Highlands golf in October? The prospect of heavy shoulder-season squalls did make me a little nervous. As we flew over the bare hills, forested ridges and deep river gulleys south of Nairn, however, the magnificent Moray Firth came into view and my excitement and curiosity built. Excited – to experience Castle Stuart, acclaimed as a modern-day classic since opening in 2009, and curious – to find out how Old Petty, which officially opened in May 2026, would stand comparison with its older sibling.
We banked sharply left along the shore towards Inverness, which presented aerial views of the two nearby Nairn golf links and the giant curved, fronded sandbar at Cubin Sands. Then, only 90 minutes from London, we were at Inverness International airport, the access hub to the vast Scottish Highlands, and a mere five to 10 minutes drive from the Cabot Highlands resort.
Accommodation
After an astonishingly quick disembarkation and transfer, I began to relax into a familiar ‘Scottish’ golfing feeling. Maybe it was the friendly welcome, or the short drive past farmlands and stone walled cottages and the sense of a less frenetic way of life, but playing golf in Scotland somehow always feels intrinsically ‘right’.
In fact I was staying in the Farmhouse, one of Cabot’s three accommodation options, only a short walk from its Art Deco clubhouse, although Cabot staff normally ferry guests to and fro. This renovated two-storey lodge, with its dry-stone walls and ramshackle outbuildings, sleeps up to eight golfers in four rooms, each tastefully refurbished with its own en-suite bathroom, and easily convertible into twins. There’s a communal great room downstairs, with views to the clubhouse and Moray Firth.
Two similar on-site lodgings, The Castle Cottage and The Golf Lodge, also give almost instant access to the clubhouse, courses and practice facilities (the latter is actually on Castle Stuart, between the 14th and 15th fairways). They all provide a great base for play.
The clubhouse and Moray Firth
Castle Stuart sits on the south side of the Moray Firth between Inverness and Nairn. Conceived by the late Mark Parsinen and American architect Gil Hanse, it opened in 2009 to near-universal acclaim and quickly established itself as one of the world’s top 100 courses.
Its clubhouse, inspired by the 1930s Art Deco and Streamline Moderne seaside architectural style, not only provides a striking reference point when viewed from the course, but also has arched semicircular-fronted windows that allow the visitor a sweeping 180-degree view of the entire Firth. The views from the ground floor bar are stunning, and get even better as you ascend the two further floors. In the foreground are rugged sea-side bluffs of gorse and heather that drop off dramatically into the Firth. Inverness and Kessock Bridge sit to the west. Chanonry Point, and its lighthouse sit to the east across the huge bay, at the tip a peninsula off the Black Isle.
The wonder of Castle Stuart is that this stunning backdrop is almost ever present, but constantly changes with the tides, time of day and season. The vast Firth chops or sparkles, the Black Isle broods or shines in the sunshine and dark showers blow in from distant skies. The light at sunrise or sunset can be spectacular, with dramatic red, orange or pink streaking the clouded hills and sea. The lights on the bridge twinkle red, and the lighthouse flashes white with the approach of dusk.
Playing Castle Stuart
If the views are magnificent, so is the terrain on which Castle Stuart has been constructed. Laid out over two tiers, with some holes on the shoreline and some up top, the course consists of two nines, both returning to the clubhouse.
It’s a par 72 course that plays 7,009 yards off the championship tees, and a more palatable 6,592 and 6,183 yards from the white and green tees respectively.
Each nine opens with three holes right on the shoreline, which have been carved into the naturally occurring bluffs. But it’s only after wandering down from the clubhouse, past the immense tilting putting green and starter’s hut (another Art Deco structure), that they come into view. On the par-4 399-yard (whites) 1st, high gorse rises on the left-hand bank, with old railway sleepers intermittently laid against the slopes. The tide determines the sea view to the right, with either water lapping right up against edge of the rough and putting green, or strands of pebbles, larger stones, sea mud and waterbirds appearing at low tide.
It makes for a magnificent sight and challenging start to the round if the prevailing westerly wind is up. The 535-yard par-5 hole 2nd continues in the same vein, but hold your nerve: although these opening holes look narrow, there is more room from the tee than you think.
The 3rd and 4th are similarly memorable. The 3rd is a short par 4 that runs right to the tip of the headland, the fairway pinching as it approaches the green, making an attempt to drive it a high-tariff endeavour. Severe banking to the left of the raised green adds to the jeopardy, and makes any short second pitch from the left fiendishly difficult. Revetted turf, set in the side of these slopes, may enforce the use of a wedge shot, and prevent a nervous chipper from bailing out with a long putt onto the green.
The 176-yard 4th is the opening par-3 and framed by a superb view of the actual Castle Stuart in the distance. This imposing castle, constructed in 1625 on land granted by Mary, Queen of Scots to her half-brother, James Stuart, the 1st Earl of Moray, has a striking open-crown turret, on which the Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart logo is based.
