Old Petty at Cabot Highlands opens to the public in May — and the Moray Firth setting alone makes it worth the trip north.
Scotland’s golf map got a new pin this spring. Old Petty, the Tom Doak-designed course at Cabot Highlands near Inverness, opens officially to the public on 15 May 2026 — and early signs suggest it’s the real thing.
Doak, working with associate Clyde Johnson, routed the course around a site of genuine character: the ruins of the Old Petty Church, sweeping views across the Moray Firth, and sightlines back to the 400-year-old Castle Stuart from 13 of the 18 holes.
A limited preview in August and September 2025 gave the course its first public test. The response was strong enough that Golf World ranked it No. 34 in its Scotland Top 100 before it had even formally opened, with a note that it has the potential to climb into the top 20. For a course still finding its feet, that’s a meaningful signal.
What the course plays like
Old Petty has the natural routing that Doak courses are known for — no forced drama, no artifice. The coastline appears on the 10th. The 17th is a short par-3 that golfers who’ve played it are already talking about. The 14th brings you back to the Moray Firth before the closing holes wind back near the clubhouse. On paper at least, it has the bones of something memorable.
Why this works for a group trip
Cabot Highlands isn’t just a single course. Stay-and-play packages give access to both Old Petty and Castle Stuart — which means a two-day trip with two genuinely different tests of Scottish golf. On-site cottages keep the logistics simple, which matters when you’re organising tee times and dinners for twelve.
The Inverness location is more accessible than it looks. Direct trains from Edinburgh take under three hours. The A9 from Perth is a straightforward drive. For groups travelling from the south, an overnight in Inverness before and after makes a clean long weekend.
Worth watching
Old Petty is new. Cabot Highlands is a resort, which means it’s designed to welcome visitors and make the experience work — something that isn’t guaranteed at every Scottish club with a strong ranking. Whether the welcome extends warmly to women’s groups, the facilities stack up, and the pricing is fair is something W&G will look at properly when we visit later this season.
Tee times from 15 May. Packages at cabothighlands.com
Planning a group trip to Scotland? Read our guide to organising a women’s golf trip — what to ask, what to negotiate, and what to look for before you book. Link to Article
To find out more, visit www.cabothighlands.com.
