right time to invest in such an off-the-beaten-path location – similar in that regard to Cabot’s courses in Nova Scotia.
“For us now, it’s really about making the investment work with their team and just trying to help them realize the full potential of their amazing asset,” Cowan-Dewar said. “Frode will still be very much involved and will oversee things on a day-to-day basis.”
Lofoten Links will retain its name without Cabot branding at least for the foreseeable future, different than the company’s other owned and operated properties that carry the company’s name. The property currently has several nearby lodges for guests, and Cabot is likely to help expand on accommodations.
Lofoten’s golf season runs from May until the middle of October, and with plenty of hiking and kayaking available plus the frequently brilliant displays of the northern lights a powerful attraction, it won’t be just golf filling the rooms. Golfers who want to see the northern lights must plan accordingly, with the nightly shows beginning in mid-August after the sun begins again to dip below the horizon toward the end of summer.
Could there be more golf in the works at Lofoten? Mike Keiser, the founder of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and an early investor in Cabot, has said many times about the number of courses available that one plus one equals three when it comes to developing a far-off golf destination.
“To get to that formula, first you need one course, and Lofoten has a great one,” Cowan-Dewar said. “That’s always the hardest part. I think there is a potential for more golf, and I think that’s one of the things we’ll certainly look at. I think there is an opportunity. We really just want to see the first course reach its whole potential and then be able to go from there.
“I think the setting is truly otherworldly. … It’s just about building on top of what is just an extraordinary foundation.”
Check out a selection of images by international golf photographer Jacob Sjoman below:
Cabot proposal to expand Citrus Farms meets significant statewide headwinds.
One of golf’s fastest-growing course developers and owners, Canadian-based Cabot, has found itself in conflict with various environmentalists in Florida.
At stake for the developer is the possible addition of new golf holes at Cabot Citrus Farms north of Tampa. Cabot has proposed swapping 324 acres of the Withlacoochee State Forest land adjacent to the resort in exchange for 800-plus acres of Cabot-supplied timberland several counties north.
But aside from the change in usage and status for the small sandy forest adjacent to Citrus Farms, Cabot’s plan runs counter to the interests of multiple organizations and many individuals who argue that such a deal might be the top of a slippery slope on which more public land would lose protections.
This debate comes on the heels of even greater recent friction between environmental concerns and golf development, heated by a secretive but since-scrapped proposal to build golf courses in a Florida State Park in southeast Florida. Judging by public commentary on social media and in newspaper editorials, the debate about converting public land into golf holes isn’t over.
The Withlacoochee State Forest website describes the breadth of the activities available, including biking, hiking, fishing, boating and much more in a publicly owned amenity that stretches across five counties.
Cabot bought the former World Woods Golf Club in 2022 and quickly set about renovating its two existing courses. With the resort now branded Citrus Farms, architect Kyle Franz has completed the 18-hole, full-sized Karoo course, which has opened while work continues on the second main 18. Citrus Farms also includes two new short courses, and the resort will include homes and upscale cabins that will be part of a rental pool. If the land swap is approved, more golf could be built.
Citrus Farms sits on rolling, sandy terrain near Brooksville, just inland from the Gulf of Mexico. On the resort’s western flank sits the 324 acres of land owned by the Florida Forest Service that is part of the Withlacoochee State Forest, which includes multiple tracts and distinct environments among its total 164,073 acres stretched across five counties. The plot of protected land that Cabot desires is less than a mile wide, with the four-lane Suncoast Parkway directly on its opposite flank.
Cabot has proposed trading for that land, offering the state a much larger parcel in Levy County some 60 miles to the north.
“We pursued whether there was a chance to come up with a win-win, which would be the state getting greater land of significantly greater acreage and preservation value in return for land on which we could build additional golf to the west of Citrus Farms,” said Ben Cowan-Dewar, the Canadian co-founder and CEO of Cabot.
“What we proposed is something we have done in Cape Breton (in Nova Scotia), a property swap to be able to build more golf which will create more economic development, more jobs and a more attractive destination,” said Cowan-Dewar, who estimates Citrus Farms could eventually provide as many as 500 jobs in largely rural Hernando County. “And in return, we give something to the state that I think they feel is of real value to them. That process is one we had done in Nova Scotia with great success.”