There then begins a gradual transition to the top level, with the 6th and 7th showcasing a striking feature of the course design. From the upper deck the lower levels holes are concealed, so that the golfer feels right next to the sea, often playing an approach into dramatic infinity greens.
The 350-yard 9th back to the clubhouse atop the bluffs is a gorgeous hole. A long iron left to the top of a two-tiered fairway gives the best angle in. Anything long or right runs down the hill and requires a perfect second to avoid catching the severe banking front and right of the upturned green.
I was lucky enough to play Castle Stuart two days running: first off the whites: racing round late in the day on a cloudy, still, warm afternoon, I had the course to myself – golfing heaven! The next day from the greens, braving fresh sunshine and showers, with winds buffeting above 30mph. On both occasions I arrived at the turn already blown away by the course and scenery. (A small bottle of 18-year old Tomakin local malt whisky from the halfway hut provided the perfect fillip for the back nine.)
Next it was down to the 10th, with three holes back at sea level along the Firth, except this time travelling east, with a wind that is most likely to be at your back. The shortish par-3 11th is quite wonderful, angled back towards the water from raised tees with a helping wind slightly left to right. It does mean starting the ball at the left-hand side of the green over the revetted bunkering, but with such a backdrop, a well-struck shot that holds the green will surely be one of the highlights of any round.
The second shot into the 518-yard par-5 12th can be blind, but adopting the right line with plenty of club might allow a long second shot to sweep down onto the green from the high banking. Anything just short or right will require real creativity to get the ball close. It’s a prelude to the only steep walk on the course, up to the top-level 13th tee. An outstanding green complex is once again apparent on the 409-yard par-4 14th — it’s a long thin green that slopes front left to back right, which means a back right pin is extremely challenging.
After a short par-4 16th, which has a great view of the aforementioned Chanonry lighthouse, it is back into the wind for the 17th, a long par 3 that will likely require a fairway wood into the wind. The 18th is a wonderful hole, a drive up the hill using the Scottish Saltire flagpole as a way-marker, followed by a dramatic left-to-right sweeping fairway, avoiding a severe dell and bunker short right, down to the green in front of the clubhouse.
Reflections on Castle Stuart
Castle Stuart is a truly special course. The views provide a constant wow factor and the combination of landscape, design, green complexes and conditioning mean that it really doesn’t get much better. The relatively wide and generous fairways keep golfers of all abilities ‘in the hole’ throughout. The real test is the next shot, clever contouring and drop-offs from the greens defend the course but add to the fun. To score well, pin positions and undulations dictate angle of attack and the best side of the fairway to hit. It all adds up to a course with a championship feel, and a real sense of being a must-play destination.
Playing Old Petty
After two days of being seduced by the visual splendour of Castle Stuart, I was intrigued to see how Old Petty would compare. Built for the most part on what was previously farmland, and mainly situated away from the firth and its spectacular views, it promised to be a completely different experience.
Its renowned architect, Tom Doak, has completed two other courses in GB and Ireland before this one: The Renaissance, a tough East Lothian course designed to host championship events, and St Patricks Links on the northern Rosguill Peninsula in County Donegal. The latter was almost immediately hailed as a modern masterpiece: if anyone could rise to the challenge of designing a worthy sibling to Castle Stuart, it would surely be Tom Doak and his lead associate Clyde Johnson. So how does it compare?
The answer is the creation of a modern day links that concentrates on intriguing undulation and routing, taking the golfer on a meandering journey through distinct terrains, passing historical reference points that bind the course together.
It starts and finishes with four holes to the clubhouse side of the road, flanked by dunes, marram grass and heather. They bear some resemblance to Castle Stuart’s inland holes.
However, the sharp turn left on the 350-yard 2nd, played down to a green in front of a dry stone wall and cottage signals both an immediate change of direction, and a transition to more farmland surrounds. A short walk across the road then reveals the downhill par-3 3rd, dominated by Castle Stuart itself, standing to the left of the hole, with views to the west over the majority of the course. The castle provides a constant reference point as you go round: two holes play right past it and it is in the shot line on three others.
After the 4th hole, which wraps right to left around marshy reed beds, Old Petty runs inland past an old red roofed bothy on the 5th. Once home to local farmers, it now acts as a half-way house, and another iconic reference point. The course then journeys inland, eventually leading to the most dramatic part of the course with a section that starts from the 13th hole and leads down to and then wraps around the estuary, before transitioning back up over the reed beds from the 16th tee to the upper part of the course and back home.
