Our trip to Cabot and Fox Harb'r is less than a month away

[Roadking2003]

Anybody played these courses this month? Comments on conditions? Caddie recommendations at Cabot?

[mikedit]

Will be there next week, first round on 29 July, and will let you know how it is. Heading to Fox Harb'r after that as well.

[Roadking2003]

Any news?

[Johnny Biarritz]

Played Cabot Cliffs first week of July. Course is stunning...conditions weren't that great. Greens were all good. But fairways had some extensive bare spots and they'd seeded them. Also, they had moss growing in spots in the fairways. Course is still worth the effort, but the conditions are not top notch, IMO.

[Roadking2003]

Any offers to discount the green fees?

[jsnoland]

Was there for two days during the second week in July and did 36 a day. Both courses are outstanding - personally, I thought Links was the better golf course (and truer links course) where Cliffs was the prettier course. But both had some absolutely stunning golf holes that will not be forgotten.

 

A few of the greens on Cliffs were a little rough - especially 16 (the caddies told me that was the first time they used the lower right pin placement in months due to conditions) and 17, the holes right on the cliffs. But overall, the experience was nothing short of amazing - wish I could go back. My main caddy was Ryan (he caddied for me for 54 of my 72 holes) and he did a great job reading greens and with club selection.

 

Make sure you spend some time at the Public House as well - cool little pub on premise that a lot of locals and caddies also hang out at. Enjoy!

[mikedit]

Just got home yesterday, played 4 rounds at Cabot (two each) and two rounds at Fox Harb'r.

 

Fox Harb"r - Course is in fantastic condition, greens are near perfect in my opinion. It is in the middle of nowhere but we stayed at the resort and had a great time. Two restaurants to choose from, one more pub style and another more upscale with mostly seafood as choices, good by me. For the upscale restaurant, shorts are not permitted but we discovered you can eat in the pub style downstairs and order from the upscale menu. Try the onion rings, some of the best I have ever had!! My wife enjoyed two days in the spa while I played golf.

 

Cabot - Agree with jsnoland comments and I also really like the Links course but the Cliffs is a must play, the last four holes are very good. Had caddies every day, one day one couple in our group was "forced" to have a caddie that did a double bag, it was pain and we made sure we each had individual caddies for the following three days. Greens at both courses are very hard, like landing on a pool table, and some have pin placements that can be extremely difficult if you get on the wrong side of the hole. Accommodations are great and if you have a chance the food in Panorama Room is very good. Public House is a great little pub and they have a new one in town called Route 19 (that is the road that runs through Inverness) but they are experiencing some growing pains. Service there is extremely slow but the beer they brew is very good. We had absolutely fabulous weather while we were there, rained a bit one evening but it was the warmest week of the summer to date. I also had the chance to play Bell Bay and Lakes at Ben Eoin, nice courses as well. And you can no doubt expect it to be windy while you are there but it is part of the experience. Any questions you can PM me if you like. Highly unlikely you will get any discount on the green fees, but no harm in asking.

[psn13]

I'm headed there in 10 days...were the greens slow? I've seen that complaint before.

Were the fairways hard / was there a lot of roll out? Just debating which tees to play. It's interesting that the Links course is longer yardage wise than Cliffs but Links is par 70 and Cliffs is par 72. The 140+ slope rating at Cliffs is noteworthy though.

 

[OffTheDole]

I was there at the end of July and it was spectacular. Both courses were in excellent shape and the greens were rolling well, probably a 10 or 11 on the Stimpmeter. As a North Florida golfer, I felt like the greens were a bit faster than what I was used to and had some trouble figuring out the speed, especially when I tried to navigate putts with huge undulations. The greens on 16 and 17 at Cabot Cliffs were shaggy and the caddies told me they are that way all the time so they don't lose them.

 

If you're comfortable playing a par 72 course at 6,800 - 6,900 yards, you can play all the way back without it being a slog. There was decent roll out on drives and some approaches required landing the ball just in front of the green to make sure you end up at the right distance.

 

While I was there, quite a few caddies and players told me they think Cabot Links is a better course than Cliffs. My opinion was the opposite; Cabot Cliffs is a feast for the eyes and a great test of golf. Links is a fine golf course, but I had never played a course like Cliffs before and still think about it.

