Barbados is home to 5 PGA standard golf courses. There’s also a 9-hole course at Rockley Resort. In 2006 the island hosted the World Golf Championships World Cup. Undulating hills, well-kept greens and spectacular sea views make golf in Barbados a popular pastime. So pack your clubs and start looking forward to teeing off under the tropical sun.
Royal Westmoreland
Location: West Coast, St James
This course offers fantastic ocean views from every hole. Golfing aficionados rate it as their favourite course on the island. It has a very affluent feel to it –multi-million-pound villas owned by footballers and cricket stars line the approach, and there’s a plush clubhouse too. Robert Trent Jones Jnr designed the course, and the par is 72. It’s set on higher ground, meaning every hole has a sea view.
The first few holes feel relatively easy, but by the fourth hole you start to notice the sheer volume of well-placed bunkers – 98 in total. It’s a popular course thanks to the challenge it gives to more seasoned golfers.
Sandy Lane Country Club
Location: West Coast, St James
This course, also designed by the coveted golf course architect Tom Fazio, was the home of the 2006 World Cup of Golf.
Despite being open to everyone, it retains an air of exclusivity thanks to its pricey green fees. The payoff is that the greens are immaculate. The hire of carts and caddies are mandatory.
Sandy Lane Green Monkey
Location: West Coast, St James/St Thomas
The most famous golf course in Barbados. Designed by Tom Fazio, it offers challenging elevation changes as well as great views out to sea.
It’s only accessible to Sandy Lane residents, so you’ll have to stay at the Sandy Lane Hotel if you want to play this exclusive course.
The design of the course over undulating hills provides a challenge, as well as spectacular sea views. Rocky outcrops, water hazards and mature mahogany trees punctuate the pristine greens.
Tiger Woods visited here on his honeymoon.
The star hole here is the par 3 16th – which has the bunker with a grassy cut-out shaped like a monkey. This is one course you’ll remember playing for a long time to come!
Barbados Golf Club
Location: South Coast
This is the most affordable golf course on the island – and is open to golfers of all levels. The staff are friendly and welcoming to everyone – which gives the place a lovely ambience. The greens are well kept, wrapped around pretty lakes. The course features gentle inclines and forgiving fairways that offer you a second chance to get a good score.
Apes Hill
Location: West Coast, St James
This par-72 golf course opened in 2009. It’s one of only 913 golf courses in the world to be honoured with a prestigious Audubon Society certification. There’s also a polo centre here – a delightful way to spend an afternoon watching a match. Other amenities include the tennis centre.
The golf course sits on an old sugar plantation, and from the twelfth hole you can see both the Caribbean Sea to the west, as well as the Atlantic Ocean on the other side of the island to the east.
Golfers rate the course for its outstanding layout. It’s challenging, with bunkers providing a real penalty if you find yourself landing in one.
