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Golf in the Bahamas
Richard Dyke
My taxi driver had the solution.
"What we need is another James Bond movie," he observed as we slid under the palm trees en route from my hotel to the Paradise Island Golf Club just outside Nassau, referring to the effect that the filming of Dr No in Jamaica all of 30
years ago had on tourism (and presumably golf) in the Caribbean and the Bahamas.
Looking out at the azure-blue sea and palm-fringed beach surrounding the 6th green on this gem of a course, it was all too easy to imagine Ursula Andress emerging half-naked from the crystal clear waters, diving knife strapped to her thigh, to perhaps cut away a little vegetation and help me recover that lost ball.
And there, I guess, is my taxi driver's point. In those heady, hazy days of the early '60s, Ursula stepped out in the definitive Bond movie. The Beatles came and buzzed around Nassau on mopeds pursued by Eleanor Bron and Roy Kinnear stroking a black cat to make Help. Bob Marley knocked out No Woman No Cry at Chris Blackwell's Island Records studios at Lighthouse Bay. And Arnold Palmer came and won the Bahamas Invitational, liked it so much he built a course there, and all seemed set fair for golf in the Bahamas. But somehow it didn't quite happen.
In the clubhouse at the PARADISE ISLAND course, the names on the guest lockers - Hubert Green, Paul Azinger, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Purtzer - are impressive. But the lockers look seriously underused. Not even the tax-free Bahamas was immune to the recessions of the 1970s and early 1990s, and there is no more telling testimonial to that than the once resplendent Bahama Reef course on Grand Bahama, where Arnold Palmer strode supreme, now being a tangled mass of sub-tropical undergrowth. However, watch this space...
The 6th hole at Paradise Island, as long as you don't have a long iron in your hand its easy to see why the course is so named.
But the fact remains that when the Caribbean sun is high in the sky and gentle ocean breezes lap around one's newly pressed shorts, playing golf in paradise is...well, simply paradise.
Perhaps it was that thought of Ursula Andress or maybe just the sheer beauty of this magical short hole, but playing what seemed a sensible 6-iron into a teasing onshore breeze at the 13th, a 165 yard par-three, my shot sailed over the green heading for Miami. My rock-hard ball ended up where it belonged - on the rocks.
I do hate it when I strike the ball properly. It completely throws my game.
Surveying the visual splendour of the picture-postcard ocean front to this beautiful course, one can understand Director of Golf Jean Paul Michelsen's ambitions for Paradise Island. But can he convince
the Sun International Group that golf is worth more
than condominiums?
Although two magnificent golf
courses adorn Sun International's showpiece South
African resort at Sun City, rumour has it that the
boss and mover of mountains, Sol Kerzner, is actually not a golfing man. Were he to be convinced, how
ever, one gets the feeling that not much would stand
in his way. When the Bahamian government had finished building a new road leading to the Paradise
Island course, Sol took one look at it and had it moved
40 yards to the right.
The Bahamas is so flat that it is a miracle that it survives the melting of the ice cubes from a million cocktails that are poured down the sinks of its bars and restaurants every day, let alone the iceberg the size of Norfolk recently reported in the South Atlantic, but as lovers of Floridian golf know, you do not necessarily need undulation to create a challenging layout. Although rising to no more than palm-tree height, the Paradise Island course is positively Himalayan by Bahamian standards.
The course forms part of the Atlantis Resort, a kind of Las Vegas by the sea. Offering 2500 rooms, the resort caters mainly for large corporate gatherings (I shared the hotel with 800 members of the New Jersey Police Department) but with its magnificent tropical gardens, superb beaches, casinos, marina and shark-infested lagoons worthy of Sea World, it is easy to see that Atlantis may soon begin to attract some of the mass European tourism that goes to Florida at the moment.
Certainly the potential is there to combine a family Disney-like holiday with good golf, and with somewhat less chance of being mugged as you leave the airport (especially if there's a police convention in town). Disney have chosen the Bahamas as the destination for their new cruise ships operating out of Ford Lauderdale, which must inevitably lead to a whole new kind of tourist discovering these beautiful islands.
Halfway between Nassau airport and Paradise Island lies the CABLE BEACH RESORT, the original Bahamas beach resort, adjoining which is the Bahamas' longest-established golf course. Shares in international hotel groups can go up and down, and as they have done so over the years, the name of this resort has changed accordingly. Currently it is part of the RADISSON CABLE BEACH RESORT, but the golf course is open to all.
