Old Petty

In June 2022, Cabot, the company behind the much-praised Nova Scotia destination Cabot Cape Breton, bought Castle Stuart Golf Links in Inverness. It immediately announced plans for a second 18-hole course and renamed the facility Cabot Highlands.

Tom Doak designed the new course, though longtime associate Clyde Johnson led much of the construction, with help from veteran shapers Angela Moser and Chris Haspell. The property was attractive but a bit awkward. It included the resort's driving range, which would be relocated, a hillside beside the 17th-century castle, an estuary, and a tract of former farmland along the Moray Firth. Making these parcels feel like one course, and giving the gently sloping ground enough variety and interest for world-class golf, required extensive earthwork. From 2023 through 2024, Doak and Johnson transformed the site into an artificial but authentic-feeling duneland environment.

Named for a nearby church, which is most visible from the 15th hole, Old Petty opened for public play in May 2026. It offers a canny contrast with its sister course. Whereas Gil Hanse’s Castle Stuart prioritizes the ocean, with skyline greens and six beachside holes, Old Petty's focus is more dispersed: first it highlights the inland terrain, then the castle, the estuary, and the old stone walls at the far end of the property, before turning its attention to the firth in the middle of the back nine. It's also lower-profile than Castle Stuart, with subtle, random-seeming undulation inspired by Scotland's traditional links. At the same time, the intricate contouring on and around the greens, as well as the strategic sophistication of the holes themselves, is typical of Doak’s and Johnson’s recent projects.

With Old Petty, Cabot Highlands has a second 18 that complements the original without replicating any of its moves. Opinions on which is better will likely be evenly split.

Take Note…

A bothy with history. The fifth green at Old Petty sits hard against a red-roofed 19th-century stone cottage, which serves as a “bothy,” or halfway house. According to this Cookie Jar Golf video, a woman emailed Cabot Highlands’ team recently to say that her grandfather was born in the cottage. Fortunately, she was a golfer and seemed happy that the cottage was now in the middle of a Tom Doak-designed course.

Not the real thing. The dune ridge along the shoreline, while natural-looking, is completely artificial, built by Doak and Johnson’s crew in their first season of work.

“No, you go.” The first and 18th holes cross over each other, so the starter often needs to conduct some traffic management. The landing zones for the two holes are not near each other, however, so there’s rarely any real confusion.

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