SUBSCRIBER AREA

CURRENT ISSUE

Mel Sole has 30 years experience teaching golf and is co-founder of Ritson-Sole Golf Schools, USA
www.ritson-sole.com

Excerts from:
Royal Westmoreland: Transformation in Barbados

By Dale Leatherman, Associate Editor for TravelGolf.com
Photos by Donnelle Oxley

The course, which opened in 1995, occupies a canyon-riddled plateau 200 to 300 feet above sea level on the island's west coast. Come afternoon, shadows deepen in the ravines, then edge into cloverleaf bunkers and bring mounds and swales into sharp definition. In contrast to smooth green fairways, tall brown feather grass ripples in the prevailing trade wind. Flowering shrubs and trees provide bright spots of orange, red and yellow.

Like make-up artfully applied, Jones' work has brought out the land's best features. Nature does the rest, closing each sunny day with a sunset show of oranges, purples and magentas behind luminous clouds. Chance adds one more artistic touch, a white triangle of sail on the smooth blue of the Caribbean.

Breathtaking, yes, but beneath the beauty of Royal Westmoreland lies a beast of a golfing challenge. There are many long carries over inhospitable terrain and that pretty feather grass gobbles errant shots. There's not an abundance of water, but where it is, it counts. Wind is a constant, invisible hazard, and of whimsical velocity. Fortunately, the designer placed four or more tee boxes on each hole to allow players to adjust the challenge to their pleasure.

Time it right and you'll finish your round in time to catch the last of the sunset on the clubhouse terrace over a bottle of locally brewed Banks beer. There, conversation often turns to signature holes. There isn't one -- but there could be half a dozen.

The par threes, for instance, are four of the best short holes in the Caribbean. The third hole plays toward the ocean, dropping 171 yards to a greased-lightning green perched on the edge of a cliff and fronted by rock outcroppings and sand bunkers. It's the "Monkey Table" hole, taking its name from the gallery of monkeys who gather to watch humans at play.

After the first five holes, the route turns away from the ocean, and quarry pits provide challenge and visual impact. One of these is the sixth, a likely signature hole. The "Hermit Hole" takes its name from a recluse who was discovered living in an abandoned cement mixer during the course construction. The 327-yard par four doglegs to an elevated, sloping green surrounded on three sides by high quarry walls. It's the shortest par four on the course, but by no means a pushover.

The seventh hole, another devilish par three, calls for a 161-yard carry across a water-filled quarry pit to a shallow green sloping right to left, with the wind. It cost $50,000 to seal the porous bottom so that water would stay in the quarry, and, as one Brit said, "it's worth every cent."

The winsome front nine leads to a daunting back nine. Positioned high on a ridge, the second act opens with a par four doglegging from a high tee along a deep ravine. This insidious gully comes into play on three more holes. On the par-three, 198-yard twelfth hole, a direct shot to the pin means braving the void.

The par-three fifteenth hole is the most scenic shot on the back nine. The tee is cut into the slope of the ridge, with a 209-yard carry across jungle-like rough to a green protected on the front and side by the omnipresent ravine. This gorge flanks the par-four, 451-yard eighteenth hole, then cuts across the fairway 20 or 30 yards from a paltry green. The fourth-ranked finishing hole drops like a ski slope toward the white, sail-like roof of the clubhouse. Ocean fills the horizon.

There can be no doubt that Jones is as at home in the Caribbean as his father, who designed many island classics. With big bucks and modern technology at his command, the son has created four terrific island courses in recent years -- Four Seasons Nevis, Aruba's Tierra del Sol, the Reef Course on Grand Bahama Island, and Royal Westmoreland.

But only Royal Westmoreland has the unique British/Bajan flavor of Barbados, an island strongly loyal to the Crown since the 1600s, yet softened by sea and sun. The golf club, too, is impeccably British, but with island warmth. The open-air restaurant is hospitable, with excellent food and service.

Like Barbados, Royal Westmoreland targets a decidedly upscale, predominately British market (though Americans such as Kevin Costner, Phil Donahue, Whitney Houston, former Vice-President Dan Quayle and former President Ronald Reagan have had no trouble finding the island).

Greens Fees: $75-$140 for villa renters, $100-$190 for visitors
(February 2003 prices).

The above article and photos are reproduced here with the kind permission of TravelGolf.com.

If you are considering a golfing holiday in the Caribbean, call (US toll-free) 888-383-3633 or visit www.caribbeangolf.com for a FREE Caribbean package quote.