NASSAU -- Duffers are welcome in the Bahamas, where tee times and
greens fees are common phrases among resort-goers.
Throughout Grand Bahama, New Providence, the Out Islands and
Paradise Island, clients will find no less than 12 golf courses
open to the public.
Additional courses are open to members only.
A roundup of the islands' public courses follows. All fees cover
use of a golf cart unless otherwise noted:
Grand Bahama
The Resort & Casino at Bahamia offers two championship
18-hole courses -- the Ruby, which is currently undergoing
renovations and is closed, and the Emerald.The Emerald was designed by Dick Wilson, and the Ruby was
designed by Joe Lee.
Fees at the Emerald cost $75 for guests, and $85 for others.
Club rentals cost $35, and use of shared electric carts is
available for free.
The Fortune Hills Golf & Country Club has a par-72 course
that was originally designed to feature 18 holes.Because the back nine holes were never completed, the course
must be played again to finish 18 holes.
Greens fees for nine holes are $35, and fees for 18 holes are
$51. The fees cover use of a shared cart.
The Lucayan Park Golf & Country Club offers an 18-hole,
par-72 course.Fees are $90 with use of a shared golf cart.
The clubhouse is home to the Arawak Dining Room, which is open
for lunch and dinner.
Our Lucaya operates two 18-hole championship golf courses on
its property -- the Our Lucaya Lucayan Course, which opened in
1971, and the Our Lucaya Reef Course, which opened last month.
The Lucayan course was designed by Dick Wilson and offers
bunker-protected greens and fairways lined with tropical
foliage.
The Reef course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. The
Lucayan course uses water sparingly, while the Reef course features
water on 13 of its 18 holes.
Greens fees at both courses are $100.
New Providence
Nassau's 18-hole South Ocean Golf Club is a U.S. Professional
Golfers' Association-sanctioned, par-72 course and is the site of
many golf tournaments each year, so be sure to call ahead for
reservations.The Joe Lee-designed course features palm tree-lined greens and
four water holes.
Fees for 18 holes of golf are $80 for guests of the Clarion
South Ocean Golf & Beach Resort and $90 for others.
Rates for nine holes of play also are available.
The Cable Beach Golf Club, managed by the Radisson Cable Beach,
features 18 holes of championship golf with a par of 72.Greens fees for 18 holes are $95 for Radisson guests and $105
for all others.
Out Islands
Treasure Cay Golf Resort & Marina on Abaco is home to an
18-hole, Dick Wilson-designed course and an adjacent driving
range.Resort guests pay $40 for 18 holes; all others pay $50 to
play.
On Eleuthera, the public can still play 18 holes of golf at the
Robert Trent Jones-designed Cotton Bay Golf Course even though the
resort of the same name has been shut down for several years.Greens fees are $70 for 18 holes.
Call ahead for early-morning start times.
Paradise Island
The Dick Wilson-designed Paradise Island Golf Club course has a
par 72 and features several unique challenges -- a windmill, a
water pipe and a lion's den, for example -- and features 70 sand
traps and water hazards.Certain days, and nine-hole play, are reserved for guests of the
Ocean Club and Atlantis resorts.
Fees are $109 for hotel guests and $155 for others for 18 holes
of play.
The par-72 Ocean Club Golf Course will open to the public on
Jan. 15 after one month of invitational play (see sidebar).Set on the eastern end of the island, the Tom Weiskopf designed
course features several water holes and other challenges.
Many of the holes are designed with the Atlantic Ocean as a
backdrop.
Greens fees are $225 for 18 holes.