I am just back from a trip to Cabot and thought I would post about a few changes on the course. Golfwise the biggest changes are some tree clearing that was done on #8 at Cabot Cliffs and the construction of the short course (see below). There were a stand of trees to the right of the fairway on #8 about 100-200 yards back from the green. These are now all gone.
Here is the 8th hole as it looked in 2016 - the trees in the centre of this photo are now gone(Photo is from Joe Bausch's thread on Cabot):
Here is the hole today:
You certainly have a much nicer view of the ocean from the tee and fairway.
Cabot Cliffs is still in pretty rough shape as spring has been slow to come to Cape Breton. The 16 and 17 greens are in the worst shape. The 16th green has a fairly large depression/sinkhole on the right side and this part of the green was completely redone a year or two ago. Here is that part of the green:
There is a fair bit of construction going on at Cabot Cliffs as they are constructing a new pro shop and clubhouse. There are a few small buildings completed with more to go. Don't worry, the couches will remain by the 18th green.
The new short course is now also under construction. See:
http://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/whitman-and-axland-collaborate-for-new-short-course-at-cabot-links#Here is the course layout:
This course is to the east (or right) of the 12th fairway and 13th green. See this Google Maps aerial - you can use the pond to orient where the new holes will go.
As always Cabot remains a great golf resort that is getting better every year. I brought three friends who hadn't been there before and they were all blown away and all the golfers that I spoke to loved the place, despite the chilly weather for a few days.