Ben Cowan-Dewar: Shock and awe

The Cabot brand debuted in 2011 with the Cabot Links course at Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada. 

When the Rod Whitman design was joined by Cabot Cliffs, a Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw layout, five years later, one might have considered its journey complete. But the Cape Breton courses were just the beginning for the development group, which, with the investment into Norway’s Lofoten Links, now owns and operates destinations in six countries. 

“It’s been a dream come true,” says Ben Cowan-Dewar, Cabot’s co-founder and CEO. “I first visited Cape Breton 20 years ago and had the idea of building a golf course. To say everything after was all part of the plan would be an overstatement.” 

Cowan-Dewar obtained approval for the Saint Lucia and Revelstoke projects in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Cabot Saint Lucia opened its spectacular coastal Coore-Crenshaw design in 2023 to rave reviews, and a Whitman course at Revelstoke is expected to open in 2026. Cabot also began acquiring existing golf properties; first Florida’s World Woods (now Cabot Citrus Farms) in 2021, then Castle Stuart (now Cabot Highlands) in 2022, and Golf du Medoc Resort (now Cabot Bordeaux) in 2024. In September last year, Cabot further expanded its international presence by announcing a strategic investment into Lofoten Links in Norway. 

“Buying existing properties allows us to get to market faster than assembling numerous parcels of land,” says Cowan-Dewar. 

What key attributes are required for a Cabot site? “Revelstoke, with its snowcapped peaks, is absolutely breathtaking, and when I was in Saint Lucia watching Bill and Ben work, it was just surreal to see nine greens being built next to the ocean,” says Cowan-Dewar. “They’re both shockingly spectacular and when I am visiting and selecting sites, that is what I’m looking for. 

“Sand is also obviously an important medium to help achieve the playing conditions we look for. And then you get down to just the commercial realities of the site. Old Petty at Cabot Highlands is five minutes from Inverness Airport, which is easily accessible from London and Amsterdam among other cities. If we are to build something truly spectacular, we have to consider how easy it is for people to get to. There are some sites that are just so hard to reach, that even if it was spectacular and was built on sand, it would be hard to overcome the commercial hurdle. However, I try not to let that cloud the vision too much upfront.” 

Cowan-Dewar recalls some advice from Crenshaw: every great golf course starts with a great site, followed by a great architect and then a great owner. 

“For me, the site always comes first, and everything else follows,” says Cabot’s CEO. “When I saw Cape Breton, I knew we could build something special. The same was true for Saint Lucia – I had looked at dozens of sites across the Caribbean before finding the perfect one. The moment I stood on that site, I immediately called Bill.” 

In addition to Coore-Crenshaw and Whitman, Cabot has courses designed by Tom Doak (Old Petty), Kyle Franz (Karoo and Roost at Cabot Citrus Farms) and Mike Nuzzo (Roost, Squeeze and Wedge at Cabot Citrus Farms). For the most part, architect selection has been based on well-developed relationships. 

Cowan-Dewar recalls: “I got to know Rod through Bill, who said, ‘if you’re doing a course in Canada, you’ve got to use Rod.’ I was 21 or 22 at the time and asked Bill, ‘if I succeed with the first course, would you do the second one?’ Bill replied, ‘if you use Rod for the first, I’ll do the second.’ For the Links course I never thought of anyone else. And then Bill came with Mike Keiser and I on a visit to the Cliffs site, and so Bill’s selection was a foregone conclusion. 

“At Revelstoke, I loved the idea of Rod getting the chance to put his best up against Stanley Thompson, who has long been his idol. Rod’s love of Banff Springs and Jasper Park matched my own. When I got on site at Revelstoke, I called Rod and asked how quickly he could get here. For Citrus Farms, we shifted gears and went with younger and new architects. We want to work with the most talented people in the world, and certainly there are great opportunities for architects to come through – Kyle’s reimagining of the Pine Barrens course to create Karoo at Cabot Citrus Farms required a totally different skillset than developing a routing for a dunesland site.” 

Cowan-Dewar has played almost all the world’s top ranked courses, so he is no stranger to what a great layout looks like. Those visits often include conversations with the people that have made those destinations possible and how they maintain success. 

“I grew up drawing golf holes, but I don’t want to be a golf architect,” says Cowan-Dewar. “I know my skillset. However, I do have a reasonably good critical eye. I always want to reserve the right to be able to say, ‘what about this’ or ‘could we look at this’ and I’m never going to stop doing that. It is our brand, and we have to manage the facility long after the architect has designed the course, so I’m certainly not a shrinking violet. I’m sure all the architects want to be left with free rein, but collaboration and constraints are something that everybody has to contend with. We are trying to get the best possible product for our customers and that’s what really matters. Although the course is under the Cabot brand, I firmly believe that the designer deserves full credit. There can only be one final arbiter, and it needs to live with them.” 

Cabot’s most recent strategic investment, Lofoten Links, opened in 2015 along the coast of the island of Gimsøya, in northern Norway. It is known for its spectacular visuals, and golf can be played 24 hours a day during the summer months of midnight sun. 

“I played there in July and teed off at 11 at night… it was magical,” says Cowan-Dewar. “Our role is about making sure the golf experience really delivers as well as exploring the evolution of lodging and its food and beverage offering. We want it to realise its full potential, but we already have a great foundation.” 

With four properties joining the Cabot Collection in the last three years will Cabot continue this rapid trajectory? Cowan-Dewar says he is very ambitious but will only move on a project if it is right. “There are limits to growth because there are only so many remarkable locations in the world,” he says. “Also, starting from scratch is more challenging and time-intensive, so we’re now leaning slightly towards acquiring properties we can improve. That said, we’ll always look for the right opportunities to create something extraordinary.” 

This article first appeared in the January 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture. For a printed subscription or free digital edition, please visit our subscriptions page.

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