The eyes of golf will burst when they see the 17th hole (above) at Cabot Saint Lucia, where Point Hardy Golf Club is planned to open at the end of 2023. As Golf Digest architecture editor Derek Duncan writes, the course will have “virtually no terrestrial peers in terms of relentless ocean engagement and raw visual power.”

Each nine of the Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design climbs first into scenic uplands and then out to the coast for a series of heart-stopping set pieces that teeter on the rocky brink of land and sea. Five of the nine coastal holes require shots to be launched across sections of the Atlantic, including the 17th, the most emphatic of the quintet. For reference, Pebble Beach and Cypress Point each have three such holes.

Duncan visited the course, situated near the northernmost point of Saint Lucia, numerous times throughout its construction, walking the site with Coore and Crenshaw as they carved holes out of the jagged bluffs. Duncan’s feature captures the difficulties and setbacks faced when designing a course on such extreme terrain with challenging climate and turf conditions, all while weathering the COVID-19 pandemic. Will Cabot Saint Lucia live up to the hype?