National Post Golf
2006 Preview
"Canada's Next Great
Course"
A new course to be built
on a dramatic seaside
site on Cape Breton
Island in Nova Scotia is
being heralded by some
as Canada's next great
golf experience. The
course, called Cabot
Links and laid out on
the remnants of a
reclaimed mine in the
town of Inverness, is
currently in the final
stages of financing,
with construction
anticipated this summer.
The project, which is
being shepherded by
Toronto entrepreneur Ben
Cowan-Dewar, will be
designed by
Alberta-based architect
Rod Whitman. Whitman,
who was originally
scheduled to build Angus
Glen's south course
before it was turned
over to Doug Carrick, is
best known for his work
at Wolf Creek and
Blackhawk, both in the
Edmonton area.
Whitman says the course
has all the elements of
some of the great
Scottish links: It will
play near the town of
Inverness and is being
built on sandy soil next
to the ocean.
The location has been
examined by several
interested parties over
the last decade,
including Jack Nicklaus,
whose proposal included
a large hotel. However,
financial hurdles
scuttled previous deals
and led some in
Inverness to conclude
the project would never
go forward.
However, Cowan-Dewar
successfully managed to
involve the province in
the course. The Cape
Breton Growth Fund, an
organization whose goal
is to help promote
economic growth in the
area, has said it will
provide $2.5-million in
funding, while
Cowan-Dewar is raising
the remainder from
private interests.
Cowan-Dewar said the
spectacular ocean vistas
provided by the site
kept prospective
developers returning to
see if they could
possibly make the course
financially feasible.
"Golf architect Michael
Hurdzan, who saw it
years ago, said it was
one of the best sites
for golf remaining in
the world," says
Cowan-Dewar. "There's a
lack of coastal sites
for golf, especially in
Canada, making this a
rare opportunity."
Cabot Links is planned
as a public course, and
will complement the
area's existing
foundation of golf,
which includes the
fabled Highlands Links
in Ingonish and Tom
McBroom's Bell Bay in
Baddeck.
Whitman, who has
suddenly become one of
Canada's busiest
architects with two
projects in British
Columbia as well, says
the course has the
opportunity to be one of
the most breathtaking in
Canada.
"When you've got this
sort of site and the
golf course we have
proposed, I think it has
the possibility of being
compared to the great
courses in the world,"
said Whitman. "The first
hole is something you're
going to be able to put
on a magazine cover, and
everyone who sees it is
going to want to play
the course."
