Cabot Links

Inverness, Nova Scotia

 An honest-to-God pure links course on the Nova Scotia (aka New Scotland) coast

Book Tee Time
📷 cabotlinks.com
📷 cabotlinks.com

Off the Beaten Path

Links

Modern

Scenic

Seaside

Friendly

According to those who know these things, there are five genuine links courses in North America. Three of these are in Bandon, Oregon, one is a 9-holer in Massachusetts and the other is Cabot Links in Canada. Located on the coast Nova Scotia – which for those of you keeping score at home means “New Scotland” – Cabot Links genuinely looks, feels and plays like a Scottish course. And – not to offend any purists – but it’s a better course than much of what you’d find in the mother land of links. This is one of the best new golf courses in recent decades, period.

Expert Reviews

With views of the ocean available from every inch of the golf course and the elements largely determining its toughness on any given day, Cabot Links is the purest golf experience in Canada.

Score Golf

Bump-and-run on firm fescue turf is the game on this understated layout, with muted dunes, austere bunkering and gentle, generous greens. Call it Canada’s Portmarnock, though Ireland has no match for Cabot’s postcard par-4 11th, a dogleg-left around a tidal yacht basin. Golf Digest

I firmly believe that Cabot Links will evolve into the “St. Andrews of Canada” or “Canada’s Bandon Dunes” over time, with the addition of other courses and the expansion of the hotel. The Walking Golfer

There are no weak holes at Cabot Links. The land might not be quite as dramatic as the Cliffs course, but Whitman made great use of it, giving players a variety of distances, directions and feels.

The Fried Egg

There’s both grandeur—a Bandonesque seaside run from 13 through 16—and intimacy, as around the turn the routing hops over to quieter land surrounding a picturesque working harbor. Links Magazine

Without doubt the stronger and more enjoyable of the nines is the back, which not only enjoys the pick of the coastal land but seems to own more of the interesting undulations through the interior. Planet Golf

Cabot Links is partly located on an old coal mine just outside the small town of Inverness on the rugged west coast of Cape Breton Island and the generously proportioned fairways that now nestle amongst the sand hills overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence comprise Canada’s first genuine links layout. Top 100 Golf Courses

Comparisons to Bandon Dunes are natural and while Links isn’t quite as good as any of the Bandon courses, there are similarities. Old Macdonald is the most similar in terms of terrain but features more creativity and fun in the design than Cabot Links, but the Canadian course counters with more exposure to the ocean. Golf Course Gurus

Cabot Links is a joy and a marvel to play, certainly an authentic links if authenticity can be determined based on a golf course’s openness and/or requirement of an imaginative ground game, or by its location close to the whipping wind and salty air of a nearby sea, or by tufts of tall fescue securing dunes and hiding wayward golf balls, or deep pot bunkers that appear as snarling menaces ready to suck up every shot, or even by the local presence of lilting Irish or Scottish accents.

The Millions

Taking in the views from Cabot Links, you’re forgiven for thinking you’ve touched down at Turnberry. Just off the coast, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, lies the lovely, low-slung profile of Margaree Island — Canada’s version of Ailsa Craig. Golf Magazine

The entire course is routed back and forth among the shores of Cape Breton. No matter where you are standing, you get dramatic views of the ocean over the rugged terrain (five holes are actually on the shore). Practical Golf

The slightly older sister to Cabot Cliffs, set on more linksy but less dramatic terrain, is not quite as dazzling but isn’t far behind and it’s hard to think of any destination with a more impressive duo.

Links Magazine

True links golf on wonderfully sandy soil — unlike anything I have experienced in Canada — Cabot Links is the real deal and any lover of golf course architecture must get to Cape Breton immediately! One Golfer's Travels

But from the first minute you arrive, you’re given the distinct impression that everyone there, both the employees and the guests, care about golf as much as you do. Robbie Vogel

The course just feels connected to the sea in a way these other courses can only approximate. The bunkers feel carved out of the dunes. The cape hole on the sixth hole actually go around an actual cape-cove!

