Let me get straight to my conclusion. After playing both courses at Cabot Highlands on the same day in the first week of September 2025, Old Petty in the morning and Castle Stuart in the afternoon, my honest verdict is that Castle Stuart is the better course. By a clear margin. Old Petty is excellent and Tom Doak has built something that will rise up the rankings as it matures, and I covered all of that in a separate post.