Cabot Cliffs

The verdict

Cabot Cliffs is the course that turned a remote stretch of Cape Breton into a global golf pilgrimage. Coore and Crenshaw, the most admired minimalist architects of their generation, found a piece of coast that could have carried a dozen postcard holes and built something far cleverer than a string of clifftop snapshots. The land does fall away to the sea in places that take your breath, but the design earns its ranking on strategy, width and the wind, not just the view.

The balanced set of six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s keeps the round restless and varied, asking a different question almost every hole. Play it on a calm morning and it feels generous; play it in a Gulf breeze and the same fairways shrink and the greens demand a flighted ball. Paired with its older sibling Cabot Links next door, it makes Inverness one of the great two course destinations in the world. Come for the famous par 3, stay for a links that rewards a second and third look.

The holes worth the trip

The round opens inland and gradually works its way toward the water, building tension before the coast arrives in full. The early par 5s give big hitters a chance to score while leaving the wider strategic choices to the player who thinks two shots ahead, and the greens are bold without being unfair, falling away to collection areas that punish a lazy approach.

The closing stretch is the reason the course is famous. The par 3 sixteenth plays from a clifftop tee to a green perched above the Gulf, a long fall to the ocean below and the wind the only thing standing between a hero shot and a lost ball. It is among the most photographed holes in Canada, and it earns the attention. The drivable par 4 seventeenth and the par 5 eighteenth then run along the shoreline to finish, a trio of holes that rivals any closing run in modern golf.

What keeps Cabot Cliffs from being a one note thrill is how much restraint sits between the drama. Coore and Crenshaw let wide fairways and tilted greens do the work, so the smart play is rarely the obvious one. Play it twice and the second round, when you have stopped staring at the sea, is when the architecture quietly reveals itself.

Where to stay nearby

The simplest answer is to stay on site at Cabot Cape Breton, where the lodge and villa accommodation puts both courses on your doorstep and gives you priority for tee times. It is the way most travelling golfers play here, walking from room to first tee and back to the clubhouse for a Gulf sunset after the round.

Beyond the resort, the town of Inverness and the wider Cape Breton coast offer inns and cottages for those who want to explore the Cabot Trail, the island's famous coastal drive, around the golf. Either way, the remoteness is part of the appeal: this is a destination you commit to, and the golf rewards the journey.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around Inverness and Cape Breton.