Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
CAP ESTATE, Saint Lucia — Our cab driver had apparently done this drop-off a few times already.
So as we crested a hill on the entrance road at Cabot Saint Lucia, revealing our first glimpse of dramatic golf holes that tumble toward the ocean and then dance along the coastline, he was prepared for the gasps from the two passengers in the back seat.
“Everyone says ‘Wow’ when they get to here,” he beamed, clearly proud to be showing off this northern tip of his home island.
Have you ever noticed that with your most magical vacations, the memories tend to start before you’d even arrived, back as far as the packing or the planning or the daydreaming phase? That to me, is a measure, of a destination that cranks your anticipation meter and ultimately meets or exceeds your lofty expectations.
A round at Cabot Saint Lucia — the course itself is known as Point Hardy Golf Club — delivers plenty of unforgettable moments. It is, as head professional Nivel Felicien puts it, a “little piece of heaven.”
On this pitched property, you can see the Caribbean Sea from just about everywhere, which is an obvious selling point for their luxury real-estate offerings and immediately explains why the star design duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have described this as perhaps the most visually spectacular site they’ve ever worked on.
Of 18 holes, there are six or seven where you risk splashing a shot into the salt-water hazard. That includes the best finishing stretch that I’ve ever been fortunate enough to play, a string of four straight heart-thumpers along the shore. My vote for best of the bunch is No. 16, a calendar-calibre Par-3 that is all-carry across a small cove, although I can understand why some would argue that No. 17 — the second of back-to-back shortie stunners — is even better.
While I’ll be re-playing Point Hardy in my mind over and over again, my memories of this special trip start with a conversation in our living room a few months prior, with snow falling outside and our golf clubs collecting dust in the garage. Hockey season, as us Canadians like to call it. Catching up at the end of a busy week, my much-better-half asked if I’d decided where I wanted to celebrate a milestone birthday that was fast approaching. I did, indeed, have a place in mind.
The appeal of Cabot Saint Lucia, which had opened just a few weeks earlier to massive hype, was pretty straightforward.
First, there’s the Cabot part. What started with a pair of must-plays in Inverness, N.S., has quickly grown into one of the marquee brands in golf travel. Their portfolio now includes five of Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Courses in the World — Canada’s Cabot Cliffs and Cabot Links, Lofoten Links in Norway, Castle Stuart at Cabot Highlands in Scotland and Point Hardy, which debuted at No. 76.
And then there’s the Saint Lucia part. From family and friends who’d previously visited this Caribbean country, we had heard all about the beautiful beaches, the warm hospitality and the delicious rum. An appealing combo.
When we rolled up to Royalton Saint Lucia, which is not affiliated with Cabot but seemed like an ideal home-base for our stay-and-play, the luggage attendant unloaded our clubs and asked where we’d be playing. When we mentioned that we were lucky enough to be booked at the brand-new course just a few minutes up the road, he cooed: “They say it’s already one of the best in the world.”
If not for a pair of tee-times, we wouldn’t have had to leave the property at our all-inclusive resort, which boasts nine dining options, seven bars, several pools, a stretch of secluded beach and a splash park that had me wishing I was 30-some years younger. Sunset at Royalton Saint Lucia is basically appointment viewing. Whether it was over morning coffee or a happy-hour rum and coke, we’d sit on the patio attached to our suite, stare out past the palm trees and cabanas to the rolling waves and talk about how this vacation was turning out to be all we’d hoped it would be … and then some.
As a lot of golf-trippers can already attest, and as many more will continue to experience, Cabot has a habit of exceeding expectations.
Point Hardy will be a tough tee-time as a members-only facility — with rumours of some future access, there are a lot of crossed fingers in FootJoy and Titleist gloves — but most of what is called The Cabot Collection is open to the divot-digging public.
Thanks to the Cabot Cliffs/Cabot Links combo, Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island is now on the gotta-get-there list for every golf nut. I’ve been twice, and it’s still on my gotta-get-back-there list.
Known as Cabot Citrus Farms, their hangout in Florida features four choices — two unique 18s, a nine and a Par-3 loop with 11 spaces on the scorecard.
They’re getting ready to unveil a second setup at Cabot Highlands in Scotland and are currently building a beauty in Revelstoke, B.C. Some believe that will be the best mountain layout since Stanley Thompson left his mark in Banff and Jasper. That sort of comparison would be a major compliment.
Among their most recent acquisitions, this Canadian-based company also purchased two courses and a hotel in a famed area of France, calling the new property Cabot Bordeaux and promising “to elevate the resort to five-star status worthy of the world’s most prestigious wine landscape,” and welcomed Lofoten Links to the family. I’ve lost track of the number of times that I’ve been stopped in my tracks while scrolling on social media, gobsmacked by a photo of the northern lights illuminating a tiny green that is surrounded by craggy rock and calm ocean. That is an image of Lofoten Links, which is actually located above the Arctic Circle.
As Cabot continues to expand its lineup, my bucket-list will grow. This trip to Saint Lucia only increased my expectations. My first round there will always rank among my favourite days on a golf course. We returned later in the week, thinking it couldn’t possibly get any better, and it turned out to be opening day for their vintage pizza truck, parked mere steps from the beach. Bonus.
I could go on and on about my memories of Cabot Saint Lucia.
Of the exhilarating tee-shot on the eighth hole, where you aim your drive across the ocean.
Of loading up on gummy sharks and Pitons — a local beer named for the two landmark mountains on the southern part of the island — in the comfort stations.
Of feeling pretty darn good about myself after hitting the well-guarded green at No. 16 … and then not so good after I three-putted for bogey.
And I’ll remember that cab ride, too, that first glimpse of what is a special golf course in a gorgeous part of the world.
If I ever get back, I’ll be anticipating that spectacular view. And yet I’m sure I’ll be wowed all over again.