The land swap would be unusual in Florida, where state-owned conservation lands have traditionally been granted much greater protection. Opposition to the proposal has been ramping up, including from organizations that monitor Florida’s land and wildlife.
“The underlying thing is the precedent that this would create, the idea that anywhere in the state of Florida you could have a developer in a community that looks at adjacent conservation lands as vacant,” said Julie Wraithmell, the executive director of Florida Audubon and vice president of the National Audubon Society, a 600,000-member conservation organization that strives to protect land and wildlife across the U.S.
Wraithmell said developers might see an open piece of land and think, “Gosh, wouldn’t it be improved with a mini-mall, or with a golf course, or with a car wash?” But she said that such an idea, and the fact the state will contemplate such a land swap, flies in the face of constitutional protections that Florida’s conservation lands have traditionally enjoyed. She also pointed out that environmental tourism combined with Florida’s state parks and forests is a significant economic driver, as is golf.
“If your readers are golf enthusiasts, I’m sure that they do have interest in courses and opportunities” to play, Wraithmell told Golfweek. “I would just say that it’s about the right use in the right place that is the issue here. It’s not an opposition to golf, but it is that these protected places are important to Florida, not just for bunnies and trees but for our quality of life.”
Such objections to Cabot’s proposal have gained steam in recent weeks, especially since the proposal to add golf to Jonathan Dickinson State Park – nearly 200 miles away on the opposite side of the state. That plan was leaked by a state employee who later was fired. The proposal was then formally announced, protested and quickly scrapped in what has become more rare in Florida than a snowball: bipartisan political opposition.
The Cabot proposal had flown under the radar until it was quickly – and without previous announcement or public commentary – sent from the Florida Cabinet and Governor Ron DeSantis to the state’s Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC), a 10-member group with representatives from various state agencies. Among other duties, the ARC is responsible for evaluating any land swaps involving state-owned conservation properties. The ARC will provide advice to DeSantis and his state cabinet, which then will have final say on approval on Cabot’s proposal.
The ARC next meets Sept. 12 in the state capitol of Tallahassee, but the Citrus Farms proposal is not included on the published agenda for that meeting. There has been no timeline given for when the ARC might make its recommendations, when the group would provide any insight to data and opinions that might be used in making its recommendations, or when there might be a chance for public comment periods.
It’s unlikely Cabot’s proposal would have garnered as much attention if not for the Jonathan Dickinson State Park controversy, which united typically disparate voices. It’s worth noting that while golf is a common thread, the protected lands in question are quite different.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park is a popular respite from nearby and rapidly expanding population centers such as Jupiter, Hobe Sound and West Palm Beach. It’s 11,500 acres include boating and tours, cabins, canoeing, hiking, horse trails, swimming and picnic areas in one of the fastest-growing regions of the United States. The proposed golf courses there would have taken up more than 800 prime acres and forced a reconsideration of the park as it has traditionally been known. That park sees more than 120,000 visitors per year.
The 324 acres of land Cabot has tried to acquire in a land swap sits just west of Citrus Farms and stretches less than a mile wide to the Suncoast Parkway, a major toll road. Highway 98 runs just south of the resort and the patch of Florida State Forest, which provides a wildlife corridor since the toll road was completed. (Map by Google Earth)
By contrast, the state forest land that Cabot wants – part of the Withlacoochee Oak Park South Trailhead – is much less utilized. It includes rough trails and a basic parking area, and there is no official number available as to how many people might hike among its 324 acres. Squeezed between a large highway and Citrus Farms, it is a small part of the much larger Withlacoochee State Forest. Cowan-Dewar pointed out that the land in question was declared part of the state forest only as the Suncoast Parkway was being built beginning in the late 1990s with construction running for decades and still continuing. The environmental groups counter that the parcel is still valuable as a corridor for wildlife that was displaced by the road project, along with other benefits.
Also worth noting is that state parks and state forests are managed separately with different goals. The 10-year plan implemented in 2015 for Withlacoochee State Forest explains the need to preserve land and provide recreation, while also offering the possibility that timber assets can be made available for purchase to lumber companies, with the efficient generation of revenue acceptable. In general, Florida State Parks are managed to much tighter standards of environmental protection than are Florida State Forests.
