SCOREGolf
August, 2006
"Canada's Next Great
Golf Course"
Resting on an abandoned
mine, with dramatic,
sweeping views of the
ocean, sits the site of
what might become
Canada’s next great golf
course. It isn’t quite
ready to go yet, but if
entrepreneur Ben
Cowan-Dewar has his way,
Cabot Links will become
synonymous with great
links golf in this
country when it opens in
2008. Imagine North
Berwick’s West Course
transplanted to Nova
Scotia, or Bandon Dunes
residing next to a
seaside Maritimes town.
“This course will be
something totally
unique,” says
Cowan-Dewar, who
continues to run his
high-end golf travel
business, GolfTI.com.
“Even in Scotland there
are few courses that
have 18 holes to which
the sea is totally
exposed.”
Not surprisingly,
Cowan-Dewar isn’t the
first to consider the
potential of the site.
The site has a lengthy
history with golf. For
more than a decade,
Inverness, a town
located on the western
coast of Cape Breton,
has tried to find a
developer willing to
transform the
sand-capped mine into a
golf course. Jack
Nicklaus was tipped to
build a course alongside
a multi-million dollar
resort, but the project
was eventually deemed
economically unfeasible.
Others, including
Canadian Graham Cooke,
did routings on the
site, but similar to the
Nicklaus plan, they
failed to come to
fruition.
But those in the
industry that had been
to see the site
continued to rave about
it. Dr. Michael Hurdzan,
one of the principles of
the American design firm
of Hurdzan/Fry, said the
raw land might be one of
the best untapped golf
sites in North America.
As opposed to the
expansive resort
projects conceived
previous to his
involvement,
Cowan-Dewar’s plan is
entirely focused on
golf. Though the
property, which measures
more than 200 acres, is
considered small by
modern standards, the
developer has envisioned
a sporty course nearing
7,000 yards that will
offer ocean views on
every hole. Instead of
turning to the typical
golf architects, or even
looking south to the
likes of Tom Doak or
Bill Coore, the project
is currently linked to
Alberta designer Rod
Whitman. Whitman, who
has worked for Pete Dye
and Coore in shaping
some of their best work,
caught Cowan-Dewar’s eye
after the businessman
saw Blackhawk GC near
Edmonton. A course that
embraces classical golf
architecture features
and focuses on greens
and bunkering, Blackhawk
was built inexpensively
and has been a great
success, both
artistically and
financially, since
opening in 2003.
Whitman says when he
first saw the Inverness
site, he was immediately
reminded of great
Scottish links like
Carnoustie and St.
Andrews, where the
course and the town meet
and complement one
another.
That’s certainly the
concept at Cabot Links,
where the town of
Inverness rests on the
hillside overlooking the
golf site, a fishing
inlet and a sandy beach.
To some, the town, with
its wooden houses
painted a variety of
colours, isn’t the
standard location for a
great golf course.
Certainly some Canadian
heavy hitters, who came
to the town when they
heard about a potential
seaside course, had a
hard time envisioning
the project. Where, they
wondered, were the
multi-million dollar
mansions that surround
typical modern courses?
How can Cowan-Dewar and
Whitman create a great
golf course without
blowing $20 million?
It isn’t that difficult
with a great site, he
explains.
“In reality if you look
at Pacific Dunes or
Blackhawk or Sand Hills
(in Nebraska), you’ll
see a lot of the great
golf courses built in
the last 50 years were
not that expensive,” he
says. “That’s especially
the case if you have
your designer build the
course and keep the
costs under control.
That’s what Rod does.”
As opposed to some
Trump-like atrocity,
Cowan-Dewar has
envisioned something
more subtle, where a
great golf course blends
with the existing
structures and helps
pave the way for new
development in the town,
which has struggled
economically since
mining disappeared from
the area. He is
currently finalizing his
financing, but already
has a commitment of $2.5
million from the Cape
Breton Growth Fund and
has struck a deal which
saw the town turn over
the property to him.
Construction is expected
to start this fall, with
a total cost of $5.7
million.
I walked the course last
week and found the site
for Cabot Links is even
better than the photos
that have been
circulating on the
Internet. Like
Kingsbarns, the great
new Scottish links
located near St.
Andrews, Cabot Links’s
land rolls from the town
down to the beach. The
opening holes will start
near a charming fishing
inlet, while some of the
back nine will play
along steep bluffs at
the north end of the
property. Natural ridges
are exposed and the sand
capped area where the
old mine once sat, is
also astounding. Given
its natural contours,
the sea is visible from
across the site.
The completed course
will contain elements of
some of the best new
courses to open in North
America in recent years,
says Cowan-Dewar. Like
the Bandon Dunes Resort
in Oregon, Cowan-Dewar
plans Cabot Links as a
walking-only course with
a green fee of around
$100. He also plans on
developing a caddie
program that will offer
work to those in
Inverness, while keeping
with the course’s
historical links themes.
Until a shovel is in the
ground, Cabot Links is
still than reality. But
it is a remarkable
concept that should turn
into an equally
remarkable golf course.
If Highlands Links is
Canada’s “sea to
mountain” course, as
designer Stanley
Thompson once called it,
Cabot Links could be
this country’s true
links.
Cowan-Dewar has grand
designs for such an
unassuming place as
Inverness. Here’s hoping
his vision becomes a
success.
