Golf expert Roderick Easdale shares his favourite courses on Jamaica, Nevis and BermudaWhite Witch, Rose Hall, Jamaica
Arnie Palmer may be a leading figure in the golf world, but in this part of the Caribbean it is Annie Palmer who is commemorated. This cruel mistress of the 19th-century Rose Hall plantation was famed for her voodoo powers and for murdering many people, including three husbands. She is said to haunt the site to this day. The White Witch course on the estate of the 427-bedrooom Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall now inhabits this plot of land and is named after her.
Like its namesake, this course is a renowned beauty with ocean views from 16 of its holes. Robert von Hagge laid it out with tumbling fairways and intimidating carries. The 10th hole may play 621 yards from the tips, but the total length is only a touch over 6,700 yards. The unpredictable winds can make this layout a daunting challenge – but it will never be as fearsome as the real White Witch. And, unlike Annie, the course is sympathetic to family members – after 10am a child playing with an adult plays for free.
Tel: 001 876 684 0174, whitewitchgolf.com Robert Trent Jones II, Four Seasons Resort, Nevis
This was Robert Trent Jones Jr’s first foray into course design in the Caribbean – he has since designed five more tracks. The layout climbs through lush rainforest in the foothills of a volcano, reaching its highest point on the 15th tee, before plunging down to the seashore, with the 18th green overlooking Pinney’s Beach.
On the 15th tee you get an uninterrupted view across to Nevis’s sister island of St Kitts. Take time to enjoy this, for that’s the high point, both literally and figuratively, of your experience on this hole. Some lusty blows are required to make the hole in regulation – it is more than 663 yards off the championship tees, although a range of teeing options gives you the chance of tackling it at 603 or 576 yards instead. Oh yes, and a ravine has to be carried on this hole, too.
Tel: 001 869 469 1111, fourseasons.com/nevis/golf
Port Royal, Southampton, Bermuda
How about this for the ultimate fourball – all four of that season’s Major champions? Well, that is what happens every year at Port Royal when the Grand Slam of Golf is contested. Built in 1970, the late Robert Trent Jones Sr reckoned this course was his finest creation outside the United States.
This public course underwent a $14.5m redesign, completed in 2009, in readiness for that year’s Grand Slam event. This lengthened the par-71 layout by 281 yards to 6,842 yards and added, and deepened, bunkers, introduced artificial lakes and stripped away some of the trees to open up the sea views. A new irrigation system was also installed.
Regarded as one of the best public courses in the world, it twists through woodland and meadow and along seashore and cliff-top, offering some spectacular vistas along its route. Nowhere is the view more dramatic than on the crescent-shaped 238-yard 16th, which is played across the rocky edge of the sea.
Tel: 001 441 234 0974 portroyalgolf.bm
