The Bahamas are becoming a top winter golf destination with multiple renowned courses designed by some of the greatest golf architects in the world. The Royal Blue Golf Club, for example, which opened in April, is becoming a major draw in the Caribbean and is already critically acclaimed. The only Jack Nicklaus designed course in the island chain, it is located on the grounds of the Baha Mar resort. An 18-hole 72 par championship golf course, it is open to both resort guests and the public.
The club offers a unique "two courses in one" design. A Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, it is one of 290 courses in the world hand-designed by Jack Nicklaus himself. The course is uniquely designed as the front nine holes feature dramatic views of undulating fairways, rolling white sand dunes, brackish ponds and glimpses of a turquoise Atlantic Ocean. The back nine showcases a very different look and experience for players. The 16th hole, for example, involves navigating stunning limestone "moonscape", dense jungle and steep downhill terrain to get to the island green, which precariously borders Lake Cunningham, making for unique island golf. Golfers enjoy sightings of over 70 indigenous species of birds, including the Bahama Woodstar, egret and osprey.
The course features a number of indigenous tree and plant species, as well. Spanning a whopping 7,189 yards, the course's breadth and level of difficulty make it enjoyable for golfers of all levels---and is challenging for even the most experienced of players.
Unlike most other courses, this one features a unique, single set of tees set up. Each morning, a member of the Golf Professional team will thoughtfully place tee locations on the course, taking weather and playing conditions into consideration, to create unique and optimal golfing experiences for guests, so the experience will not be exactly the same from one day to the next. Indeed, the teeing areas are freeform rather than traditional tee pods, so any one hole can change by as much as 100 yards each day. This also allows for guests to play multiple variations of the course throughout their stay, while maintaining a similar overall yardage.
Leave your clubs at home as Royal Blue offers a unique rental program called "Better Than Your Own". The rental program includes over 100 demo sets of golf's top outfitters latest models, including PXG clubs, hand-made Japanese Itobori clubs, Callaway, Titleist and TaylorMade. A member of the Golf Professional Team personally fits each golfer with the proper equipment from their preferred brand.
The club is open to the public and resort guests, and is also accessible to members of the Bahamas Golf Federation. The warm-up range is available for guests' use at Royal Blue. There is an extensive fore caddie program provided by CaddieMaster, the premier caddie service provider in the world, servicing clients such as Pebble Beach and Pinehurst. State-of-the-art golf carts are also available to club guests, featuring the GPS technology. The clubhouse offers both indoor and outdoor dining as well as a bar.
Guests of Baha Mar can book tee times as far ahead as 30 days in advance while public guests can reserve a tee time 14 days in advance. Rates are $295 (weekdays) and $350 (Saturday and Sunday) for Baha Mar Guests, while rates for public guests are $395 and $450 respectively. An "All-in-One" program is also offered, which includes Greens Fee, Shared Golf Cart, Golf Club Rental, 2 Sleeves of ProV1 Golf Balls, Forecaddie and a special take home gift at a rate of $325 for Baha Mar guests and $450 for public guests. For reservations, contact the Pro Shop at (242) 788-4653.
A $4.2 billion resort destination, Baha Mar is the single largest hospitality investment in the Western hemisphere, outside of Las Vegas. A master planned integrated resort development, the beachfront destination includes three global brand operators: Grand Hyatt Baha Mar (which opened in Spring 2017), SLS Baha Mar (which opened in November 2017), and Rosewood Baha Mar (which will open in Spring 2018), offering more than 2,300 rooms in total. The resort offers 40 restaurants and lounges, the largest casino in the Caribbean with over 100,000 sq. ft. of gaming space, a 200,000 sq. ft. convention center, an ESPA flagship spa, and more than 30 luxury retail outlets.