Still in question is the value of the 861 acres in Levy County that Cabot will provide to the state if the swap goes through. That land has been used for timber production, and multiple studies by state organizations and universities have pointed out that such land and its curated pine trees provide less valuable habitat for wildlife than non-timbered and more natural parcels. It will be up to the ARC to decide officially if the former timberland is worth more to the state and its citizens – in cost, potential revenue and environmental impact – than the acreage next to Cabot.
None of this, of course, is new in Florida. Competing interests long have placed developers and environmentalists into opposing camps. Expect the debate to continue.
“I think it’s heartening to see the way that Floridians are standing up,” Wraithmell said. “I think that everybody is kind of saying that there is no lack of places to play golf in Florida. But it is increasingly rare to find the kinds of places where wildlife is able to thrive and Floridians are able to have these kinds of natural outdoor experiences.
“Both (golf and protected areas) are important parts of the Florida economy. But it’s not a zero-sum game. We don’t have to sacrifice conservation lands in order to also provide golf recreation for our residents and visitors.”
Cowan-Dewar, meanwhile, hopes Floridians don’t confuse Cabot’s proposal with the Jonathan Dickinson State Park conflict.
“I can tell you 100 percent that we had nothing to do with that,” Cowan-Dewar said. “I think they got conflated, although they are very separate and very distinct. …
“For us, this has represented a very meaningful investment into Hernando County and into the state, and I think it’s been an unbelievably welcoming jurisdiction in Hernando. We have been thrilled to be able to grow these jobs and really grow the destination.”
” … we have been disappointed in our stock performance for some time.”
Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. announced Wednesday that its board of directors intends to pursue the separation of its two primary businesses, Topgolf and Callaway, making them two independent companies.
In March 2021, Callaway Golf Co. acquired the remainder of Topgolf Entertainment Group that it didn’t already own, valuing the driving range chain at approximately $2 billion. The joint company was renamed Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp., but starting in March of this year, rumors began to swirl that a breakup could be coming.
In August, Topgolf Callaway reported that its second-quarter revenue was $494 million, while its first six months’ revenue exceeded $917 million. While those numbers represented increases, they came almost exclusively from the creation of new venues because the same-venue sales were down 8 percent. At the time, Topgolf Callaway reported that traffic to existing Topgolf locations slowed.
After that announcement, Topgolf Callaway CEO Chip Brewer said, “We remain convinced Topgolf is a high-quality business with significant future opportunity. At the same time, we have been disappointed in our stock performance for some time, as well as more recent same-venue sales performance.”
The Topgolf venue in Farragut, Tenn. (Brianna Paciorka/Knoxville News-Sentinel)
Topgolf Callaway Brands, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MODG, has seen its value steadily decrease since reaching a high of $36.92 per share in May 2021. On Aug. 30 it finished at a low of $9.94. On Wednesday it closed at $10.76 per share before the announcement was made.
In a release, John Lundgren, chairman of the board of directors of Topgolf Callaway Brands, said, “Today’s announcement is the result of a thorough strategic review conducted by the board of directors and the management team. The creation of two independent companies, each with a distinct focus and proven business model, is intended to drive continued momentum in both businesses and deliver value to all our shareholders.”
Callaway will consist of the golf equipment part of the business, along with Toptracer and lifestyle brands TravisMathew, OGIO and Jack Wolfskin.
Callaway’s Apex Ti Fusion and Apex Ai200 irons (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Topgolf will concentrate solely on its entertainment business, which includes more than 100 driving range-entertainment centers worldwide. Topgolf plans to reduce its new venue development for 2025 to a number in the mid-single digits, the release stated.
Brewer said on Wednesday, “We believe that separating Topgolf will best position both companies for success. Topgolf and Callaway have different operating models and capital needs, and this split allows each to maximize their potential.”
The company announced that it expects to spin off of the Topgolf business to Topgolf Callaway Brands’ shareholders in a transaction that is intended to be tax-free to both the company and its shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. While the company expects that a spin-off of Topgolf into a stand-alone public company is the most likely separation path, the company will continue to evaluate other options for separation to maximize shareholder value.
The separation of the brands is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025.
Pine Canyon’s 19th hole is dubbed “Double or Nothin.”
Pine Canyon Golf Club in Flagstaff, Arizona, has announced the completion of a $6.4 million renovation with a longer, improved layout and sustainable irrigation technology.
