Bermuda

maskedman · December 27, 2008

nice place to vacation, but how's the golf?

I'm looking at a planning long weekend vacation in Bermuda. There's a limited number of courses to choose from (Belmont Hills, Mid Ocean Golf Club, Ocean View, Port Royal, Riddell's Bay, St. George's, Tucker's Point). Which are the best? I may get 5 rounds to play, so I'd like to spend that time at the best tracks (repeats OK). Any advice?

will100 · December 28, 2008

When are you going there? :welcomeani:

bad_andy · January 7, 2009

I think Mid Ocean and Tucker's Point are the most expensive (celebrity communities). I've played Belmont which was nice and scenic...would definitely recommend. Ocean View is a short 9-holer that was OK when I played it...less than stellar. Not sure about the others. Have fun!

T2GRNN2 · January 14, 2009

Having lived in Bermuda from Dec '98 though June '05, I have played all of the courses. Here is my opinion regarding golf on 'de rock:

Mid Ocean (MOC) is the cream of the crop, having hosted the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in 2007 and 2008. Tuckers Point (TP) is a relatively new course having come to life after a significant refurbishment of the old Castle Harbour. TP was in great condition when I left but it does have a couple of quirky holes. Belmont Hills (BH) is a tight and short course that also was in great condition. Port Royal (PR) is a government run course that was originally designed by Robert Trent Jones. At one time in the late '70's, Jack Nicklaus referred to PR as one of the world's top 10 public courses. From what I have read, PR was closed until January 2009 as it undergoes an upgrade to get ready to host the 2009 PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Some holes were to be tweaked and the greens and tee boxes were to be replaced.

These four courses would be a must hit in my opinion. The other courses on the island are Riddell's Bay, a short 18 hole par 67 or 68 course; Ocean View, a government run 9 hole course, and St. George's. I am not sure if St. George's is still open but there is talk that it will undergo a significant redesign by Nick Faldo.

IMHO, in order of decreasing prestige, the courses are Mid Ocean, Tuckers' Point, Belmont Hills, and Port Royal.

IMHO, in order of decreasing design, the courses are Mid Ocean, Port Royal, Tuckers' Point, and Belmont Hills.

Value for Money? IMHO, PR is the most bang for your buck, then BH. MOC and TP's prices tend to be on the gouging end of the spectrum.

Cons of golf in Bermuda? The cost of transportation and access to tee times. You can not rent a car and will have to take a taxi to and from the courses from your hotel, which can add up quickly (unless you are willing to take your life in your hands and rent a scooter and drive yourself). MOC and TP are on the eastern edge of the island, BH is nearer the middle, and PR is on the western edge of the island. Getting a tee time might be an issue at MOC and TP. When I left Bermuda, the public was entitled to play MOC only on Monday and Wednesday or Friday afternoons, and only if introduced by a hotel.

Each and everyone of these four courses have spectalur views of the ocean. Enjoy your tee shot on #16 at PR and # 4 at MOC. At one time a few years ago, both of these holes were rated in the top 500 holes in the world by Golf Digest.

If I were returning to Bermuda and had five days to play golf and wanted to play each day, I would try to play each of these four courses and I would choose to play Port Royal twice.

Enjoy a Dark 'n Stormy (Bermuda black rum and ginger beer) for me!

Garcia the Golfer · March 31, 2012

[quote name='maskedman' timestamp='1230400996' post='1391598']
I'm looking at a planning long weekend vacation in Bermuda. There's a limited number of courses to choose from (Belmont Hills, Mid Ocean Golf Club, Ocean View, Port Royal, Riddell's Bay, St. George's, Tucker's Point). Which are the best? I may get 5 rounds to play, so I'd like to spend that time at the best tracks (repeats OK). Any advice?
[/quote]

You should definitely play Port Royal, Mid Ocean and Belmont. I haven't played Tucker's Point but the locals say that they have some of the best greens on the Island. I played Port Royal before the renovation. I can't wait to go back and play it now that the renovations have been completed. Looks great on TV. Mid Ocean is a great track but I think that Port Royal has a better layout. My brother played there last year and said that their new greens are great. If you play Belmont, leave the driver in the hotel room, the course is tight but is always in good condition. Ocean View is a nice 9 hole course, but I am a fan of 18 hole courses.

