RECREATION & TRAVELSCAPES
a true east coast experience Keltic Lodge at the Highlands & Cape Breton Highlands Links By Suzanne Rent
K
eltic Lodge and Cape Breton Highlands Links are ramping up for a busy season. There are several new changes at the resort and the golf course that will enhance the experience for visitors this year. Trevor Blanche has joined the Highlands Links team as the golf course superintendent and he’s currently getting the course ready for golfers. Blanche came to Nova Scotia from Ontario, where he managed turf operations for several courses across that province. He also studied turf management at the University of Guelph. Kevin Hurd, the new general manager of the Keltic Lodge and Cape Breton Highlands Links golf course, says Blanche is very familiar with Highlands Links, its designer, its reputation and historical significance. Blanche’s reference checks were impeccable and he had all the right experiences and qualification. “He’s incredibly excited to be with us. He knows how to manage turf in
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extreme heat and humidity, which was extraordinary in Nova Scotia last season, but will most likely begin to be the norm,” says Hurd. history & recognition Cape Breton Highlands Links golf course has a long history of offering some of the best golf in the world. Parks Canada hired legendary golf course architect Stanley Thompson in 1939 to design the course on the Middle Head Peninsula in Cape Breton. Thompson called it his “Mountains and Oceans” course, and considered the project one of his best contracts. The course started out as a nine-hole course, but Thompson added another nine holes. It meanders along the Clyburn Brook, which became a part of the layout itself. It took two years to complete and much of the work was done without machinery. The course, which is surrounded by beautiful views of Cape Breton Island, has consistently been ranked in the Top 10 golf courses in Canada. In 2018, Golf Digest ranked it #87 on its top 100 list of courses in the world.
RECREATION & TRAVELSCAPES
“It’s an exciting course to play if you’re a golf enthusiast,” says Hurd. GolfNorth Properties entered a longterm lease to operate the golf course and resort, and has invested approximately $8 million since 2015. Doug Breen, GolfNorth regional VP and chief agronomist, gets audibly excited when discussing the property. “There are only a handful of places on earth as beautiful as Ingonish, and only a handful of truly great golf designs like Highlands Links. GolfNorth considers it a great privilege to be the custodians of this historic place.” a golf destination Hurd says that beyond the Cape Breton Highlands Links, there are other new courses on the Island, including Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs. “Cape Breton is a destination for the golf tourist,” he says. There are other new faces at Keltic Lodge this season, too. Travis Cline has joined the team at Keltic Lodge as the new food and beverage manager. Ingonish resident Chad Robinson, who has been at the resort for several years in a sous