I don’t know the background of most projects as I do this one but how many developers and architect move to a site? Some? None? Has it ever happened before?
Ben moved his ever growing family to Inverness, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia in the fall 2008. That act signified that he was going to do all he could to return the trust placed in him by the town, by Mike Keiser, and by the Cape Breton Growth Fund. He was all-in and with that as the anchor, good things followed.
Shortly after, Rod Whitman moved into a house there as well. In the worst year of golf course construction in memory, Rod went out on his D6 and rough shaped the entire golf course. At the end of that year, it became evident to Mike that Rod was the talent that his friend Bill Coore had billed him.
Various people including Dave Axland and Kyle Franz lent their talents to the finished product but this Feature Interview is confined to the three primary people that have fulfilled the town’s desire of utilizing the open space between the town and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
I played eighteen holes there for the first time eight days ago (in sweltering 83F heat no less!). Though still in the very early stages, the interaction between these three principal parties has yielded something special.
The backdrop to the Cape 9th is a working harbor.
Of course, ‘Keiser’ and ‘special’ seem to always go hand in hand. Now a brand name with the financial wherewithal to bring his common sense golf approach to fruition where ever he so chooses, Keiser is certainly one of the very few people to have done well in golf over the past five years, all while helping the sport mind you! According to Ben, other than frequent site visits, one thing that Keiser brings is an unwavering desire to figure out the best answer for a particular property. Some owners get trapped chasing the wrong things but Keiser’s focus remains steadfast on each of the eighteen holes and the general environment surrounding them. He keeps looking at each hole, each shot through the eyes of the ‘retail golfer,’ wondering if the retail golfer will be pleased that he made the trip.
As he has at some of his other courses, Keiser has a way of pulling the best out of an architect. To cite two specific examples, he helped drive a Biarritz type swale through the 235 yard fifth green (well removed from the water, this hole was a potential weak moment – no longer!). Secondly, the creation of the double green at the eleventh and thirteenth has led to two of my favorite approach shots on the course, courtesy of course of Rod’s dirt work.
It is no great secret that my two favorite architects are Doak and Coore & Crenshaw. Yet, one of the great things about Cabot Links is that it somehow doesn’t look like either designed it. While that may sound contradictory, the course looks and plays like an original, something that you haven’t quite seen before and it is hard to explain why. Maybe it is because the bunker style and/or placement (some greenside ones of which are deceivingly short of the putting surface), maybe it is because of how the greens tie into their surrounds (including the first two which happily run away from the player), maybe it is because this abandoned coal mining site hard along the water is so unique. Ultimately, the freshness of Cabot’s design must be accredited to the Great Whit himself.
When you hire Rod Whitman, you get Rod Whitman. And in this case, he got a piece of land where his talents could shine. Yes, he had some natural advantages such as over one mile of water frontage and the fact that the general tilt of the property is toward the water, meaning that views of the sea are afforded from every hole. Still though, it was Rod’s mind that conjured up the upside down L shaped fifteenth green which makes the hole into an all-time personal favorite, for instance. Most importantly, he knitted the interior holes into the coastal fabric in a most appealing manner. As with any course, I always like asking what is the worst hole. At Cabot, there is no clear answer.
As people have commented on for the past couple of years, the course is photogenic. The photo of the aforementioned fifteenth hole that appeared in Golf Digest is particularly appealing in part because of the random humps and bumps throughout the fairway. Man’s hand is involved in those, something that 99.99% of the golfers will never know or care about. Still, it means a great deal to those of us that like links golf and the challenge of flighting a ball through the wind from a stance that requires some sort of minor adjustment. Again, Rod and his crew deserve credit in many ways but those slight fairway contours are one area that they are unlikely to get it – so let’s give it to them now! In fact, for those who know Rod (and unlike most architects), he is 100% INCAPABLE of promoting his own work, so some of us have to help him
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Speaking of fairway contours, Cape Breton Highlands is a two hour drive on the other side of the island. I can’t imagine coming to the island and not playing both courses. Driving counterclockwise from Cape Breton Highlands to Cabot along the Cabot Trail yields some of the most spectacular coastal views this side of Portrush.
And speaking of the UK, that’s something that the photos don’t capture: Cabot’s climate. It is much more akin to the UK. With low humidity and cool evening temperatures through the golf season, this all fescue course will be properly fast and firm through the green, guaranteeing that all shot options are open to the player as he contends with the coastal breezes.
Hope you enjoy this month’s Feature Interview as a precursor to Cabot Links’ official eighteen hole opening in June, 2012.
Cheers,