This post was contributed by guest author (and golf expert), Peter Arturi. Contact Peter for more details and some expert advice if you're interested in an international golf experience.
Classic Golf Destinations
For classmates who are avid golfers (or those who aspire to be), Scotland and Ireland have always been considered the Mecca of golf destinations. However, putting together those trips, particularly with large groups, can be complicated and expensive. Over the past few years we’ve hired a company called Celtic Golf, and they do a great job. But for an expedition to the British Isles, you have to take a six-hour flight, rent a car and drive on the wrong side of the road (or hire a driver so you can spend your non-golf hours drinking in pubs), eat generally tasteless food and pay dearly for each lost ball (they’re a lot more expensive over there).
A Better Idea: Great Golf, Close to Home
How about trying something different? My friend Dave (a former Golf Digest editor) recently put together a trip for a number of us that turned out to be fabulous. Instead of another Scotland or Ireland trip, he chose Cabot Links on Cape Breton Island, which is part of Nova Scotia.
Getting there is easy and fast. We flew from Logan to Halifax (a very short flight) and spent the night in an airport hotel. The resort sent a van to pick us up the following morning. It's a four-hour drive to the resort, so we played only 18 holes after checking in that afternoon. We then played 36 on each of the next two days, and finally one last 18-hole round before driving back to Halifax. We all walked and took trolleys (pull carts for your bags), so each 36-hole day was about a 15-mile trek.
Click on the photos below to see them larger, in a lightbox. Hover to see captions.
The resort has two world-class courses: Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs. I liked the links course better, but that’s probably because I played well on it. They're both spectacular. Most of the holes on both courses are located along the rocky shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence -- if we weren’t paying in Canadian dollars and speaking English to caddies and rangers with no discernible accent, I would swear we were in Scotland.
“The resort is in the middle of nowhere, so there’s nothing much to do other than play golf, eat and drink. ”
All of the rooms look out onto the links course and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The views are magnificent, but although the resort is very comfortable, it's in no way “over the top” as some golf resorts are. The resort has a few restaurants, too, so you don't have to eat in the same place all of the time (and the food was pretty good). For those who are familiar with North American courses, Cabot is owned by the same group that owns Bandon Dunes in Oregon.
Looking for World Class Golf? Start with a Trip to Nova Scotia!
I’d go back in a heartbeat. If you’re looking for links golf without flying over the pond, Cabot is a definite “must.”