The private course, originally designed by Jay Morrish and opened in 1994, bills itself as a “19-hole championship golf course.” The 18 holes play 7,265 from the tips while the 19th hole, aptly named “Double or Nothin'”, is a 100-yard shot to an island green. It’s perfectly situated from the men’s lockerroom patio as well as the clubhouse dining veranda. It’s popular among the membership for social events, tournaments and closest-to-the-pin competitions.
The renovation’s aim was better visuals and playability while adding about 100 years while also being more sustainable with new technology in the irrigation system with 30 percent enhanced water efficiency and reduced sprinkler count.
To go along with the renovation is the announcement that 12 high-end homes are now up for sale in the high country. Owned and developed by Symmetry Companies, based in Scottsdale, the sales launch is for the final new homes at Pine Canyon called Ghost Tree.
Billed as “an exclusive enclave of 12 ultra-luxe homes,” prices will start at $3 million, setting market record of more than $1,000 per square foot. It’s the first time new homes have been up for sale at Pine Canyon since 2021, when all 26 homesites at Pine Run sold out in one day. The Ghost Tree name comes from the iconic gnarled, weathered, decades-old Ponderosa Pine with an Osprey nest atop.
A rendering of a home’s back patio with a view of the golf course and the ghost tree at Flagstaff’s Pine Canyon Golf Club. (Symmetry Companies)
The golf community encompasses close to 600 acres.
The $6.4 million golf course renovation represents the largest investment in the course’s history. Michael Kuhn & Associates did the renovation.
The 2028 Curtis Cup Match is headed to one of the best courses in the world.
Competitive women’s amateur golf has scored another victory, landing one of the top golf courses in the world as host of the 2028 Curtis Cup Match at Royal Dornoch in northern Scotland.
The Championship Course at Royal Dornoch is ranked by Golfweek’s Best as the No. 3 course outside the United States. Opened in 1877 as a nine-hole layout in the Scottish Highlands, the links course was extended to 18 holes in 1886 by Old Tom Morris. Other designers have contributed over the decades to the hilly seaside layout, including John Sutherland, George Duncan and most recently the team of Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert.
This year’s Curtis Cup Match, a biennial team event featuring top female amateurs representing the U.S. and Europe, is August 30-Sept. 1 at Sunningdale Golf Club’s Old Course in England, which Golfweek’s Best has tied for No. 9 among courses outside the United States. The 2026 match will be held from June 12-14 at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, which ties for No. 57 among all classic courses in the U.S.
The dates for the 2028 match are to be determined.
“We look forward to staging the Curtis Cup at such a historic venue in 2028,” Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, executive director of championships for the R&A, said in a media release announcing the selection of Royal Dornoch in the run-up to this year’s staging of the event. “We want to give elite amateur golfers world-class platforms to show us how well they can perform, and that will certainly be the case at Royal Dornoch. The Championship Course has earned worldwide acclaim and it promises to be a wonderful occasion in the rich history of the Curtis Cup.”
Royal Dornoch’s Championship Course in the Scottish Highlands (Courtesy of Royal Dornoch Golf Club)
Royal Dornoch has a track record of hosting top amateur events, including the 1985 British Amateur Championship and four Scottish Men’s Amateur Championships, most recently in 2023.
“The Curtis Cup is also going to be a tremendous occasion for the local area,” Neil Hampton, general manager at Royal Dornoch, said in the media release. “With the Championship Course consistently ranked highly in global standings and the investment in our infrastructure as we build a new clubhouse, a match of this standing and stature will only enhance the reputation of Royal Dornoch, the town and the local area.”
Robert Trent Jones Jr. brings Osprey Meadows back to life at Tamarack Resort in Idaho.
Robert Trent Jones Jr. has completed a renovation of the Osprey Meadows course at Tamarack Resort in Idaho, introducing a new level of playability to a layout that he designed and originally opened in 2006.
Then owned by a different group, the course about 90 miles of Boise had closed nine years after it opened because of economic hardship, and it was purchased by Tamarack Resort in 2021. Offering mountain, meadow and lake views, the course includes its main 18 holes plus a bonus par 3 named Gambler’s Hole.
“The grand opening of Osprey Meadows is the highlight of our summer, and we couldn’t be more thrilled for players to experience all 19 holes of this beautiful course,” Scott Turlington, president of Tamarack Resort, said in a media release announcing the completion of the renovation. “It’s extremely rare to get a second chance to make a first impression. In fact, it doesn’t happen very often, and we’ve got that opportunity now.”
