Cabot Highlands confirm work on second championship course to start next month as Castle Stuart opens doors for 2023
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Cabot Highlands has announced that the construction of its second championship course is to begin on April 3, 2023.
It will mean 30 new jobs, with local businesses providing a majority of the work services required.
The new course is expected to be completed and ready for preview play in late 2024 with a grand opening in the spring of 2025.
It is being designed by one of the world’s leading golf course architects, Tom Doak.
The American designed six of the courses named among the top 100 in the world in 2021, encompassing the USA, New Zealand and Tasmania, but this will be his first public design in the UK.
His work can be seen in Scotland already, though, at the private Renaissance Club in Lothians.
Cabot Highlands is already home to Castle Stuart Golf Links, which opens for the 2023 season today.
No disruption is expected to players of the existing course as the second is constructed.
General manager at Cabot Highlands, Stuart McColm, is excited for the possibilities that the second course could bring.
“This is a great milestone achieved,” McColm, who has been working at Castle Stuart since its 2009 opening, explained.
“When Cabot acquired Castle Stuart it promised magical golf, world class visitor experiences, and significant jobs.
“It has delivered on all of this. The new second course begins construction on the April 3 and we look forward to being ready for full play in 2025.
“We are delighted to already be at this stage of our plans and to be collaborating with local businesses to deliver the great majority of the work.
“When it comes to the future of tourism and golf in the Highlands, we are determined to remain at the front of the story, playing our part in bringing high paying visitors to the region.
“With Cabot Highlands open for golf from today, this is a momentous time in our history and an appropriate time to make the announcement.”
It is expected that Cabot Highlands’ current workforce of 50 will nearly double in 2025, just to service both golf courses at the resort.
Other plans Cabot Highlands have to build lodges and develop the experience for visitors are expected to see that number rise even further down the line.
Cabot Highlands believe those new additions will only help add to the international appeal of an already prestigious golf club, which has hosted the Scottish Open four times – consecutively between 2011 and 2013 and then again in 2016.
