Was This the Most Beautiful Course on Planet Earth? Cabot Saint Lucia
I've been staring at my phone for twenty minutes, trying to respond to yet another message about Cabot Saint Lucia. The simple question "What was it like?" has me scrolling through hundreds of photos, each attempting to capture what I witnessed last week at Point Hardy Golf Club. But how do you describe something that seems to exist in the realm of fantasy? Since returning home, I've fielded close to fifty messages asking about the experience. Friends want comparisons, context, anything to help them understand what Coore & Crenshaw have created on this Caribbean island. The closest I can come is this: imagine if Pebble Beach and Cape Kidnappers had a child, then raised it in paradise. But even that feels inadequate.
After playing hundreds of golf courses around the world, I've developed a simple test for greatness. First, after finishing 18 holes, am I racing back to the first tee for more? Second, after days, weeks, or even months, can I recall each hole, each shot, each strategic decision? And finally, is this a place where I need to be a member, or at least need to know someone who is? Point Hardy doesn't just check these boxes – it redefines them. The magic begins before you even reach the first tee. The drive into the property might be the most spectacular entrance in golf, winding through the lush Saint Lucian landscape before revealing glimpses of what's to come. This is your first hint that you're about to experience something extraordinary.
The Birth of Something Special
What makes visiting Point Hardy right now particularly fascinating is that you're witnessing the early stages of what promises to become one of golf's most coveted destinations. This marks The Cabot's Collection first venture into private golf, a bold move for a company that built its reputation on the remote shores of Nova Scotia. The transformation of this dramatic Saint Lucian coastline into a world-class golf facility didn't come easily. The sheer ambition of building a course of this caliber on such severe terrain – where mountains plunge directly into the ocean – seems almost foolhardy until you see how magnificently it works.
The journey to this point has been anything but straightforward. When Cabot first discovered this site, it was a dense jungle draped over precipitous cliffs. The challenging topography, which makes the course so spectacular, also made its construction a monumental task. Every hole required careful consideration of not just golf strategy, but also engineering feasibility. That they managed to create something so natural-looking in such an extreme setting is nothing short of miraculous.
Currently, the course operates from a temporary clubhouse - a modest setup that includes a small trailer, some washrooms, and a pavilion with a handful of carts. But there's something charming about this simplicity. The permanent clubhouse won't be completed until 2026. Homesites around the course are being actively sold, though few, if any, have been built yet. You can sense the potential energy, imagine what's to come, while appreciating the pure golf experience that already exists.
This rawness, this feeling of being present at the beginning of something extraordinary, adds an extra layer of excitement to every round. You're not just playing a great golf course - you're participating in the early chapters of what promises to be one of golf's great stories. It's reminiscent of when other iconic courses were in their infancy, before they became bucket-list destinations. Point Hardy has that same feeling of destiny about it. Years from now, people will talk about playing here in these early days, before the amenities were complete, when it was just you, your clubs, and possibly the most dramatic golf course setting in the Caribbean.
A Masterclass in Routing
What sets Point Hardy apart isn't just its stunning oceanfront holes – though they're certainly stunning enough. It's the way the course seamlessly shifts between two personalities throughout your round. The routing is a masterclass in building drama and variety. You begin along the coast, with the opening holes providing an immediate taste of oceanside golf, where the ever-present Caribbean wind shapes every shot. The first moves downwind along the water, offering glimpses of what's to come, before the second plays into the teeth of that constant breeze with the Atlantic waves crashing to your right.
Then the course pivots inland for three holes, letting you catch your breath while navigating terrain that could be pulled from the Appalachian mountains. Here, Coore and Crenshaw showcase their ability to craft compelling golf even away from the water. The inland holes ride the natural contours of the land, creating strategic interest through clever use of the mountainous terrain. These holes might lack the dramatic ocean views, but they're anything but filler.
Just as you've adjusted to the inland rhythm, you're brought back to the coast for a spectacular six-hole stretch along the water. This sequence is where Point Hardy flexes its muscles, offering a variety of holes that range from heroic carries over the Atlantic to subtle tests of strategy with the ocean as your constant companion. The routing during this stretch is particularly brilliant, changing direction just enough to make you play that same wind from different angles, ensuring no two holes feel quite alike.
The genius of Coore and Crenshaw shows in how they then pull you back inland for four holes, using the dramatic topography to create interest away from the ocean. These holes climb and fall through the property's highest elevations, offering occasional glimpses of the water below while demanding a completely different style of golf. It's during this stretch that you truly appreciate the property's unique character – where else can you play mountain golf and oceanside golf in the same round?
This rhythmic movement between seaside drama and inland challenge creates a round that never feels repetitive or predictable. The course doesn't just use the landscape; it seems to dance with it, creating a symphony of golf that builds to an unforgettable crescendo. Each transition feels natural, each change in environment adds to the story rather than detracting from it. This is golf architecture at its finest – taking two distinctly different landscapes and weaving them together into something greater than the sum of its parts.