Jones Jr.’s firm, Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects, reduced the number and length of forced carries, and fairways were widened. Further refinements are planned. The course can now be stretched to 7,447 yards.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to reinvigorate the award-winning Osprey Meadows Golf Course at Tamarack,” Jones Jr. said in the media release. “The confidence that the Tamarack ownership has exhibited in the long-term value of this unique golf experience is unprecedented. We appreciate their vision and commitment.”
Check out a selection of photos from Osprey Meadows below.
Our hundreds of raters weigh in on the best public-access and private courses in Washington.
Looking to play the best golf courses in Washington? Welcome to our annual Golfweek’s Best ranking of public-access and private courses.
Following are the rankings for both types of courses, as judged by our nationwide network of raters. The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.
The courses on the first list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required.
KEY: (m) modern, built in 1960 or after; (c) classic, built before 1960. For courses with a number preceding the (m) or (c), that is where the course ranks on Golfweek’s Best lists for top 200 modern and classic courses in the U.S.
* indicates new or returning to the rankings
Best public-access courses in Washington
Gamble Sands in Washington (Courtesy of Gamble Sands/Brian Oar)
Our hundreds of raters weigh in on the best public-access and private courses in Virginia.
Looking to play the best golf courses in Virginia? Welcome to our annual Golfweek’s Best ranking of public-access and private courses.
Following are the rankings for both types of courses, as judged by our nationwide network of raters. The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.
The courses on the first list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required.
KEY: (m) modern, built in 1960 or after; (c) classic, built before 1960. For courses with a number preceding the (m) or (c), that is where the course ranks on Golfweek’s Best lists for top 200 modern and classic courses in the U.S.
* indicates new or returning to the rankings
Best public-access courses in Virginia
Omni Homestead Resort’s Cascades Course (Courtesy of Omni Homestead Resort)
1. Primland (Highland) Meadows of Dan (T92m)
2. Omni Homestead Resort (Cascades) Hot Springs (T98c)
Stick another pin in the global map for Cabot, the Canadian-based golf resort operator that in recent years has expanded to properties in Scotland, the Caribbean, the U.S. and soon to western Canada.
This week, Cabot co-founder and CEO Ben Cowan-Dewar will announce the company’s expansion to France with the purchase of Golf Du Médoc Resort in Bordeaux. The resort, home to two golf courses designed by Bill Coore and Rod Whitman, will be rebranded Cabot Bordeaux.
Those course designers’ names are extremely familiar to Cowan-Dewar, who employed Whitman then the team of Coore and Ben Crenshaw to build the 36 holes at Cabot Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. It was there the company got the off the ground with the introduction of Cabot Links in 2012 and Cabot Cliffs in 2015. Both those courses have achieved high acclaim with rankings among the best courses in the world – Cliffs is No. 11 on Golfweek’s Best ranking of courses outside the U.S., and Links ties for No. 43.
The Rod Whitman-designed Vignes Course at Golf Du Médoc Resort in France, which will be rebranded as Cabot Bordeaux (Courtesy of Cabot)
Cabot Cape Breton was not the first example of Whitman and Coore design layouts at the same site, however. Before partnering with Crenshaw, Coore opened the Chateaux (Castle) Course in 1989 at Golf Du Médoc Resort. Whitman’s Vignes (Vines) Course followed in 1991.
“Both courses are just really, really wonderful golf,” Cowan-Dewar said. “It’s just a beautiful, idyllic setting. …
“The courses are really quite even, so we’re pretty excited about that. People will debate, as they do in Cape Breton, over which is their favorite course. And that’s a mighty good problem for us. There’s nothing better than people finishing their trip and trying to decide which one they liked better when there is no obvious choice.”
The Bill Coore-designed Chateau Course at Golf Du Médoc Resort in France, which will be rebranded as Cabot Bordeaux (Courtesy of Cabot)
The resort sits less than a half hour’s drive northwest of Bordeaux, considered the wine capital of the world and around which live some 1.4 million people. Not far inland from the Bay of Biscay, Bordeaux is some 320 miles south of Paris.
Cowan-Dewar said he had traveled to France several times but never the Bordeaux region until visiting Golf Du Médoc Resort last year. It was the golf that caught his attention.