And definitely have yourself a Dark'n'stormy

Bravo36 · October 31, 2012

Heading to Bermuda for a 5 night golf package stay during the Thanlsgiving week next month. Anyone have any updates or things to add?

c.brown · April 23, 2013

Headed to Bermuda tomorrow for a week and debating about bringing my clubs. I've got a few questions

1. Mid Ocean Club
- I'm not staying at a Hotel, is it possible to get on during the M,W,F public playing times?
- Is it worth the $250?

2. Carting my clubs around. We'll be using the bus sytem in Bermuda. I've heard you can't bring clubs on the
buses? Are they really strict about this? I'm staying up near St Georges and would really like to play Port
Royal but I really don't want to have to pay the $50 taxi ride each way. I'd rather take a much longer time to
get there and save the $$ if I could bring my clubs on the bus.

3. Port Royal looks like a great track. Is it the best? Tuckers and Mid Ocean I'm sure are swanky but I could care
less about service and atmosphere. As long as the course is in good shape that's all that matters

Any help would be appreciated!

dpopat · May 20, 2013

Just saw this now - did you end up taking your clubs?

jimboski93 · May 28, 2013

[quote name='c.brown' timestamp='1366748865' post='6902433']
Headed to Bermuda tomorrow for a week and debating about bringing my clubs. I've got a few questions

1. Mid Ocean Club
- I'm not staying at a Hotel, is it possible to get on during the M,W,F public playing times?
- Is it worth the $250?

2. Carting my clubs around. We'll be using the bus sytem in Bermuda. I've heard you can't bring clubs on the
buses? Are they really strict about this? I'm staying up near St Georges and would really like to play Port
Royal but I really don't want to have to pay the $50 taxi ride each way. I'd rather take a much longer time to
get there and save the $$ if I could bring my clubs on the bus.

3. Port Royal looks like a great track. Is it the best? Tuckers and Mid Ocean I'm sure are swanky but I could care
less about service and atmosphere. As long as the course is in good shape that's all that matters

Any help would be appreciated!
[/quote]
Any follow up?

I am looking to go to Bermuda in June and would love to hear some recent feedback on the courses.

geoangus · May 30, 2013

I haven't played Port Royal since the big renovation (2010?), but I preferred it to Mid Ocean. Sure, Mid Ocean is an exclusive course, but the day I played there, there was LITTLE in the the way of service. Starter asked us our handicaps, recommended appropriate tees and that was pretty much it.

The conditions of both courses was great, but the 16th at Port Royal (see my avatar) was beautiful. Add in that I birdied both 15 and 16, and my memory of that course is just warmer.

You won't go wrong with either course, but I think I could have played PR twice for what I paid to play Mid Ocean. If I had it to do over, I'd play 36.

dpopat · June 2, 2013

I live in Bermuda and have played some of the courses mentioned above regularly. Here are my thoughts:

1. Port Royal is absolutely the best bang for your buck on the island. I have a membership there and would recommend the course to anyone. It is constantly kept in great shape as the Grand Slam is held in October every year. I think non-resident rate is $155 or so (get ready to pay for everything in Bermuda). Staff are friendly but don't expect anyone in Bermuda to bend over backwards for you unless you are throwing around big coin. Almost half of the holes have great ocean views.

2. Mid Ocean is a great track, but probably not worth the $250 non-resident rate, as you can play Port Royal and Belmont for that price. The course is very well designed and the greens are lightning fast and incredibly hard to read, but there aren't too many ocean views aside from the starting and ending 2-3 holes. While you play the course you do however get to view some of the worlds most expensive homes -- owned by the likes of Michael Douglas and Silvio Berlusconi -- which are stunning in themselves.

3. Belmont Hills is a nice, tight, and short track close to Hamilton (about 15 minutes away via scooter). The course isn't overly expensive but is well kept and will require you to play strategically if you opt to play it from the tips (I absolutely would recommend it).

4. Tuckers Point is a nice track but not as well kept as Mid Ocean and Port Royal. Don't get me wrong, MOC and PR are kept as well as you possibly can keep a course. TP will likely play like a higher mid-tier course in the US or Canada. Solid ocean views, and it is also located next to Mid Ocean so you get some great views of mansions.

I haven't played any of the other courses so I cannot comment, but I have heard that Riddels Bay is not worth the off island rate.

Hope that helps