Cabot Wilds's clubhouse looks... familiar
Last week Cabot unveiled Cabot Wilds in Nova Scotia, and the clubhouse rendering stopped me cold. I thought they’d dropped a photo of Shinnecock Hills into the deck. Same long shingle roof, tall gables, and brick chimneys. Is this what you build a new resort around?
Last week, Cabot announced the newest jewel in their portfolio of destination golf resorts, Cabot Wilds.
To be built on 2,500 acres in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, the property will feature an 18-hole course by Canadian golf architect Jeff Mingay, as well as a clubhouse, recreation pavilion, racquet sports facilities, and residential real estate. The residential real estate offerings will include two-, four-, and eight-bedroom cottages, as well as home lots with golf course, hillside, or river views.
Cabot has always managed to curate a unique identity for each of its properties, from Florida's Cabot Citrus, to Cabot Saint Lucia, Lofoten Links, and their original Nova Scotia destination, Cabot Cape Breton.
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Seeing Double
And while I'm sure Cabot Wilds will be nothing short of gorgeous and fun, there is one element that stuck out as odd to me. When I was reading the initial press release, I thought they dropped a stock photo in the slide deck where they intended to show a rendering of the new Hart Howerton clubhouse at Cabot Wilds, because I was looking at a picture of Shinnecock Hills. Or was I?
After rubbing my eyes, I saw that Cabot's caption was right. That wasn't Shinny, but rather a new clubhouse design by Hart Howerton to serve as the hub at Cabot Wilds.
New though it is, I can't be the only person seeing this, right? We've got a wide shingle-style structure with a long roofline punctuated by a few tall gables and some charming brick chimneys. A shed roof on the second floor allows room for a gallery of windows, and some smaller dormered windows at one end. I could be talking about either clubhouse here.
Hart Howerton already has a deep portfolio designing clubhouses and structures at other Cabot resorts, as well as many other AAA golf clubs around the world, including but not limited to the iconic clubhouses at Sebonack, Bayonne, and Westhampton.
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The Elder Statesman
Shinnecock Hills is famously the oldest purpose-built clubhouse in American golf. Any clubhouses that can claim to be older buildings were adapted from their original purpose - many were originally farmhouses.
Shinny, built in 1892, was designed by Stanford White of the golden-age architecture firm McKim, Mead & White, the building was a revolutionary departure from any golf buildings that existed in America before it, in that it was purpose-designed for golf and golfers' needs. Previously locker rooms and dining rooms for golf clubs were stuffy, and poorly outfitted.
Because of this massive influence on American golf, Shinnecock has become an architectural touchstone for golf clubhouses. An architect may want to tip their cap to a great. Rather than aping the design, Cabot Wilds could be building on the shoulders of a giant. Offering the classic charm of an instantly-recognizable clubhouse with modern amenities and destination golf luxuries could be having our cake and eating it, too.
Same Same, but Different
The clubhouse at Shinnecock Hills is famously understated to suit the membership's most basic needs. Though it has received additions over the last hundred years, it still does not have air conditioning, like other highly exclusive enclaves of American golf. This is one place I'm sure the clubhouses will differ. While Nova Scotia is delightfully balmy in the summers, I'm sure Cabot isn't skimping on the HVAC.
This underscores the most important distinction between the two clubhouses. While they look similar from the exterior, they differ in their most important and core function - their purpose. One is a members-only clubhouse that is more than a century old, and the other is a destination golf resort for wealthy vacationers and an influencer or two. While Shinnecock is purposely kept sparse because the members want it that way, Cabot Wilds will have to offer luxury and comfort as reasons to travel to it. I'm sure Shinny won't be having a recreation patio and racquetball court anytime soon.
Does this all really matter?
No, not really. Buildings are designed in the same vernacular for centuries at a time. Cabot Wilds is certainly not the first clubhouse clad in charming cedar shakes, and it will be far from the last.
From a practical perspective, we can simply turn our gaze to the architectural North Star of form following function, and give Stanford White props for being a crazy SOB who figured it all out over a hundred years ago. He ventured that a long, wide building gave lots of room for lockers, equipment, and dining areas, and wrapped it all in a deep veranda, because who doesn't love a nice porch?
From a more artistic perspective, we must acknowledge that inspiration and interpretation are important elements of architectural design. Hart Howerton is offering a vision of their take of a large shingle-style clubhouse at Cabot Wilds, and that doesn't detract or ape anything from Shinnecock Hills. This is their offering to the style.
Requests for comment from Cabot or Hart Howerton were not responded to by time of publication.
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