When Cabot Highlands, the reimagined home of Castle Stuart Golf Links, announced the arrival of Old Petty, the golfing world sat up. The new 18-hole course, designed by Tom Doak with input from associate Clyde Johnson, has been conceived as a modern tribute to the rugged, ancient links that long defined Scotland’s coastline. For August and September 2025 Cabot will allow players a rare early glimpse of the routing in a preview play window that promises to reshape visitors’ expectations of what a contemporary Highland links can be.
Old Petty takes its name, and its spirit, from the small but storied landscape that surrounds it. The routing threads close to Old Petty Church and runs alongside a tidal estuary, bringing golfers into intimate contact with the shoreline and the 400-year old Castle Stuart, a landmark that features in the vistas of no fewer than 13 of the course’s 18 holes. Doak’s brief was straightforward: build a course that looks and feels as though it has always belonged to this piece of coast, with holes that are subtle and dramatic. The result is a collection of holes that are rich in strategic decisions and framed by the raw beauty of the Moray Firth.