Golf and The Bahamas have been sporadic bedmates since near the end of the 18th century. Sometimes the relationship has been dynamic; sometimes restrained.
If you count all the existing, planned and potential public, private and resort golf courses the list stretches to 22, but there are about 12 that you can play today.
New Providence and Paradise Island boast four courses, but one is private and another is available only to members and guests at Atlantis properties, One&Only Ocean Club and Comfort Suites.
Grand Bahama has five public or resort courses and a couple of potentials. The Out Islands have a few including one mature 18-hole layout, another just completed and a third on the way.
South Ocean
On New Providence, South Ocean golf course was originally laid out in the early 1970s by architect Joe Lee. He incorporated lakes and ponds as well as old ruins that have been identified as ancient slave quarters. The course also features two ocean holes.
The update in the works for South Ocean includes a complete set of new and bigger greens, several new tees, reconditioning of the driving range and bunkers and renovations to the club house.
?Two or three holes will be lengthened to bring the course to a little over 7,000 yds from the blues,? says Warren Adamson, vice-president of PRK Holdings, the property owner.
?We are still working out the details but we are already working on the fairways and the driving range is nearly complete. We?ve increased the size of a couple of ponds as part of a new irrigation and drainage system and we will be building a couple of reverse osmosis plants to provide additional water.?
The course at South Ocean was to be closed in May 2004 to complete the makeover of the greens during the summer.
Cable Beach
At the Radisson Cable Beach Golf Club on West Bay Street, a makeover was completed in 2003. Designer Fred Settle Jr reversed the nines, removed some of the sand traps and enlarged the greens. He added water hazards and a new irrigation and drainage system.
The driving range has also undergone a complete rejuvenation. A 6,453-yd, par-71 course, Cable Beach is now ?more of a shot-maker?s course than before,? says veteran pro and golf director Hartley Pinder.
There are two private courses: the Lyford Cay course at the west end of New Providence is open only to members and their guests. The Ocean Club course on Paradise Island is open only to members and hotel guests at Atlantis properties, One&Only Ocean Club and Comfort Suites. Kerzner International has also announced plans to build another golf course on adjacent Athol Island as part of the next phase of Atlantis.
Abaco courses
Abaco boasts a mature and well-maintained course at Treasure Cay, north of Marsh Harbour, and another fledgling layout to the south at Cherokee Sound.
Treasure Cay is an 18-hole, par-72, 6,985-yard Dick Wilson layout, the first course on Abaco. With 66 strategically placed sand bunkers, the Treasure Cay course presents a formidable challenge with ocean winds, tight fairways and a layout that makes you ponder every club selection.
The front nine runs parallel to the ocean at the north end of Treasure Cay Resort, and is relatively straightforward with two par fives of 555 and 500 yards from the white tees. The back nine is tighter, requiring more precision and thought, with slightly more water in play. A couple of duck ponds (with interesting wildlife) represent minor hazards, particularly on number 11, a 515-yard par 5. Despite its length, Treasure Cay can be played in less than three hours.
Cherokee Sound
Just off the drawing boards and scheduled to be playable by Thanksgiving 2004 is a unique 18-hole championship Scottish-style tropical links golf course. The course is the centrepiece of a $160-million sporting estate now under development at Winding Bay, Abaco, by British entrepreneur, Peter de Savary.
Situated on a peninsula of more than 500 acres, surrounded by 2.5 miles of pink sand beach and highlighted by bluffs, the course has been designed by Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie, pre-eminent Scottish links-style architects.
The 7,183-yard, par-72 course opens with a challenging 547-yard par 5 ? third longest hole ? as the course plays for seven holes out along the beach. Shots will be assisted by prevailing winds for most of the winter.
The 8th marks the start of the return towards home. This is the classic out-and-back configuration of the great seaside courses of Britain and Ireland, with 14 of the holes traversing dunes alongside the beach and the waters of Winding Bay.
The final four holes are a change of scene. The 15th is high above the first 14 holes with spectacular views along the length of the bay.
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