Staff WriterCabot Highlands has officially opened Old Petty, its much-anticipated second course in the Scottish Highlands, giving travelling golfers another very good reason to point themselves towards Inverness, pack waterproofs they pretend they will not need, and prepare for the sort of scenery that can make a three-putt feel almost spiritual.
Designed by acclaimed architect Tom Doak alongside lead associate Clyde Johnson, the new 18-hole course sits alongside Castle Stuart, the celebrated layout created by the late Mark Parsinen and Gil Hanse. That alone gives Old Petty a fairly stern family tree. No pressure, then. Just one of the most admired modern courses in Scotland looking over its shoulder.
A New Chapter For A Serious Scottish Golf Destination
Old Petty is not simply another course added to a luxury resort because someone found a spare field and a bulldozer. This is a carefully framed addition to a destination already built around world-class golf, Highland atmosphere and the Moray Firth doing its best impression of a Turner painting.
Cabot Highlands is home to Castle Stuart, a world top 100 course, an art-deco inspired clubhouse with restaurant, bar and top-floor lounge overlooking the water, charming lodging for stay-and-play visits, and a debut collection of residences now fully spoken for, with a new release forthcoming starting from £2.25M.
That mix matters. Modern golf travel is no longer just about the round. It is the arrival, the view from breakfast, the walk back from the 18th, the whisky afterwards, and the satisfying knowledge that tomorrow’s tee time is close enough to make sleep feel optional.
“Opening Old Petty is a proud moment for everyone involved,” said Ben Cowan-Dewar, CEO and co-founder of Cabot. “It builds on the legacy of Castle Stuart while creating something entirely new for golfers to experience here in the Highlands. This is a special piece of land, and Old Petty brings a fresh perspective that feels authentic and enduring.”
Old Petty Is Built For The Walk
The heart of Old Petty is its walking-only, links-style routing, inspired by how golf was played more than 200 years ago. That is not nostalgia for the sake of it. It is a design decision that puts pace, rhythm, ground movement and decision-making back at the centre of the round.
The course threads along a tidal estuary, with sweeping coastline views and rumpled, centuries-old terrain doing much of the heavy lifting. It also moves through history with unusual confidence. Golfers pass a restored bothy near the fifth green, play alongside the 400-year-old Castle Stuart, and skirt Old Petty Church, built in 1839.
In other words, there are younger things in golf than this landscape. Some of them are called “signature holes” and usually involve a lake installed by committee.
Here, the drama appears to have been waiting patiently for someone with enough restraint not to ruin it.
Tom Doak’s Highland Canvas
Doak and Johnson have leaned into the natural assets rather than trying to shout over them. The 10th hole brings dramatic coastline vistas, the 14th returns players to the Moray Firth, and the short par-three 17th has the kind of late-round mischief that tends to separate the calm from the theatrically wounded.
The first and 18th holes also feature crossing fairways, adding visual theatre and strategic interest. Crossing fairways are always a little like Scottish weather forecasts: perfectly manageable if you are paying attention, faintly alarming if you are not.
“It’s a privilege to work in Scotland and just to be back at the heart of it all,” said Tom Doak. “For me and for Clyde, it was important to build something that would appeal to both overseas visitors and the locals — fitting in with the other courses in the area while having something special about it so that you wouldn’t want to miss it. Playing around the 400-year-old Castle Stuart is a pretty good start, and we used the castle as a visual anchor for the routing throughout.”
That line about the castle as a visual anchor is important. Great routing is not merely about getting from tee to green. It is about orientation, memory and theatre. Old Petty appears designed to keep golfers aware of where they are, not just how far they have left.
Why Cabot Highlands Works As A Golf Travel Base
Location is one of Cabot Highlands’ great advantages. The property is five minutes from Inverness Airport and ten minutes from the city of Inverness, making it unusually accessible for a destination that still feels properly removed from the usual noise.
It also places golfers in dangerous proximity to some of Scotland’s most revered names, including Royal Dornoch, Nairn, Brora and Skibo Castle. That is the sort of itinerary that can turn a harmless golf trip into a lifelong personality trait.
Inverness adds more than convenience. Known as the capital of the Scottish Highlands, it brings history, culture, Victorian-era marketplaces, cathedrals, a growing culinary scene and nearby whisky distilleries.
For those travelling with non-golfers, or golfers pretending to have other interests, the wider region offers Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, historic ruins and the Flow Country, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There is also hiking, cycling, fishing, falconry and horseback riding in the surrounding area. Though after 36 holes in Highland wind, horseback riding may feel less like leisure and more like a negotiated surrender.
A Destination With More Than One Reason To Stay
The opening of Old Petty strengthens Cabot Highlands as a complete golf destination rather than a single-course pilgrimage. Castle Stuart already had international pull. Adding a Doak-designed walking course beside it creates contrast, depth and a more compelling stay-and-play proposition.
For overseas visitors, the appeal is obvious: classic Scottish landscape, links-style golf, strong architecture, nearby whisky and easy airport access. For domestic golfers, especially those who know the Highlands already, Old Petty adds a fresh reason to return.
The real test will come when players start comparing memories rather than yardages. The castle backdrop, the estuary, the Moray Firth, the old church, the short 17th, the crossing fairways — these are the details that tend to linger long after the scorecard has been quietly lost.
Tee times, stay-and-play packages and additional information are available at www.Cabot.com/Highlands.
Old Petty arrives with history underfoot, salt in the air and Castle Stuart on the horizon. Scotland did not need another reason to make golfers dream. It has one anyway.