The course has a colourful history. Rumours abound of fortunes being won and lost by groups of
gamblers on a morning fourball. American NFL and NBA players mix it with Cuban mafia bosses for high stakes. As much as $60,000-$70,000 can exchange hands here during a casino shoot-out.
The way the lady in the pro shop referred to the course as "the field" did not inspire confidence, but happily there was nothing remotely agricultural about the course. Cable Beach could be a lesson to many designers. It squeezes more golfing interest out of its 185 acres than some courses do out of twice the space.
It is as though Eastbourne's Devonsh Park had been taken over by a property developer and turned into a golf course. One expects at any moment to turn the corner and come across a bandstand, the kiddies' corner, the miniature railway or two old ladies sitting on a park bench. But at 7,000 yards from the blue tees, this course is no picnic.
It is the longest-established course in the Bahamas, having been built in 1929 by Jim McCormick (of Doral Blue Monster fame), and it has tricky back nine every bit as wet as its Florida cousin.
The par-five 12th snakes between two lakes. If you slice, you are in one lake. If you hook, you're in the other. Driving over both lakes can reduce the hole to a drive and a wedge. Driving in to the lake can reduce you to tears.
An hour or two cruising the roads of the Bahamas will soon tell you that signposting is not the island's strongest point (possibly because, whichever direction you take, half an hour later and you're always back where you started) and this philosophy seems to be reflected on the Cable Beach course. I nearly ended up circling around the first six holes forever, trailing a group of similarly bemused, overweight, cart zigzagging Americans, beer cans in hand. I'm sure it must have been their directional confusion that caused them to fail to replace a single divot.
At the other, less glitzy, end of the island of Nassau, if you ignore the turning for the airport, you find the SOUTH OCEAN GOLF AND BEACH RESORT, Joe Lee's (he of bunkers shaped like Mickey Mouse's ears) 1972 championship design.
There is, though, nothing Mickey Mouse about this course. Here lies a sleeping giant. Carved out of a sub-tropical forest, one is immediately struck by its sheer size and scale, complete with a slightly faded colonial-style clubhouse. With its lovely long tree-lined fairways, less than 35 yards wide in parts, it could be Wentworth. But instead of oaks, it has wild fig trees, rubbery-leaved monsters, more deserving perhaps of the description the Burma Road.
The course comes fully carpeted with Bermuda grass (from the neighbouring Bermuda). The course is a bit fluffy around the greens in parts, but other¬wise the Bermuda is delightful to play off. The cart paths pose almost as great a challenge as the course, providing a real switchback ride.
The par-five 17th is shaped like an elongated question mark. Those longer off the tee are invited to play over the loop of the question mark, which contains two ponds, in their quest for an ambitious eagle. Suffice to say that there was a definite question mark over my second shot that day.
The star of the show is undoubtedly the short 11th. Only 118 yards from the white tees to a postage-stamp elevated green that slopes viciously from back to front, par here is a real achievement. The superb ocean views from the green did nothing for me as I finally plucked my ball from the hole.
South Ocean is only a long iron from the prestigious and very private LYFORD CAY (pronounced 'key') - home to Sean Connery and, on occasion, 12 of the permanent members of Augusta National. It's surprising they haven't bought it as a practice range just as, rumour has it, Doral tried to do recently. After flirting with Scottish residence and being ignored for a knighthood (probably for flirting with Scottish politics), Connery has now taken up permanent residence. It is possible to play the Lyford Cay course but only at the invitation of a member. I feel sure that if Sean had been at home he would have taken me round, but I had a very busy schedule.
Grand Bahama is the largest of the Bahamas 700 islands, and the one best served by flights to the United States. Fort Lauderdale is only 20 minutes away. And on the island, the LUCAYAN GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB, just a short distance out of the capital, Freeport, is a truly international-class resort. Built in 1963 and known as Dick Wilson's 'hidden jewel', it is a nicely balanced course with 18 good holes.
Lucayan Golf & Country Club layout was designed by Dick Wilson, just outside of Freeport.
Accuracy off the tee is paramount. Narrow, dog-legging and well-manicured fairways lie between lush sub-tropical undergrowth from which there is no escape. Mercifully, there is not a lot of rough. If there was you would need the strength of Ernie Els to reach the heavily bunkered greens. The overall condition of the course was superb, and the Bahamas' plentiful supply of fresh water ensures that the course remains lush and green throughout the year.
The 18th hole features a green complete with lake, tropical island, a 110-foot wide cascading waterfall and a dramatic rock sculpture known as the balancing boulders. At dusk, the boulders apparently erupt fire and steam, and I must say I knew how they felt after I dumped my approach shot into the lake.
