Three months after the purchase of Golf du Médoc by the Canadian group Cabot, how is the transition going?
Even if three months is not a lot, we have already accomplished a lot. The first and most important was the rebranding. Which was not an easy task from a technical, logistical and legal point of view. When you have a very established brand like the Golf du Médoc for thirty-five years now, there are a lot of communication actions to carry out. It is also not easy for our customers and our members to formalize themselves with this new name. Now you have to get used to talking about Cabot Bordeaux golf. The second thing was to work on the strategy and what we want to put in place for future years. And learn to work together. For now, everything is going very well.
You kept the bunch of grapes on the logo, was this a necessity for you?
Yes, because it is the marketing link that is made between our logo and our new name. The specificity of our destination is wine. People come to us because we are a very attractive region with Bordeaux, all the attractions of the region and the quality of the site. But especially for wine, because Bordeaux is internationally known for that. Since its origin in 1989, the Golf du Médoc logo had a cluster, although it has been modernized over time. We wanted to maintain this natural link with the Cabot brand.
What is your relationship with the Canadian group?
I have daily contact with them so that they understand how we operate and our activity. We are on a very different structure from the other properties they manage today, such as in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and Scotland. For us, it is very local. Today, 85% of the business, whether golf or hotels, is very local, very French. International represents 15% of our activity. So, these 85%, we must continue to bring them to life. Cabot understands that our strategy must always be very oriented towards this essential market for us.
The golf course located in Pian-Médoc also hosted competitions.
Laurent Theillet / SO
“The surplus of North American customers that we will have will not disrupt daily life”
How can you define the philosophy of the Cabot group?
This group has a very golfing orientation. That's good, we too, the Golf du Médoc structure originally had and still has golf DNA. People came to play here thanks to our two courses (Les Vignes and Les Châteaux). Then, the structure developed with hotels, spas and restaurants. This link with Cabot is very important because he wants to create magical places for his customers. We are already quite magical with our structure which rests on very solid foundations. But our owner is there to bring that little extra and allow us to provide an even more qualitative quality of service and experience to our customers.
Why was the Canadian group interested in France and in particular in Bordeaux?
He was interested in us for two reasons. The first concerns the two architects of our courses, Bill Coore and Rod Whitman, who are world famous. They are the same people who designed their original route, namely Cabot Cape Breton on Cape Breton Island, located in eastern Canada. The second is due to the fact that it relies on a large North American clientele. He is therefore looking for attractive destinations. It was only from 2022 that the group accelerated its development with the acquisition of a “resort” [hôtel de haut-standing, NDLR] in Scotland, others in Florida, Saint Lucia, Canada, because since 2012 he only had one property. The name and destination of Bordeaux quickly appealed to Canadians. So it was interesting for them to buy a site that was already working well.
What can your subscribers and your French customers expect, both in terms of prices and schedules?
We remain with the same strategy as in previous years. There is nothing to worry about. There have been a lot of rumors about the arrival of a new owner, of a golf course changing its name, plus a North American owner, we imagine a lot of things about the fact that we were going to change everything , go private, triple prices. No, that's obviously not the case. We will continue to rely on our local pool of 660 subscribers, to improve our services, the quality of the routes, etc.
Will the prices on green fees remain the same?
Yes, with increases each year depending on inflation, because we are not in the easiest period. We try to protect our customers by offering different prices between foreign and local customers with significant discounts. This allows us to continue to be very attractive.
Will teaching be maintained?
Yes, the training center is maintained, we continue to organize courses and lessons, our golf school has 70 children this year. There will always be competitions, amateur and professional tournaments. The surplus of North American customers that we will have will not disrupt daily life. This will be a bit of the icing on the cake which will allow us to be even more efficient and to be able to invest a little more quickly to advance the structure.
What is the Cabot group’s vision in Bordeaux in the coming years?
To continue to progress, to have a three or five year vision which allows us to make the right decisions in terms of investments. We are not going to launch renovation programs now. I am unable to tell you today the volume of new foreign customers that we will have. But we will welcome them in the best conditions. We are going to become more and more part of a dynamic resort. We will offer our customers additional activities that were not present until now in order to provide them with even more services. Today, we are one of the most beautiful golf courses in France, we are among the 15-20 best resorts in Europe. If in four or five years, we can be the best in Europe, that could be a great goal.
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