[Robert Thompson]

They needed to stabilize the face which kept falling apart -- and that was what they came up with. Pragmatic, really.

Not a huge fan of the sleepering of the right half of the centerline bunker on #16.  Not sure why that was done?

Cheers

[RJ_Daley]

Mark, Thanks for a great and high quality photo tour of this highly anticipated course. 

The photos indicate a real adventure of golf designed to be endless fun and something different every day, along with teeing grounds well positioned to offer great elasticity as wind changes and the golfer's ambition to take on greater challenge by moving back, but if wisely played -without stepping completely beyond one's playing capability for the mid handicapper. 

Given the architects path to this pinnacle of success, and the influences that Mr Whitman has experienced, it seems this course is a culmination of golf design for him.  I hope to see this course next year as it tugs at my personal ideals of how a course on such land ought to be built, presented and designed.

But, I guess I'll mention one aspect that doesn't have a great deal of reflection on the golf course design in the actual on-the-ground construction sense, but an aesthetic that is obvious, and perhaps a bit of a regret by those in the development team.  That is the backdrop visual of the 9th and 18th holes regarding the unsightly buildings.  I don't know the back story on them, though the practical need for a clubhouse on 18 was probably dictated by no other options for lack of other spare land available for the siting of such. 

I am left wondering if the building behind 9 couldn't at least be re-painted to earth tone colors?  If not owned or controlled by the Cabot Links Enterprise, somehow an offer to incur the cost of a color change.  The barn red just doesn't make it and is a distraction from an otherwise beautiful landscape as one plays through that 9th hole corridor, IMHO.  And, the style selection of the buildings behind 18 seem a puzzle to me.  Perhaps it is a local customary style for that region, however it just sticks out and fights the aesthetic of the great golf course, IMO. 

As most know, my personal favorite modest yet authentic minimally constructed along sandy prairie ground naturally sited golf course is Wild Horse.  Mr. Whitman's good friend an occasional collaborator in construction, and co-designer of Wild Horse is Dan Proctor.  Once several years ago while playing there and contemplating the natural backdrop and setting for that course, Dan lamented how he knew it was inevitable that houses along the periphery would be built, and the roof lines would ultimately detract from the originally envisioned ideal.  Here at CL, the detraction had to be known from the beginning, and just the look of the uneven/jagged roofline of the buildings behind 18, simply detracts, regrettably,  from what I feel could have been a better last impression of a grand round of golf. 

Just my opinion, of course.  It would in no way curb my deep desire to make this trip to experience this great golf course.

[Wayne_Kozun]

One thing I like about CL is that it is reminiscent of Scottish courses like TOC and Gullane where you finish back in the centre of town.  That is not quite the case with CL, but it is pretty close and when that is the case then you don't always have control over the backdrop.

Personally I quite like the barn behind #9.

What do you mean about 18?  Do you think the clubhouse is ugly and/or too close to the green?

[RJ_Daley]

Wayne, sorry to say... both, IMHO.  The close proximity reminds me of another course's 18th that I feel was detracted from, that being the 18th at Ocean Course of Half Moon Bay, when they sited the whole proshop-hotel too close. 

[Bryan Izatt]

RJ,

Re the red "barn" behind the 9th green, it is not owned by CL.  It is The Inverness Cottage Workshop, a Vocational Agency which provides vocational, personal, and/or social skills training for adults who have intellectual challenges and/or mental health needs.  Amongst other things they provide a bakery out of there a few days a week. I doubt that CL would want to try and get them to change the colour or move.  Personally I think it adds to the character of the location and is in keeping architecturally with the rest of the community.  

The clubhouse is definitely not in architectural harmony with the surrounding community.  The design is a little modern and stark for me, but it does provide great views from the rooms and the dining rooms.  I didn't mind it being close to the 18th green.  It does provide an opportunity for anybody on the patio to kibbitz with those playing out on 18.

[RJ_Daley]

Bryan, you have just confirmed that Inverness has everything I'd need to sustain a nice little quiet life there; social, developmental and vocational support, and golf!    I wonder if Ben could use a man servant.  I'd volunteer to paint the darn thing myself to some manner of earth tones...  I've seen enough barn red here in Wisconsin to last a lifetime. 

