Cabot Purchases Scotland’s Castle Stuart

World top 100 and former Scottish Open venue will expand with a new Tom Doak course and transform into Cabot Highlands.

Cabot, the Toronto, Canada-based developer and operator of master-planned golf resort communities, has acquired Castle Stuart in Inverness, Scotland. 

Ranked among the top 100 courses in the world by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, and a four-time Scottish Open venue, Castle Stuart opened in 2009, and features a design collaboration between Gil Hanse and its American developer, Mark Parsinen. 

Cabot’s portfolio is best known for Cabot Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, with its award-winning Cabot Cliffs and Cabot Links courses. Ongoing Cabot projects in development include Cabot Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, Cabot Revelstoke in British Columbia and Cabot Citrus Farms in Florida. The plan at Castle Stuart is to preserve, enhance and expand, with a development that will be known as Cabot Highlands.

"Castle Stuart has been considered a benchmark of exceptional Scottish golf since it first opened thirteen years ago," said Ben Cowan-Dewar, CEO and co-founder of Cabot. "We are honored to be a steward of the land and carry the original vision for the property forward. Our goal is to create unforgettable memories in magical places, and there are few places in the world more awe-inspiring than the Scottish Highlands."

Located five minutes from the Inverness Airport, Castle Stuart occupies a stunning setting overlooking Moray Firth. Wide fairways, wild and wooly bunkers, strategic options and pronounced elevation changes greet and delight every class of player. Many luminaries have gushed over Castle Stuart’s merits. The year before he captured the 2013 Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, Phil Mickelson called it, “one of the best golf courses anywhere in the world ... it should almost be a prerequisite to play Castle Stuart before you’re allowed to design golf courses nowadays.”

Cowan-Dewar told Morning Read exclusively that while ambitious plans are in the works for the overall property, Castle Stuart Golf Links itself will retain its name and identity.

“We love Mark and Gil’s work on the original golf course and we love the destination, which is why we’re so excited to be a part of it,” Cowan-Dewar said. “There’s literally not a thing that I would see changing on Castle Stuart.”

Nonetheless, massive changes are in progress with the rest of the property. Cowan-Dewar told us that Cabot wasn’t looking to enter the European market, but that the opportunity was right — especially as he had so much respect for what Parsinen accomplished. After Parsinen’s death in 2019 at age 70, the future vision for Castle Stuart clouded considerably. It is now much clearer.

“There aren’t many places anywhere that have the quality of Castle Stuart,” Cowan-Dewar said. “We’re not actively trying to buy existing properties, but Scotland is a market that’s firmly in the wheelhouse for our Cabot customer base. It felt like an amazing opportunity. We had a number of conversations with Dede (Parsinen’s widow) and we’re totally committed to fully realizing Mark’s original vision. We have a profound respect for what he accomplished here and a great appreciation for what he had planned.”

Savvy golf travelers and course connoisseurs will undoubtedly rejoice at what lies ahead. First up is a nine-hole short course that is currently open for preview play. Each of the holes is under 100 yards. There may be a tweak or two before it formally opens in the spring of 2023, but Cowan-Dewar guarantees it’s going to be fun. 

“There are really interesting contours, including a bathtub green and it has wonderful proximity to the practice range, plus great views out over the water and of the ninth hole of the Castle Stuart course,” Cowan-Dewar said. “It will be a fun little exploration. We’re really excited about it."

Perhaps even more exciting is the prospect of a second championship course on the Cabot Highlands property. The course is yet to be named, but the architect will be Tom Doak. No stranger to crafting links and links-like courses throughout the world, Doak is ecstatic about the opportunity.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Ben Cowan-Dewar and the Cabot team," Doak said in a statement. “We have been searching for the perfect destination for years. Our goal is to create a distinctly Scottish golf experience that appeals to players at all levels with an authentic links-style course that puts golf holes front and center.”

Planning for the course will begin later in 2022, with construction slated for 2023 and a planned opening for 2024. While final details remain in the works, Cowan-Dewar envisions a superb complement to the existing 18. “The new course will start on high ground, then play down to the actual castle on the property and then will hug the shoreline for a while. The land is quite different and it’s going yield tremendous variety. The chance to work with Tom Doak in Scotland, on the sea, feels pretty exciting.”

Cabot Highlands will eventually embrace a real estate component, including a collection of cottages, with sales expected to begin in 2023. Dimensions, prices and the overall number of cottages to be built are all in the nascent stage, but expect upscale, modern accents and structures and interiors that are inspired by the surrounding Scottish landscape. When homeowners are not in residence, the homes will be made available as luxury rental accommodations for visitors. Eventually, Cabot Highlands will feature retail, restaurants and communal gathering points.

Longtime Castle Stuart general manager Stuart McColm expressed delight with the recent turn of events. 

“I couldn’t think of a better partner than Cabot to lead our next chapter,” McColm said. “The work that’s been done at Cabot Cape Breton on the courses and within the community speaks for itself. I know our beloved founder Mark Parsinen would be proud of the plans ahead to fulfill his original vision for the destination. Not only is this significant golf news, but it is also a major boost for the regional economy of the Highlands.”

With Parsinen’s vision and Hanse’s design preserved, plus lodging, a par-3 course and a championship Doak creation on the way, Cabot has given a boost to serious traveling golfers everywhere.