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carry over water to a sloping, tapering, tree-lined
fairway, which really catches the eye. Set on a small
flat promontory, the tee has a luxury villa backing
on to it while the owner’s motor-powered dingy
is moored to the
right-hand tee marker.
Boats are an important part of the backdrop to an
even shorter but no less manicured course, ST GEORGE’S,
near to the picture-book 19th-century harbour town
of the same name on the northeasternmost point of
the island.
This Trent Jones creation, which is shoehorned into
a tiny slither of land, measures just over 4,000 yards
and, not surprisingly, ten of its holes are par-threes.
But the standard scratch of 62 is as difficult to
attain as any 72, particularly when a strong breeze
blows off the Atlantic. The signature hole, the short
par-four 14th with a carry of about 150 yards from
an elevated tee across a harbour filled with yachts
and launches to a diagonal fairway far below, provides
another of Bermuda’s classic golfing moments.
Apart from playing golf, visitors are strongly recommended
to take a stroll around St George's, the island's
original capital and a UNESCO world heritage site.
Like the Dorset port of Lyme Regis, with which it
is twinned, the overriding impression when entering
St George's is of stepping two generations back in
time, so meticulously are its buildings and appearance
preserved.
The modern capital, Hamilton, is more geared to younger
tastes with an impressive array of shops, bars and
restaurants, but overall there is an innate conservatism
about Bermuda which continually surfaces.
The speed limit is a sedate 22 mph and the island's
pink sandy beaches are always spotlessly clean. McDonald’s
have been repeatedly turned down when applying to
open a fast-food outlet in Hamilton and a proposed
Jack Nicklaus project to build the island’s
ninth course, on reclaimed land at Morgan’s
Point near the historic Royal Naval Dockyards in the
northwest, also failed to meet with official approval.
Just a couple of miles south of this site, at PORT
ROYAL, is yet further evidence of the pervasive Trent
Jones influence.
Situated in one of Bermuda’s lusher corners,
Port Royal measures 6,561 yards and is renowned for
its well-bunkered and slightly elevated greens. Concentration
and accuracy are the keywords for a round of golf
here, with the sea occasionally lurching obtrusively
into view. As is the case with each of Bermuda’s
courses, the signature hole is quite breathtaking.
The par-three 16th measures 176 yards from a back
tee, chiselled into the side of a cliff. With shrubbery
lining the dry land to the right and the ocean yawning
100 feet below to the left, there is precious little
room for a bale-out shot. The green, bunkered on both
sides and viewed across a kaleidoscope of cliff-side
heathers and gorses, is agreeably flat. Thank goodness
we played it on a calm day.
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Park Royal, which opened
in 1970, is Bermuda’s youngest course, but the
changes recently made to the island’s oldest
18-hole layout, BELMONT HILLS, have in effect produced
a largely new layout. Golf was first played on Bermuda
at Belmont, a mile or so east of Riddell’s Bay,
in 1915 and it quickly evolved into a typical resort
course. It measured under 5,800 yards and had only
one par-four longer than 400 yards but its calling
card was the spectacular views it afforded of the
capital's coastline across Hamilton Harbour.
Golfers invariably approach Belmont Hills –
the original Belmont was designed by Emmitt Devereaux
– expecting to devour it, and invariably discover
they have bitten off more than they can chew. Numerous
two-tiered greens, blind second shots and tight fairways
make it a subtle test, especially for good players
who invariably find themselves embarrassed by missing
green after green with a wedge in their hands.
Meanwhile, the resort hotel at Belmont, closed for
the past six years, is at last being demolished and
will be replaced in due course by a spanking new,
state-ofthe-art, 5-star complex which the owners expect
will open some time next year. |
