The Top Island Courses in the Caribbean and Bermuda - Barron's

Sandals Emerald Bay in the Bahamas.
Sandals Emerald Bay

While northern golfers grumble their way through ever-thickening leaf piles as autumn tightens its grip on their local courses, many islands are just swinging toward high season.

Of course, “island golf” can apply to courses and resorts from the Maldives to Hawaii to Scotland and Japan. Still, to tee off with more focus, we’ll hone in on the western Atlantic ranging from the southern Caribbean north to Bermuda.

In keeping with the traditions of friendly locals living on “island time,” such golf experiences offer beautiful courses played at a relaxed pace. No one is going to rush out on a course in Jamaica to tell you to tuck in your shirt. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Bahamian ready to yell at you for slow play. You head to island golf to enjoy the game, the sun, and the vibe.

Five Forts Golf Club—Bermuda

The newest arrival among the stars of Bermuda golf, Five Forts Golf Club is attached to the brand new St. Regis Bermuda Resort. While the paint dries on the immaculate new hotel, full service spa, and BLT Steak NY restaurant, the 18-hole track right outside the front door offers countless ocean views and a glimpse of Fort St. Catherine, the nearest of the five titular fortifications left behind by the forces of the British Empire.

Featuring a friendly, resort-golf design by the legendary Robert Trent Jones Jr. , Five Forts is strictly an executive layout (no par fives) and offers players of any age or skill level a good shot at an enjoyable round. This season is primetime to get out and visit Five Forts before it lands on the global radar and becomes significantly more popular as a Bermuda luxury golf destination.

The Sandals Golf & Country Club in Ocho Rios—Jamaica

Featuring a more defiant challenge with narrow fairways and elevation changes some 700 feet above sea level, the Sandals Golf & Country Club invites players back for repeated rounds to master its 6,404 yard, par 71 design. Originally laid out by P.K. Saunders, the Ocho Rios space never wastes a view atop a cliffside green. The club also offers a practice range, putting green, chipping area, pro shop, restaurant, and snack shack at the turn.

Provo Golf Club—Turks and Caicos

For golfers, there’s good news and bad news on Turks and Caicos. Sadly, there is only one golf course at a destination known more for its warm waters and white sand beaches. The good news is the Karl Litton-designed Provo Golf Club, is an excellent, full-length 18 holes that interacts beautifully with the local topography and islands. Be sure to stop off in the clubhouse restaurant after the 18th to chat with the mellow locals and to try the conch chowder.

Turtle Hill Golf Club—Bermuda

A charming, 18-hole par three course, Turtle Hill is a pleasant journey through the realm of target golf. Get from tee to green cleanly, and you’ll score well. Hook, slice, or shank your way around the course, and it’ll be a scramble. Previously connected to the now-closed Fairmont Southampton, this Ted Robinson design remains in operation while new owners renovate the defunct hotel. Players should come prepared for all sorts of weather as Bermudian squalls mix with bright sunshine to change conditions hole to hole.

The Links at Royal Isabela—Puerto Rico:

Surviving changes in management and hurricanes that ravaged Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, the Links at Royal Isabela is the prime attraction at a resort offering luxury villas within a wildlife-rich rainforest. Designed by the Pasarell brothers and Pete Dye-disciple David Pfaff, the Royal Isabela course brings elements of links golf with rolling hills and elevation changes to its seaside setting. Sure, you can head off to the resort’s extensive tennis center—but the golf course is a star.

The Mid Ocean Club—Bermuda

A semi-private, full-length championship course, this Charles Blair Macdonald design opened in Tucker’s Town, Bermuda, in 1921. It’s historically known as a venue for major international events—such as a key post-World War II meeting of Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill. Still golfers know the Mid Ocean Club for twice hosting the PGA Grand Slam of Golf tournament.

The course itself offers generous seaside views, challenging elevation changes, and enough blind shots to test a good golfer’s instincts. Its 18 holes encourage multiple visits.

Teeth of the Dog—Dominican Republic

Known as one of designer Pete Dye’s great masterpieces alongside Whistling Straits and TPC Sawgrass, Teeth of the Dog at the Casa de Campo Resort is a perennial fixture on “World’s Best” course lists. Naturally, it bares its canines on any discussion of island golf.

Teeth of the Dog takes its name from the jagged shoreline studding the course’s front nine. Before the turn, you’ll find Seven Heaven—seven holes running along the wind-swept Atlantic that demand the player stop, take a photo and enjoy a deep breath of sea air.

Sandals Emerald Bay—The Bahama

Designed by Sandals Golf Ambassador Greg Norman, Emerald Bay is another sun-soaked run taking full advantage of its seaside location on Exumas in the Bahamas. The back nine works its way around the appropriately colored resort adjacent bay. Though playing to a championship length and designed by a hall of famer, there’s a casual Caribbean vibe permeating the course, and its staff never allows any uptight country club atmosphere to settle into the island air.

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