[Roadking2003]

We just got back from a wonderful seven-day Nova Scotia golf trip. Here are my comments;

 

Course ranking - the average of the ten-golfer group;

1. Cabot Links (the clear favorite)

2. Fox Harb’r

3. Cabot Cliffs

4. Links at Brunello

 

Full disclosure: I’ve been severely chastised on this board for rating courses and including anything other than course architecture, so I’ll break down the ratings in detail. Then you can ignore any aspect you choose.

 

**Cabot Links grading**

Architecture: A. Wide variety of holes. Many with elevation changes. Huge green undulations.

Condition: C+. Greens were thin. Divots were thick in the fairways. Estimated Stimp is 8 - 9.

Views/beauty: A. Spectacular.Ocean views on every hole with some holes on the ocean.

Caddies: A. Huge supply of Class A caddies. I had the same caddie for four days and he was good.

Practice range: F. None. The closest range is ten minutes away at Cabot Cliffs.

Resort. B+. Very nice, especially the four-bedroom villas with a full kitchen.

 

**Cabot Cliffs grading**

Architecture: C. All the holes were wonderful except for 15, 16, and 17. Those three holes are extreme to the point of being tricked up. Lots of elevation changes and the greens have HUGE undulations.

Condition: C+. Greens were thin. Some bunkers need more sand. Divots were thick on the fairways. Estimated Stimp is 8 - 9.

Views/beauty: A. Ocean views and oceanfront holes. Beautiful cliff views.

Caddies: A. Huge supply of Class A caddies.

Practice range: B-. Grass not in good shape. Very old golf balls like at a muni course. Mediocre short game area.

Resort: B+. Very nice accommodations. They are building a par three course which will be open next year.

 

**Fox Harb’r grading**

Architecture: A. Wide variety of holes with doglegs both ways. Some ocean holes

Condition: A. Perfect tees, fairways, greens, and bunkers. Estimated Stimp is 10.

Views / beauty: A-. Some ocean views

Caddies: F. None.

Practice range: A. Grass in very good condition. Nice short game practice area.

Resort: A+. Beautiful and world class luxury. Also, a nice par three course along the ocean. Tee times are 15 minutes apart. That’s a first for me.

 

**Links at Brunello grading**

Architecture: B. Wide variety of holes with elevation changes and doglegs. All greens are perched on a hill and reject any shot on or near the edge of the green. Almost all have a false front. These greens would be much more fun if they were softer and didn’t send balls landing on the edge of the green into penalty areas.

Condition: B. Greens were way too hard for the topography but they putted very true. Estimated Stimp is 11.

Views/beauty: B. Nice woodland holes but nothing special.

Caddies: F. None

Practice range. A. The grass was in very good shape and they have a nice short game area.

 

Estimating Stimps is difficult, but Brunello and Fox were quite a bit faster than Links and Cliffs.

Bonus points to Fox and Cabot for having FootJoy shirts…my favorites.

 

[outofboundz]

> @Roadking2003 said:

> We just got back from a wonderful seven-day Nova Scotia golf trip. Here are my comments;

>

> Course ranking - the average of the ten-golfer group;

> 1. Cabot Links (the clear favorite)

> 2. Fox Harb’r

> 3. Cabot Cliffs

> 4. Links at Brunello

>

Great write-up, RK. I am heading up to NS in about a month for my second trip to Cabot. Reading this review really makes me want to take a pit stop to Fox Harb'r!

[Roadking2003]

> @outofboundz said:

> > @Roadking2003 said:

> > We just got back from a wonderful seven-day Nova Scotia golf trip. Here are my comments;

> >

> > Course ranking - the average of the ten-golfer group;

> > 1. Cabot Links (the clear favorite)

> > 2. Fox Harb’r

> > 3. Cabot Cliffs

> > 4. Links at Brunello

> >

> Great write-up, RK. I am heading up to NS in about a month for my second trip to Cabot. Reading this review really makes me want to take a pit stop to Fox Harb'r!

 

Fox is quite remote but worth the drive. It gets very little play. If I do another Nova Scotia trip I will play both Fox and Cabot.

[mikedit]

I will be back at Fox next year again for sure. There is going to be another 18 holes added and some re-design of the existing course from what I have read. It is in the middle of nowhere but worth the effort in my opinion. We had three couples this year and rented one of the houses they have available, it was great. I have been to Cabot the last five years and enjoy it each time.

[outofboundz]

Sounds like we will have to play Fox the next time we plan a trip to Cabot! We played Highland Links the first time we went up and loved it. Passing on it this year as it's so out of the way.