Canadian golf course designer Rod Whitman has been selected to design Cabot Links on the west coast of Cape Breton Island. Through Whitman’s numerous visits to the property, he recognizes the potential for the creation of a memorable, seaside course that reflects the property's characteristics. The terrain features many of the conditions requisite for creating an exciting links course. In addition to the superb views of the sea from each hole, the site features the elevation changes, natural contours, native grasses, and sandy soils that are reminiscent of the finest courses in Scotland, the lands on which the game was born. It is readily apparent to Mr. Whitman and students of golf course architecture that the site is precious, and deserves an appropriate design strategy that is true to the roots of the game and the natural pitch of the property.

Whitman possesses three decades of experience in the golf design business. Professionally educated, he worked with the renowned Pete Dye and Bill Coore, and is known for the depth of his designs, attention to detail, hands-on work ethic, and an approach to golf course architecture that can best be described as organic. He is regarded as “one of the premier course builders in the industry and spends an extraordinary amount of time on job sites, preferring to work the land himself rather than leave instructions for others to interpret.” (Andrew Penner, Alberta Golf Magazine) Penner also states that, 'His layout at Wolf Creek (Alberta) is so good, so meticulously crafted, that it is often used as a study for blossoming architects.' Other leading writers on golf architecture (including Lorne Rubenstein, Globe & Mail and Robert Thompson, National Post) suggest that Rod Whitman is the Stanley Thompson of his era, delivering creativity, strategic thinking, and an intimate understanding of the properties with which he works. Indeed, Cape Breton Highlands, which many consider to be Thompson's own masterpiece, is located on the eastern shore of Cape Breton Island. At Cabot Links, Whitman is committed to creating a course that is both timeless and memorable and will do so with an eye and instinct that has helped gain him this recognition as an original and talented golf course designer.