“It’s entirely site specific,” he said when asked about the move into France. “I’ve long heard about it, and Rod and Bill would talk about it a fair bit. So you think how small a world it is, this is the only place in the world they worked side by side before Cabot. And with 36 holes of Ben and Rod’s work, it just seemed a little like fate, right?”
The hotel at Golf Du Médoc Resort in France, which will be rebranded as Cabot Bordeaux (Courtesy of Cabot)
Cowan-Dewar explained that Golf Du Médoc Resort was founded by two French titans of industry, one of whom has passed away. The other turns 90 years old this year and is still friends with Coore and Whitman. The opportunity to take the reins at such a property was too great to pass up, Cowan-Dewar said.
“As you can imagine, with Bill and Rod the golf architecture was terrific, as was the entire destination,” he said. “I think the city, the destination and the region were all amazing.”
Cabot Bordeaux will include a preexisting 79-room hotel, an upscale restaurant showcasing regional cuisine and a world-class spa. Cowan-Dewar said additions to the 400-acre property might include the two- and four-bedroom style of cabins and cottages that have proved popular at other Cabot properties. The hotel was built in 2007 and was recently updated, and Cabot will undertake various projects to ensure the property remains fresh with updated location-specific activities and expanded amenities.
The spa pool at Golf Du Médoc Resort in France, which will be rebranded as Cabot Bordeaux (Courtesy of Cabot)
The courses will receive polishing as Cabot takes its cues from Coore and Whitman, with the work most likely focused on the typical updates needed for drainage and playing surfaces at any 35-year-old courses. The resort also has two driving ranges, one of which includes the Bernard Pascassio Training Center. Cowan-Dewar said one of the ranges will be converted to a par-3 course, a move that has become a staple at top resorts in recent years as players look for more golf than 18 holes a day.
“It’s almost impossible to have a property like that now without a par-3 course,” he said. “They’ve become such demand drivers that converting a driving range into a par-3 course seems like a win right off the bat.”
It’s all part of a rapid expansion for Cabot, which has gone from 36 full-size holes of golf to 90 in recent years, with another 54 on the books to open soon.
In 2022 Cabot purchased the Scottish Castle Stuart and its 18-hole links course designed by Gil Hanse and Mark Parsinen. That property was rebranded as Cabot Highlands with plans to add 18 new holes by Tom Doak next year.
The company then completed Cabot Saint Lucia’s Point Hardy Golf Club to great acclaim in 2023, including several of the most scenic golf holes in the world designed by Coore and Crenshaw on cliffs above the Atlantic Ocean.
Later in 2023 the first 18-hole course, named the Karoo and designed by Kyle Franz, opened at Cabot Citrus Farms in Florida, with another 18 slated to open this year. That property is a rethink of the sandy site’s former World Woods Golf Club, and it also includes two short courses.
Also in the works is Cabot Revelstoke in western Canada, with Whitman designing the mountainous 18-hole layout there.
“It’s a little overwhelming to think about, you know, but it’s very exciting,” Cowan-Dewar said of the expansions. “It’s all driven by the golf. We have found that if we focus on great golf, the rest just follows naturally.”
In the span of three years, Cabot will have gone from a famous but regional player to a worldwide force in the golf industry, and more additions to the brand are likely. Cabot Bordeaux will certainly add a French sophistication to the company’s newfound international flavor.
“Anyone playing Cabot Bordeaux is going to enjoy a distinctly French experience,” Coore said in a media release that will be released to announce the news. “Going from Cabot Cape Breton to Cabot Highlands to Cabot Saint Lucia to Cabot Bordeaux offers experiences that are as different and as varied as you could ever imagine.”
Our hundreds of raters weigh in on the best public-access and private courses in Pennsylvania.
Looking to play the best golf courses in Pennsylvania? Welcome to our annual Golfweek’s Best ranking of public-access and private courses.
Following are the rankings for both types of courses, as judged by our nationwide network of raters. The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.
The courses on the first list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required.
KEY: (m) modern, built in 1960 or after; (c) classic, built before 1960. For courses with a number preceding the (m) or (c), that is where the course ranks on Golfweek’s Best lists for top 200 modern and classic courses in the U.S.
* indicates new or returning to the rankings
Best public-access courses in Pennsylvania
Omni Bedford Springs’ Old Course in Pennsylvania (Courtesy of Omni Bedford Springs)
