Cabot Highlands

Old Petty is the second course at Cabot Highlands. Designed by Tom Doak the course plays along the shores of the Moray Firth and takes advantage of the natural contours and expansive open land to create a links style experience.

The brief from Cabot was to create a teaser for the course, but without giving too much away because they wanted to leave a few surprises for when the course opens for play in 2025.

We showcased a group of 5 holes that we felt captured the essence of the project with particular attention paid to the details that define the character of the course such as the marram, gorse, heather and the rugged sandy waste bunkers that look like they have been there for hundreds of years. Other features that make Old Petty quite unique include the abandoned barn next to the 5th green, a washed-up boat adjacent to the 15th hole and the historic 17th century Castle Stuart.

Tom Doak and his lead associate Clyde Johnson had already shaped a number of holes, so this presented us with an opportunity to approach the project in a different way. Instead of working from the proposed layout and grading – which had changed significantly in the field – we commissioned a detailed survey of the finished holes and used that as a base to work from. The survey included all the unusual lumps and bumps that you would expect from a course in Scotland and whilst you might not notice them at first glance, they made a huge difference in giving the visuals a natural links inspired aesthetic.