The routing on Old Petty is not out and back. Whilst Castle Stuart’s holes typically play southwest or northeast, Old Petty’s constantly change direction, meaning the golfer is often challenged by cross winds. The course flows very well, however, with only short walks between holes except for a well designed path from the 14th to the 15th tee, which allows the golfer to pause and enjoy the estuary, with an old wooden weather-beaten boat pulled up to the shore and the castle in the background. Flocks of Lapwings patrol the salty mudflats at low tide.
Other key Old Petty characteristics are apparent from the 1st hole, which actually criss-crosses the 18th, a feature not often seen. Both holes have delightful crumpled fairways that produce shadows in late evening light, and appear to have been there forever, despite being skilfully shaped as part of the design. The tee boxes are simply marked on an extension of the fairway, a feature repeated on most holes that helps the flow of the course. As on many holes, the tee shot is fairly open, but the approach between the dunes to a partially hidden raised green gives no clue to the humps, hollows and run-offs that await.
Old Petty has a very strong set of par-3s. The aforementioned 3rd, with its dramatic reveal of the Castle is followed by the 6th, which plays 160 yards from both the whites and greens to a huge multi-sectioned green. The prevailing westerly cross wind means that anything just right of the pin can kick right into a hollow to the right of the green. The long downhill 14th has great views across the estuary to the headland and Castle Stuart’s 3rd green and a large hillock which kicks the ball either onto the green or right for those hitting short. The short 17th at 160 yards is played over a scraggy heather filled quarry to a raised green with the clubhouse perched on hills in the background. It requires real accuracy.
The part 5s are also interesting with definite birdie chances when played downwind, particularly from the green tee boxes. There are huge bunkers to avoid on the 8th, and the second shot is blind, with the Castle as a reference point. The double breaking par-5 10th is possibly the most difficult of the three, with an uphill drive, a second across a cambered fairway and a tough 3rd to a green hidden by a large mound front left. It’s another green that can kick the ball right in the prevailing wind. The 15th is played along the estuary with a small green accessible in two, particularly if you hug the left side of the fairway. It’s a blind tee shot from the back tees.
My favourite par 4 was the 5th hole. The tee box is slightly left so that a drive onto that side of the fairway (the best line) must be angled over browned fescue and residual marsh land, with a risk of landing in the Lonnie Burn, that runs down the whole of the left side. This still leaves an approach to the large unbunkered green framed to the left by a small copse, with the red roofed bothy sitting right by the green. The undulating greens meant that I had both a right-to-left and a left-to-right route to the hole, both seemingly equally viable! It’s a wonderful hole and a challenge into the prevailing wind.
Reflections on Old Petty
Playing Old Petty reminded me of in some ways of the feeling I had playing the pre-1989 Eden course at St Andrews back in the 1980s. While the Old and the New Course took the headlines, we never tired of the Eden, with its distinctive dry stone wall and charming bothy behind the old par-3 3rd (now the 1st there), and the prospect of shaping and running in shots to the sloping greens wrapped around the estuary. It was pure golfing fun.
Old Petty feels a more substantial course than that, but the enjoyment of trying it again and again will be similar. The rumpled land, wind and contoured greens, with multiple pin positions and different angles of attack are a joy for the creative golfer to explore. It may be that those lucky enough to be regular visitors find the lilts and subtleties of Old Petty a more intriguing proposition than Castle Stuart and lean towards playing the former.
As a final thought, the conditioning of Old Petty for a course in only its second year of play, and less than 6 months from official opening was superb, and is sure to get better as it matures. The greens were in at least the equal of Castle Stewart and fast enough to give effect to the run-offs designed to throw errant approach shots off the green. The sandy turf also promoted a good strike, with satisfying divots rather than sandy explosions resulting from well hit irons.
Cabot Highlands
What is certain is that Cabot Highlands is now a 36 hole championship golf destination with two world class courses. They sit at the same location but are complimentary opposites. Castle Stuart is more extroverted, benefitting from the stunning grandeur of the Moray Firth. Old Petty is quieter, with a connection to the local history of the site. But both have been crafted by outstanding architects and the golf is superb.
As Stuart McColm, VP Golf Development says…
As two courses on the same property with different DNAs but similar shot values, the two walks are entirely different but both offer up a calm and pleasurable journey through differing terrains. They are equally majestic in their differing settings and their ability to ask serious questions of your golfing repertoire.
Staying onsite is a treat, and with plans approved for a further 16 single-storey lodges and houses, set back from the 14th and 18th Castle Stuart fairways, and due to open in 2028, Cabot Highlands is now firmly positioned at the centre of world class golf in the Highlands.
Iain Johnson
Iain Johnson is a freelance golf travel writer who has played many of the top courses around the world. A single-figure-handicapper, Iain has over 40 years experience in amateur golf, having developed a passion for the game as a junior at The Gog Magog Golf Club and during a 4 year spell at St. Andrews University. Iain enjoys competetive senior golf and is also partial to a post round tipple in the 19th.