I’m not really sure where to begin…

Because I’m kind of at a loss for words…

Because I’m not sure how to put into words what I just experienced…

Because I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life…

I’ve never experienced anything like Cabot Saint Lucia!

Let me start from the beginning.

I just turned 40. So my wife and I decided to go big, celebrate this milestone with an epic vacation. And after weeks of deliberation and discussion, we landed on Saint Lucia… the “Helen of the West Indies.” A nickname bestowed upon the Caribbean island because of its beauty and strategic location. Fought over by the British and French for decades… like the Greeks and Trojans fought over Helen of Troy.

And I must say, the island nation is GORGEOUS!

The beaches are beautiful..

The water serene..

The people beyond friendly…

And, as I would soon come to find out, the golf… EPIC.

After we booked our Saint Lucian vacation, I knew I had to somehow… some way… get on the course at Cabot Saint Lucia.

It opened in 2023, but it was just ranked No. 5 on Golfweek’s 2025 list of the Top 100 International Courses (outside the United States) and No. 69 on GOLF Magazine’s 2025–2026 Top 100 Courses in the World list.

And quite frankly… the rankings are too low.

So again, I just knew I had to play it.

So I started making calls… sending emails… asking favors… and finally, after a few weeks, I was able to get ahold of someone at the course.

Because remember, Cabot Saint Lucia is a private course.

So for the public to try and play and get through the pro shop is not an easy task. The course is for members only. And the only way to become a member is to buy property and build.

(I saw one of the homes being built and it cost the member nearly THIRTY MILLION U.S.D.)

When I finally got in touch with a Cabot Saint Lucia representative, I explained the situation… that it’s my birthday celebration and I’m a golfing enthusiast who would love the opportunity to play their amazing course.

And I was preparing myself for a “thanks but not happening” email.

But instead, I got a “we’d love to have you play and PAY.”

And I mean PAY.

But I’ll get to that in a second.

So there you have it.

I got a tee time at one of the best courses in the world.

And now it was time for me to play that course.

The first thing you notice when you pull into the property is the view.

You make one slight turn and BAM.

The Atlantic Ocean crashing into the seaside Saint Lucia cliffs on the island’s east coast.

I mean, the course is literally built on the edge of the island.

It was stunning.

We (my brother-in-law joined me on this once-in-a-lifetime outing) dropped our bags off and made our way to the check-in, which was right next to the driving range… which was built into the side of a cliff.

And as soon as I put my bag down, I was ushered to Keon… the on-property massage therapist.

Yes, you read that right…

Cabot Saint Lucia offers a complimentary massage to all golfers playing that day.

So obviously I gladly accepted the massage.

After all… the round was costing me $750 US!

That said… I felt like it was worth every penny.

Besides the massage, the round included range time, a cart, a caddie and all-you-can-eat-and-drink on the course.

And the food and drink selection was sensational.

Wraps.

Candy bars.

Mixed drinks.

Beers.

Fruit.

Healthy options.

And so much more.

But even more impressive than the food were the food and drink stations.

Two fully stocked, restaurant-style locations on holes 5 and 14.

PLUS (my favorite stop) a beach bar between the tee box and green on 16.

I kid you not… I could have spent my entire day just at the beach bar.

But look… I’m getting ahead of myself.

Let’s get to the golf.

After warming up, we met Matt Matheson, the Assistant Pro at the course, who previously worked at Cabot Cape Breton.

One of the nicest people I have ever met.

We chatted for what felt like hours about the course and his path to this amazing property.

And I asked him what I ask all of the pros at the courses I play…

“What’s the signature hole?”

And without missing a beat, he laughed and said…

“All of them.”

And he wasn’t wrong.

Holes 1 through 4 send you away from the water… getting you some nice elevation so you can look back and admire the views.

Though I wish I could have admired my golf game a bit more because it was a rocky start to the round.

Just a little too excited.

A little too amped up.

Either way, we get to the first food and drink station at 5… and it’s this beautiful facility overlooking the first hole heading toward the Atlantic.

The station had an awesome porch overlooking the course with the ocean as the backdrop.

And that’s where I crushed my first shrimp wrap of the round.

We soon teed off on 5 and that’s when Matt’s chuckling response really kicked in.

The view heading down the course to the water was stunning.

Holes 5 through 9 all played to or along the coast… with the par three 7th hitting onto a peninsula green, jetting out into the wild Atlantic.

And on the back side of that green was the tee box for the 8th hole, giving us our first of five holes where we had to carry the ocean to find the fairway or green.

I mean… words cannot describe how amazing this experience was.

I wrapped up the front nine with a 45.

Just a little too inconsistent off the tee.

But man… I found my driver on the back nine.

Kind of like on the front, the first few holes go away from the ocean, giving you a little break from the wind.

Oh… I forgot to mention the wind.

HOLY SCHNIKES.

It was crazy.

But once we figured it out and got acclimated to the conditions, we settled in and played some solid golf.

14 is the first hole on the back nine that brings you back to the ocean… giving you a great view of Epougne Bay on your right and the Atlantic in front.

Then you get to the truly AMAZING portion of Cabot Saint Lucia.

15 through 18.

A par four…

Followed by back-to-back par threes…

And capped off with an awesome par five.

With all of these holes forcing you to hit over the ocean.

It was truly something to behold.

15 was a knee-shaking driver to the fairway.

Then 16 was an awesome par three where you had to carry the beach.

And in between your shot and your putt, you stopped at the beach bar… looking up at the course and out at the ocean while sipping on a Piton (the official beer of the island, named after the two geographical features of Saint Lucia – Gros Piton and Petit Piton).

17 was another stunning hole where you had to venture up a flight of stairs to tee off between two cacti and fly the ball over the waves crashing on the rocks below.

Then 18 was a cool dogleg right with an inlet between the end of the fairway and the green… forcing you to hit over water to find the final pin of the round.

Which I did.

Wrapping up the back with a clean 40.

And the round with a respectable 85.

And then, in true Cabot Saint Lucia fashion, they save one of the coolest things for last.

Handing you a rum-filled coconut when you walk off 18 and ushering you to a lounge area overlooking the final hole and the Atlantic splashing against the island’s terrain.

As you can probably tell, my day on Coore and Crenshaw’s Caribbean gem was one of the best golf days of my life.

I never knew someone could build and design a course like this in a location like this…

And I definitely never thought I’d be able to play it.

So it’s safe to say my 40th birthday celebration will truly be one that I will never forget.

Thanks to Cabot Saint Lucia.

Cabot St. Lucia website