As part of a chain of volcanic islands in the Caribbean Sea, St. Lucia is known more for its stunning natural beauty, lush rain forests and coral reefs than golf. In fact, until recently, it had just one 18-hole golf course to enjoy.
It was understandable the architectural team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw–for the most part minimalists over the years when it comes to moving tons of dirt for golf projects–at first believed building a playable course on the proposed site’s rugged terrain would be an uphill battle.
“Ben sent me some photographs and I thought, ‘Well, obviously it’s spectacular, but if it looks this spectacular in photographs that means it’s going to be really steep with a lot of elevation,”’ Coore said.
Coore and Crenshaw worked with Cabot founder Ben Cowan-Dewar a decade earlier on Cabot Cliffs in Canada, so at the request of Cowan-Dewar, Coore flew to St. Lucia to see firsthand what the challenges would be on a 375-acre peninsula site that hugged 1.5 miles of coastline.
He was not convinced a golf course was in the cards.
“It was a pretty tough site,” Coore said. “I remember after being there for a few days I was kind of wandering around trying to think how we might put together a golf course. And I actually tried to talk Ben into just building a par-three course down by the ocean.
“He was very, very good natured about it, and we had a lot of fun going back-and-forth and kidding about it,” Coore added. “He finally said, ‘No, we can’t do a par-3, we have to have a regulation length course here.’ And I said, ‘Well, then we have to try to figure out how to get up these hills.”’
Coore returned to the United States and began to brainstorm with Crenshaw of what would become one of the most challenging courses the two award-winning architects would ever dig into, tackling elevation changes up to 400 feet.
“I told Ben that obviously coming down the hills are going to be spectacular, and the vistas are incredible,” Coore said. “It was going to be one of the most photogenic golf courses in the world, without question, but no matter what we did we had to make it playable.”
“Not that the playability could ever live up to the visuals–that would be impossible–but we wanted it to be a course that you would like to play more than one time,” he added. “We didn’t want it to be course that you go play and just take photographs and say, ‘Well that was spectacular, but I don’t want to come back.’ That was our challenge and our goal. We’ll let others express opinions about whether we lived up to that or not.”
The early reviews are in–and yes–it appears Coore and Crenshaw pulled off a Harry Houdini architectural act, with the Point Hardy Golf Club, which opened Jan. 2, 2024, already landing in the world’s top 100 rankings by GOLF Magazine at No. 76.
“Point Hardy Golf Club is one of the Caribbean’s most jaw-dropping courses,” said Andrew Alkenbrack, chief operating officer at Cabot Saint Lucia. “We wanted to create something truly epic, but also weave in elements of fun and thrill into each round. Hugging the curves of the coastline, the course offers a unique challenge with multiple crossings over the ocean. Of the 18 holes, nine play along craggy ocean bluffs, and five of those require tee shots launched across open ocean. It’s a breathtaking and exhilarating experience from start-to-finish.”
While the Caribbean has more than 70 golf courses, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico dominate when it comes to golf travelers. St. Lucia was not on that radar until now.
“Once we agreed with Ben that we would build a regulation golf course on this site, our thought was ‘Let’s do the best we can do that in terms of creating something people might want to travel to and experience.’ Yes, St. Lucia is not known for golf but the Caribbean certainly is. Ben endured, and he felt quite strongly that we could do something there that would put this on their destination list – something they want to see, something they want to experience.
“Ben was very positive about that, and you can’t argue with his track record,” added Coore. “Cabot was not necessarily on anybody’s golfing travel list prior to what Ben has done.”
The Cabot luxury resort and residential golf destination brand was founded in 2011 with the opening of their first course in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Cabot Collection has since expanded to include multiple courses and resorts across Canada, the Caribbean and the United States.
This April, five of Cabot’s 18-hole international courses were ranked in Golfweek’s esteemed 2025 Top 100 International Courses list. Evaluated by a panel of over 800 expert raters, courses at Cabot Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, Cabot Cape Breton in Canada, Cabot Highlands in Scotland and Lofoten Links in Norway have been recognized among the world’s finest, outside of the U.S.
Point Hardy in St. Lucia finished No. 5 on that list.
“From the brand’s inception, Cabot has focused on creating world-class golf courses in extraordinary locations,” Alkenbrack said. “The Caribbean represented an alluring spot overflowing with natural beauty that immediately caught our eye. Prior to the course’s inception, a strong golf culture was lacking in Saint Lucia and we sought to create a compelling new destination that would attract golf enthusiasts around the world. When we first saw the site for Cabot Saint Lucia, we knew it was something special with its unique landscape of volcanic coastline, lush terrain and sandy beaches. Our vision was to create a course that enhanced this remarkable setting while also building a welcoming residential community where members can create memories for generations to come.”
Coore hasn’t been surprised by the course’s accolades.
“The visuals are again just overwhelming, so we knew it was going to get attention,” Coore said. “But because of that we didn’t want to build a golf course that you just wanted to come take photographs of and leave. So the true test of this will be over time as people experience it and play it and make their judgments.”