The Greatest Closing Stretch in Golf?
And what a crescendo it is. The closing five-hole stretch at Point Hardy might be the finest finish in golf. It begins with the 14th, a brutally long par 5 stretching over 600 yards into the wind. Don't let the length fool you though – the hole's genius lies in how it channels through the property, dropping dramatically after the drive before rising again to a thumb of land jutting into the Atlantic. It's a true three-shot par 5 that demands precision at every turn. Even from the valley floor, your third shot remains largely blind to a green perched on what feels like the edge of the earth. In a course full of memorable shots, this approach stands out as one that makes your heart race every time.
The 15th follows with a shorter par 4 that epitomizes the strategic brilliance of Coore & Crenshaw. Players face a choice off the tee: take the safer route with a higher-lofted club to the left plateau, or challenge the dramatic valley with a driver for a better angle into the green. It's the kind of hole that makes you want to play it again immediately, trying different strategies each time. The green sits perfectly in the landscape, with the back-to-front slope requiring careful distance control on the approach. A ball landing too far past the hole leaves a treacherous putt with the Atlantic as your backdrop.
Then comes one of the most spectacular one-two punches in golf: back-to-back par 3s that would be the signature holes at almost any other course in the world. The 16th plays directly into the prevailing wind, requiring perfect club selection to find a green that's bisected by a ridge running from left to right. A strip of fairway cut perpendicular to the tee offers a hint of redan-style options, but it's the 17th that will leave you speechless. Standing on the tee, you'll find yourself questioning reality. Is this actually happening? Are you really about to hit a golf shot in this setting? The answer is yes, and it's a moment you'll never forget. The hole exists in a realm of such extraordinary beauty that it seems almost preposterous that someone was allowed to build a golf hole there. With waves crashing against the cliffs below and the mountains of Saint Lucia providing a backdrop, this might be the most photographed par 3 in the Caribbean, and deservedly so. It's a testament to both the vision of Cabot and the skill of Coore & Crenshaw that they could not only imagine this hole, but execute it perfectly.
The course concludes with a reachable par 5 that gives every player a chance at glory. With the ocean working in from the right and waves crashing below, your last full shot of the day will likely be a mid-iron across a bay to a well-bunkered green. The fairway sweeps right to left, tempting you to bite off as much of the water as you dare. A significant ridge through the putting surface provides the last line of defense, but this is a finishing hole that manages to be both challenging and incredibly fun, sending you off with a smile and an intense desire to start all over again. The green sits like an island oasis, surrounded by sand and sea, offering one final postcard moment to close out your round.
The Elements of Excellence
But Point Hardy isn't just another pretty face in the world of golf. What makes it truly special is how it combines its dramatic beauty with strategic depth. The ever-present Caribbean wind, consistently blowing west to east at around 20 mph, becomes both adversary and ally throughout your round. This constant wind fundamentally shapes how the course plays, turning 210-yard par 3s into 150-yard shots and making you factor it into every decision.
Coore and Crenshaw's genius shows in how they've designed for these conditions. Unlike its oceanside cousin Pebble Beach, Point Hardy features notably larger greens, providing multiple ways to play each hole and allowing for creative ground game options even in heavy winds. But it's in the details where their mastery really shines. Fairways that appear generously wide from the tee often narrow considerably when you factor in the preferred angles of play. Tilted fairways demand precise placement, as what looks like a 60-yard landing area might effectively be half that to get both a favorable bounce and a clear look at the green. Multiple false fronts and cunningly placed run-offs mean that even seemingly good shots require careful consideration – miss by a little, and your ball might roll 30 or 40 yards away, leaving a delicate recovery shot.
These expansive putting surfaces, combined with thoughtful contours and strategic pin positions, ensure that the course never feels overly punitive despite its dramatic setting. What's perhaps most exciting is that Point Hardy is still evolving. With the permanent clubhouse set for completion in 2026 and ongoing refinements to holes like the challenging uphill 10th, the course seems poised to only get better. The Cabot team has a history of creating exceptional golf experiences, from their original courses in Nova Scotia to their recent additions around the world. But with Point Hardy, they might have outdone themselves. This feels like their masterpiece, a course that manages to exceed even the loftiest expectations while delivering an experience that's both challenging and unforgettable.
In the world of golf course architecture, the term "unicorn" gets thrown around perhaps too freely. But Point Hardy truly earns the designation. It's a course that seems too good to be true, yet somehow exists in reality. It combines strategic excellence with stunning aesthetics, mountain golf with oceanside drama, and challenge with playability in a way I've never seen before. As I sit here, still trying to find the right words to describe Point Hardy to another curious friend, I'm struck by a simple truth: some things in life defy description. Some experiences can't be captured in words or photos. They need to be lived. Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia is one of those experiences. It's not just another great golf course – it's a reminder of why we fell in love with this game in the first place.
And yes, I'm already planning my return trip.