The 431-yard 4th hole has a teasing fairway bunker beautifully placed so that you must be as close as possible to it in order to stand a chance of reaching the green with your second shot. Equally challenging is the par-three 7th. It measures 220 yards from blue tees and the hole is designed to be played with the wind in your face. And since you are never far from the sea in the Bahamas, the wind is always a factor. It definitely pays not to be a bird-spotter if you want to concentrate on your golf in the Bahamas, but I was certainly not ready for the pair of raccoons that scampered across the 15th fairway as I was about to tee off. Cheek by jowl with the Lucayan Country Club are two other fine courses forming part of the PRINCESS RESORT - 'EMERALD' and 'RUBY'. This long-established resort, rising like some Arabian Folly from 2,500 acres of lush tropical gardens, is now being rebuilt with money-no-object investment. The ambitious plans include building new hotels and recreating (Arnold Palmer would no doubt approve) the nearby Bahama Reef Course. Both Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman turned down the chance to redesign the course but - no doubt at a fraction of the price -the developers decided to use Jack's construction company and Greg's grass company, thus getting the benefit of the association of both player's names without the added cost. Presumably because they couldn't decide which of the Bahamas' other two favourite course designers should do the job, they got one for each - Dick Wilson taking on the Emerald and Joe Lee the Ruby.
Princess Resort, as befits somewhere close to Florida, water plays a major part when it comes to the hazards.
Perhaps because, like Siamese twins, they are so close, the courses are very similar, but both are challenging and a pleasure to play. They both feature plenty of undulating fairways, doglegs, large greens and virtually unplayable rough. The Ruby has a particularly tough front nine, culminating in a confusing 423-yard par-four with a dogleg left and a fairway that slopes to the right into some rather attractive sub-tropical undergrowth.
The other course on Grand Bahama is Fortune Hills. It's only nine holes, but don't let that deter you. They're nine good ones, and on some days the idea of seeing the whole course in just nine holes seems the perfect scenario. After all, there's lots more to do while you're there.
A short hop in a Bahama Airways Dash 77 takes you to what many would regard as the real Bahamas, the outer island of Abaco. The pace, if possible, is even slower here, and a short iron from the beach voted by National Geographic as one of the top-10 in the world, you will find Treasure Cay, which is lovingly tended by the Director of Golf, Ronnie Bottle.
Ronnie not only looks after the course apparently single-handed but seems to treat each player as a personal guest. A chauffeured ride to the course from the luxury of the Treasure Cay Beach Resort in his personal golf cart is assured. It is probably just as well that lone visiting golfers such as myself meet Ronnie, because meeting anyone on the course is a slim possibility. As with other courses in the Bahamas, overcrowding is not a problem.
Scattered like a splay of practice balls off the Florida coast, the Bahamas is truly an archipelagic golfing paradise.
It may be more than 25 years since the Bahamas Open was a PGA Tour event but the future for golf here looks bright. On Eleuthera, the Robert Trent Jones course at Cotton Bay continues to attract eulogistic reviews. Greg Norman is building a new course on Exuma (no doubt a pleasant spin in his power boat from his Florida base).
On Grand Bahama, a new international airport and various other projects are being floated with famous names attached.
The Bahamas has never had to work hard to attract its American cousins, given its proximity and its world-class fishing, scuba-diving and snorkelling in the world's clearest waters, together with wonderful dining and spectacular beaches. The push now (as with the rest of the Caribbean) is to make more Europeans realise how close and affordable the Bahamas are for them. The Bahamians are certainly doing their best. As you leave your plane at Nassau Airport, you are handed a Bacardi cocktail to soothe the wait for your baggage (most probably in Buenos Aires by now). One wonders if the natives did the same when Columbus landed on San Salvador. One can almost imagine it.
The Bahamians are a genuinely hospitable people. The term 'laid-back' must surely have been invented here. The cocktail was a welcome taste of things to come: a wonderfully relaxing golfing holiday spiced with as much other activity - be it in or under the water, at the casino, at the end of a fishing rod or in a night club - as you could wish.
Combining the infrastructure of the United States (US dollars, US telephone system, US TV) with the get-away-from-it-all tropical simplicity of the Maldives, the Bahamas offers a refreshing and affordable alternative, in either summer or winter, to more established holiday locations.
Just try to get there before the next Bond film.
Golftoday Golf Course directory - Bahamas
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