See it to believe it: Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw reach deep into their bag of design tricks to make Cabot Saint Lucia play as well as it looks

Having seen Point Hardy, it’s hard to imagine not wanting to play it again and again, based entirely on the visuals. The same goes for the entire island nation of Saint Lucia. Idyllic beaches are frequently fringed by volcanic cliffs rising abruptly into steep hills and small mountains covered with tropical rain forest until everything tops out at 3,120 feet with Mount Gimie. The island currently has only two golf courses, both operated by Sandals, but its shorelines seem purpose-built for dramatic golf holes in much the same way the sport fits so naturally onto the Monterey Peninsula in California. 

The drive to Cabot’s new property at the north end of the island, which is only 27 miles long, consumes nearly two hours depending on traffic through the capital city of Castries. The route zigs and zags across the mountains on sometimes skinny roads that feature deep ditches to handle heavy rainfall, plus a wide range of meandering dogs at seemingly every corner. 

Saint Lucia’s population of some 180,000 is largely of African descent, and a long history of European imperialism ended in 1979 with the island’s independence. The nation is part of the British Commonwealth, and English is the predominant language along with local Creole. Tourism keeps the island afloat, and it’s common for multiple huge cruise ships to be docked in port at Castries. A quick look about the place and it’s easy to see why so many Europeans and North Americans choose to vacation in Saint Lucia.

That motif certainly extends to the 300-plus acres Cabot purchased for its residential community and golf course, slated to open in December. Cliffs, blue water, native flora, birds, salt spray – those are all jaw-dropping contributors to a wonderful walk in the park. 

The par-4 fifth, par-4 sixth and par-3 seventh (as seen while construction wraps up and grass is grown) play down a valley, with the string of holes ending at one of the most dramatic settings at Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)

But on Coore’s early visits, he didn’t spend all that much time looking down upon the surf. Instead, he kept peering up at the frequently steep and tricky ground above the cliffs. 

“We knew the golf course was going to inherently be extraordinarily spectacular and dramatic,” he said. “Our concern is, with the elevation change here with it being a volcanic island … obviously you can’t get all the holes routed right on the ocean and cliffs, there just isn’t enough room there for that. So you have to go inland. And as soon as you start inland, you go up. How do you make those holes interesting? … That’s been our biggest concern.”

There were some 3,000 yards of possibilities on the cliffs at Point Hardy. Coore and Crenshaw made the most of those, no doubt. But the design team needed another 3,000-plus yards of golf holes, and Coore picked a routing that climbs inland at the start of each nine before looping back and down to finish directly above the surf. 

Ben Cowan-Dewar, the Canadian co-founder and CEO/majority owner of the Cabot Collection, said Coore was the perfect man to discover all those inland holes. A master router, Coore has on several occasions discovered a way to build 18 contiguous and complementary holes on ground where others haven’t seen all the possibilities. 

“He’s just the best at it,” Crenshaw said on a walk about the layout as its grow-in was still in progress, with three holes yet to be finished.

The design team of Ben Crenshaw (left), Bill Coore (center) and course shaper Trev Dormer discuss a bunker on the par-5 third hole at Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)

Coore’s secret? It isn’t found on a topo map. “He walks a site over and over until he’s happy,” Crenshaw said. “He finds animal trails and heads down those. He’s amazing at it. If there’s a golf course out there, he can find it.”

After walking Point Hardy, Coore knew the challenge would be elevating players to a plateau several hundred yards inland of the cliffs. He didn’t want to rely on a 300-yard, zig-zagging ride in a golf cart from the lower stretches to the higher holes. Golfers must play their way up from the clubhouse near the cliffs, experiencing everything the site offers along the way. The course will be walkable despite some of the slopes, even if most players eventually choose to take a buggy. 

Those early climbs on each nine might best be compared to a roller-coaster. Each side blasts upward at the start before twisting and turning at height, then racing back down toward the cliffs. The analogy begins at No. 1, a 491-yard par 5 that plays much longer as it climbs.

“We’ve always believed the first hole should tell you something about what you’re about to experience,” Coore said. “The first hole here, your experience might be ‘Whooo, boy, this is going to be mountain climbing.’ In fact, once you get to the first green, holes 2, 3, 4 are on much calmer, very traditional golf ground. Spectacular too, visually, but up on the plateau. …

“It’s interesting, and Ben and I were just talking about it this week, some of the holes here that we actually find the most interesting and we’re happy with are the inland holes, not the most dramatic oceanside holes but the inland holes. And they’re some good ones.”

The inland par-4 second (just right of center) and par-5 third (far right) holes offer long views of the volcanic island and Atlantic Ocean at Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)

The second is a long par 4 with views of ocean below and mountains beyond, its green perched into an small quarry where lava rock was mined years ago – Coore said it’s among his favorites at Point Hardy. The par-5 third doubles back atop the plateau, and the par-3 fourth with its Redan green plays away from the ocean but begins the downhill journey from the layout’s highest point. 

To take the roller-coaster analogy further, what goes up must come down. Nowhere at Cabot Point is that more obvious than on the tee of the par-4 fifth at the head of a valley with nearly 1,000 yards of golf holes and views down toward blue water beyond the seventh green. 

Coore and Crenshaw are known as minimalist designers, trying to move as little dirt as possible when building a course, allowing the natural features to shine. But that wasn’t the case for several of these inland holes at Point Hardy. 

Before construction began, Coore said he was concerned if this valley was too steep and severe to be truly playable and enjoyable. Course shaper Keith Rhebb, who lived for months on the island in 2020 as COVID locked down travel, spent considerable time on heavy equipment in this valley, moving rocks and dirt to shift a creek bed to one side while flattening and extending what would become the fifth and sixth fairways. Only then could the finer golf features – bunkers, greens, humps and hollows – be introduced. Most of the final product looks like it was there forever, but it didn’t come as easy as at some famous Coore and Crenshaw sites.

“You know, I guess it turned out OK,” Coore said with a broad smile while standing on that fifth tee box, staring down at the ocean. 

Nos. 7, 8 and 9 are lined up along the cliffs to close out the front nine at Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia. The back tees of the 325-yard, par-4 eighth sit left of the seventh green on the promontory, requiring a tee ball directly across the water and a cliff. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)

That valley ends at the seventh, a peninsula par 3 playing east into the ocean, impossibly gorgeous with cliffs on both side and breaking waves everywhere. It’s only 139 yards long, a mere chip shot downhill for many players, but it offers one of the most difficult greens on the course to hit with a lofted club in hand and trade winds whipping past. Coore and Crenshaw are famous for their short par 3s, and this one certainly will be among the most dramatic on the planet.

Farther onto the promontory behind the seventh green awaits an unforgettable tee shot on the short, 325-yard par-4 eighth. From the back tee box, players must carry more than 200 yards of surf and cliff to reach a fairway angled to the left and uphill to a green guarded by steep bunkers in front that resemble nothing more than two nostrils. Following that, another downhill par 3 atop the cliffs closes out the front nine.