Re-Gripped

Rankings

World

#43

Golf Digest

 

#61

Top 100 Golf Courses

 

#96

Golf Magazine

Canada

#3

Top 100 Golf Courses

 

#4

Score Golf

 

#4

Golf Digest

 

#5

Planet Golf

Nova Scotia

#2

Top 100 Golf Courses

📷 cabotlinks.com
📷 cabotlinks.com

Course Photos

Cabot Links
Cabot Links
Cabot Links
Cabot Links
Cabot Links
Cabot Links
Cabot Links

Course Layout

Course Flyover

What To Know

Yardage & Tees

When to Play

Cabot Links is open from mid May through late October.

Temperatures should be pleasant most times Cabot Links is open. Rainfall is relatively consistent during the months the course is open.

Anytime Cabot Links is open should be a good time to play. 

Temperature

Precipitation

 

Greens Fees
Take note: All prices are in Canadian Dollars 

Month

Greens Fees
January Closed
February Closed
March Closed
April Closed
May 1-7 Closed
May 8-28 Resort guests: $120 / $ 95 twilight // Non-resort guests: $160 / $115 twilight
May 29-31 Resort guests: $200 / $150 twilight // Non-resort guests: $260 / $170 twilight
June 1-11 Resort guests: $200 / $150 twilight // Non-resort guests: $260 / $170 twilight
June 12-30 Resort guests: $240 / $170 // Non-resort guests: $305 / $190 twilight
July 1-2 Resort guests: $250 / $175 // Non-resort guests: $315 / $195 twilight
July 3-30 Resort guests: $280 / $195 // Non-resort guests: $340 / $225 twilight
August Resort guests: $280 / $195// Non-resort guests: $340 / $225 twilight
September 1-13 Resort guests: $280 / $195 // Non-resort guests: $340 / $225 twilight
September 14-27 Resort guests: $250 / $175 // Non-resort guests: $315 / $195 twilight
September 28-30 Resort guests: $200 / $150 twilight // Non-resort guests: $260 / $170 twilight
October 1-11 Resort guests: $200 / $150 twilight // Non-resort guests: $260 / $170 twilight
October 12-25 Resort guests: $120 / $ 95 twilight // Non-resort guests: $160 / $115 twilight
October 26-31 Closed
November Closed
December Closed

 

Greens fees last verified January 2020. View them on cabotlinks.com

Visitor Tee Times
Visitors may play Cabot Links seven days a week.

Book a tee time.

Rentals & Caddies

Caddies are $70 for a senior caddie and $50 for a junior caddie.

Clubs – Titleist for men and Cobra for women – are available for $60. Cabot Links recommends you book them in advance.

Golf carts are only available for medical reasons. They rent for $35 (Canadian Dollars). A medical certificate is required and you must also hire a caddie to drive the cart (for $70)

Note: All prices are in Canadian Dollars

Getting There
Address:

Sydney is a smaller airport – flights and airlines will be limited. Your best bet will probably be to fly into Halifax. If you can’t find a direct flight, you’ll likely be able to connect via Toronto.

Also be aware that, despite the distance, Cabot offers an airport transfer service via a Sprinter van. More info here.

15933 Central Ave, Inverness, NS B0E 1N0, Canada

Nearest Airport:

Sydney (104 miles / 2 hours)

Other Airports:

Halifax (197 miles / 3 hours 20 minutes)

Practice Facilities

Cabot Links’ driving range is located at Cabot Cliffs, a five minute drive away. There is a shuttle that departs every 12 minutes. There is a practice green by Cabot Links’ first tee.

Other Things To Know

Course Website

Year built: 2012

Architects: Rod Whitman & Jeff Mingay

Lodging: Cabot Links offers on-site lodging. Learn more about here.

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