[Guy Nicholson]

Here you go, RJ, a chance to put your money where your mouth is.

http://www.coadysrealty.com/mls50307875A.htm

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

I don't mind so much the building behind the 9th; maybe I'm just so used to Falu red pianted buildings all over Scandinavia.
I know taste is personal, but the clubhouse just doesn't suit the setting. I think they should have gone with something modern but less disjointed; it looks like a bunch of 1980s prefabs at an Irish secondary school.

Castle Stuart's clubhouse is nice as is PGA National's in Sweden.

[RJ_Daley]

Guy, $CA500K for a old wood construction, oil heated garage, w/2 bathrooms, and a shop floor, no other rooms, ocean view... next to maybe one of the top 5 golf courses in Canada?  What a deal!    How much of that price is due to the influence of CL and being prime property right next door?

If Ben, Ran, or Mr Kaiser buy it, I'll still volunteer to come and paint it a more compatible environmentally in harmony color, if they wish. 

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Matt Ward praises the 2nd hole at Cabot Links:

 
I have had the opportunity and pleasure to play golf for over 40 years and have taken in a wide array of golf courses
globally -- but I have to say that among the outstanding long par-5 holes I have ever played (575+) one can include the 2nd at Cabot Links
on any short list.
 
The 620-yard par-5 is the longest hole at the new course on Cape Breton Island and it's brute -- but one filled with a wide array of
strategic choices.
 
The hole requires a solid tee shot -- with the terrain falling more to the right than you might imagine when standing on the tee. Failure to execute from the tee ensures the high probability of bogey or worse -- especially so when the prevailing summer wind is howling in your face from the south / southwest direction.
 
The fairway is amply wide but playing closer to the right side opens up more favorable angles for one's second shot. Initially the hole plays
slightly down hill before it rises abrutply starting at just under 150 yards from the green. In sum -- you need to negotiate no less than 475
yards in two blows. Sounds easy -- but when the prevailing wind hits you hard -- it's no small feat by any imagination save for the strongest of
players.
 
The 2nd shot faces a series of challenges -- both mentally and physically. Failure to ascend the rise in the fairway as previously mentioned ensures
a devilish blind shot that is maddening in its overall demands. Even with proper alignment and a caddie's best intentions -- the shot is all feel and
all commitment to your target line. Even after hitting the shot one will have a major lump in your throat until you see where the ball has finished.
 
Players can favor the left side with their second shot -- but there is a landing strip that juts out on the right side. Players able to get to that spot
are given a clear look at the green -- ranging anywhere from just under 150 yards to roughly slightly more than 100. Go too far right and your ball
is deader than Elvis. Go too long and you can easily run out of the table top area and reach high grass that fills out a massive canyon before the
putting surface.
 
Of course -- players can elect to avoid the landing area to the far right and opt to go up the left side -- again, the issue of blindess inserts itself into the equation.
The visibility of the green can be blocked unless the 2nd shot up the left side can finish all the way past the blocked view. Of course -- getting a ball into that position
requires sufficient power and placement as a trio of bunkers guard the left side and there is one smaller one on the right.
 
The putting surface is protected by a solitary bunker on the right side -- it is to be treated with caution because the slightest mishit with your 3rd can mean a quick visit.
 
The green is not overly wide but it is lengthy from one side to the other and the far right has a tendency to move downhill to the far right. Should one go off the back
the chances for an easy up'n down is far from certain.
 
To the club's credit work is underway to create another tee box at the 540-yard marks to provide for a bit more elasticity.
 
Far too often long par-5 holes can feature a ho-hum 2nd or even 3rd shot -- that's not the case here. Walk off with a par here and you have done more than well. Walk off with no more than a bogey when the prevailing wind is howling into you -- and you have practically hit the lottery.
 
The 2nd hole at Cabot Links is an outstanding hole and when the turf conditions reach optimum levels -- the strategic qualities will only be more pronounced than they are now. The long par-5 concept is resurrected brilliantly by architect Rod Whitman and it's a hole you will never forget after playing it.

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