AS THE CABOT NAME EXPANDS TO SIX DESTINATIONS AROUND THE WORLD, THE BRAND’S FOUNDER DISCUSSES GOLF TRAVEL AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PGA OF AMERICA PROFESSIONALS
In the 20 years since he first visited the rocky site that would become Cabot Cape Breton along the Atlantic Ocean in a remote area of Canada’s Nova Scotia, Ben Cowan-Dewar has evolved into one of the busiest developers in destination golf. The Cabot brand has expanded to six properties, including Florida’s Cabot Citrus Farms, and Cowan-Dewar hints that he’s far from finished building unique golf destinations – in fact, Cabot just announced an investment in Lofoten Links, a seaside Norwegian golf resort north of the Arctic Circle.
Cowan-Dewar recently sat down with PGA Magazine Senior Editor Don Jozwiak to discuss his formula, what makes him excited for the future and how PGA of America Professionals are a key part of the Cabot success story.
Your brand has rapidly expanded from Cabot Cape Breton to a number of properties around the world. Was this always the long-term plan or did you decide to accelerate because of the demand for golf and golf travel in recent years?
Ben Cowan-Dewar: There’s always been a little bit of the duck paddling furiously under the water, you know, with work going on behind the scenes. Three years ago, we were getting started on Cabot Revelstoke outside Vancouver in Canada. We had Cabot Saint Lucia nearing the finish line in the Caribbean, and Cabot Cape Breton was pretty mature and going full force. That sort of led us to a couple of opportunities that we’ve been working on for a long time, which were World Woods in Florida and Castle Stuart in Scotland – what’s now Cabot Citrus Farms and Cabot Highlands. I think it’s one of those things where you wake up and think, gosh, there’s a lot that’s happened. It’s usually after an awful lot of work and a lot of effort to get to that point.
We’re always busy, but it seems like these opportunities sort of come in bunches. We did Cabot Highlands and Cabot Citrus Farms six months apart, then we didn’t do anything else for a couple of years. And now we have some new projects, so I think it’s really a function of timing and opportunity as much as anything else. It’s a long and winding and wonderful road. There’s lots of ups and downs, but we just keep pointed forward.
What updates can you give our readers on the various Cabot projects in development?
Cowan-Dewar: At Cabot Citrus Farms, we’re really moving along and the reception has been great. The Karoo Course and the Squeeze and Wedge short courses are open and doing really well, and newest 18, called the Roost, is open for limited preview play. We’re getting ready to wind up all the accommodations and amenities on the property and we’ll do a grand opening in January 2025 after what’s been kind of a soft opening throughout this year. We’re gearing up for prime time come January, and I think it’ll be fun to watch when it really is officially open.
Next up is Cabot Highlands. I was there twice in the last couple of months as we wrap up with Tom Doak and his crew on Old Petty, the new course that will be finished this fall. So, we’ll play golf there next year, which is really exciting, and we’re working on our accommodations there and expanding food & beverage. And with Cabot Bordeaux, we recently made the acquisition of this fantastic French property and we are really excited about that. We’re tickled to have Bill Coore and Rod Wittman, who did those two existing golf courses. They also worked on the first Cabot courses at Cape Breton, and we’ve gotten to work with them a couple of times since. We feel pretty darn lucky anytime we get to be in their company. And certainly, to take on Cabot Bordeaux and really have it be as easy as that is a joy. So, we’re building on the great foundation they have and there’s nothing dramatic planned there in the near term, and it feels like we’re on the right track.
Cabot Revelstoke is in construction. Rod Whitman is doing that. We’re moving along, and it’s in pretty good shape. About 12 holes have been roughed into shape. Unlike Cabot Citrus Farms, grass doesn’t grow in the Canadian Rockies every day of the year, so it’s going to take a little longer to open. We discovered the property as a ski destination, so it’s obviously not a 12-month golf destination, but that’s one of the things we loved about it. It’s looking more like 2026 that we’ll be playing golf there. That’s fine with us since it helps space things out, and we have a lot on our plate for next year.
What are your thoughts on the golf business and why are you enthusiastic about it moving forward?
Cowan-Dewar: Well, I’m in my 20th year of doing Cabot, and so I can’t get a job doing anything else now. I have to keep working at it (laughs). We’ve obviously always believed in golf travel and believed in the power of what you can do if you can have something that is truly, truly great and unique and really do a wonderful job of delivering great value for your guests. There’s always a market for that. And certainly that’s what we’re focused on. I think as long as we can keep finding remarkable locations and are able to create magical memories, I think we’ll just keep going and see where the road takes us.
Your mentor Mike Kaiser says his “formula” for Bandon Dunes and other properties is great golf on the ocean, with pretty good accommodations and food. Is there a formula for Cabot?
Cowan-Dewar: There is a bit of a formula. Cabot Revelstoke is a remarkable destination in the mountains. Cabot Citrus Farms is a remarkable destination, not on the ocean, but unique to Florida with the great land for golf. Cabot Highlands, Cabot Saint Lucia and Cabot Cape Breton are all on the water. So, I think it’s really just finding those remarkable sites, and then you need to have great golf course architects deliver something really special. And I think food and accommodations have become so much a part of people’s experience that it’s incumbent on us to deliver on all of those facets.
Increasingly, we looked at places like Cabot Highlands and Cabot Bordeaux where there is so much wonderful stuff surrounding them, or Cabot Saint Lucia on a beautiful island with great real estate. These destinations become more than golf. People might come for golf, but they’re going to stay for much more. So, I think we are focused on delivering that great guest experience every single day we get up and go to work.
Having both built destinations from scratch and also having acquired and rebuilt others, how is it different for each process?
Cowan-Dewar: You know, it is different. With one you sort of have a blank canvas and the other you are working within some more framework. But with both it’s still solving problems and it’s still finding solutions to these things. And if you don’t have a great location, if you don’t have a great architect, you’re not going to get very far. So, I think that’s the commonality. But I think it’s just different problems to solve. I will say working on an existing property is faster to market. I feel like we’ve needed 20 years to get Cabot Cape Breton to where it is with 36 holes and a par-3 course, while we got there in two years with Cabot Citrus Farms with even more golf on property.
With everything going on in golf travel and with the Cabot brand, what makes you the most excited right now?
Cowan-Dewar: When we start a new project, my litmus test is: Do I like going there? Will I enjoy going there for the next 45 years? If the answer is yes, then that’s a good match. And I can say I feel that way about all of our properties and enjoy going to each very much. Right now, I just think about all of the stuff we have on the cusp of opening. Any time you’re about to open a golf course, it’s a little bit of “Field of Dreams.” You’re building it and hoping people will come and love it. And you just really want to share that with the world. And certainly, that’s where we are with Cabot Citrus Farms and with the Old Petty Course at Cabot Highlands, so I think that’s probably got me buzzing the most right now.
How important are PGA of America Professionals in the ongoing success of Cabot?
Cowan-Dewar: From the inception, PGA of America Professionals have been so much a part of Cabot, and we’ve been very integrated with PGA Professionals on their golf trips and entertaining members. We’ve had unbelievable support from PGA Members, whether it’s been PGA of America or Canada or England, facilitating their trips, facilitating trips for their members. And that has only increased. And now as we have six Cabot locations and more on the horizon, we also are an enormous employer of PGA of America Professionals. For us that relationship has been inextricable. It’s been an absolute hallmark of the Cabot brand and, frankly, of our success.