Jamaica / Special Interests / Golf

Jamaica boasts great golf, with its collection of 12 courses including top-drawer championship layouts on or overlooking the Caribbean. Most courses – and the pick of its offerings – are situated on the north coast, with the highest concentration around Montego Bay. Other north coast courses are situated at Ocho Rios, Runaway Bay and Rio Bueno (nine holes), with golf also at Negril and on the south coast, where the three courses, two of them private facilities near capital Kingston, are the oldest on the island. The Manchester Club’s nine-hole course at Mandeville is the Caribbean’s oldest, dating back almost 150 years.

Holidaying golfers can stay at several resorts with golf courses attached or on their doorstep. The trio of courses at Rose Hall, near Montego Bay, combine superlative golf in stunning locations alongside the Caribbean with luxurious accommodation. Guests staying at the area’s resorts – The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon, Solis The Palmyra and Rose Hall Resort & Spa, A Hilton Resort – have access to tee times at all three of the Rose Hall courses: White Witch, Cinnamon Hill and Half Moon. All-inclusive resorts group SuperClubs has three golf clubs, at Montego Bay, Runaway Bay and Rio Bueno, while Sandals guests can tee up at the Sandals Golf & Country Club at Ocho Rios. The Tryall Club has staged international events including the prestigious Johnnie Walker World Championship.

Half Moon Golf Club, Rose Hall - 18 hole, 7119-yard, par 72 championship course designed by Robert Trent Jones Senior over 40 years ago and revamped by Roger Rulewich in 2006 with realigned multiple tees and repositioned bunkers. Undulating greens and challenging drives augment glorious Caribbean views. Resort guests enjoy preferential green fees. Caddies are compulsory. An academy, opened in 2008, offers individual and group tuition. Rental clubs and shoes are available.

Tryall Club, Hanover - Spectacular 18-hole, par 72 championship course designed by Ralph Plummer, with nine holes alongside the Caribbean and nine looping through lush, hilly terrain. Tryall’s notable holes include the par-4 7th, where golfers have to hit their tee shots between stone pillars supporting the venerable aqueduct that feeds its famous, adjacent waterwheel. Rarely crowded, the course is open to residents (including holidaymakers renting its on-course villas) and their guests. Golfers can walk the course with caddies or rent buggies. Club rental is available, as are lessons at the golf school.

White Witch Golf Course, Rose Hall - Named after the 19th century mistress of the sugar plantation on which the course stands, who allegedly killed three husbands, this 18 hole, par 71 beauty was designed by Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril and measures 6758 yards. White Witch sits amid 200 acres of verdant countryside on hills high above the coast, with ocean views from all but two holes. Guests at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, whose staff man the course, and Rose Hall Golf Association hotels enjoy preferential green fees. The Caddie Concierge Program includes two caddies per foursome who give course-playing tips and relate the history of White Witch and Rose Hall. Rental clubs and instruction are available and there are extensive practice facilities.

Cinnamon Hill Golf Course, Rose Hall - Originally designed by Hank Smedley in 1969 and redesigned by Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril in 2001, this 18-hole, par 71, 6637 yard championship course is set on a former sugar plantation with a 250-year-old aqueduct that fed the mill winding its way through the course. The par-4 5th and par-3 6th holes are right on the beach, with the tee of the 6th hole jutting out into the Caribbean while the 17th tee is 350 feet above sea level. Near the 4th tee box is the burial plot of English poet Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, whose family owned the sugar plantation and who is said to have penned her immortal sonnet “How do I love thee, let me count the ways” by the waterfall that now cascades behind the 15th green. The waterfall was also where a scene from James Bond movie Live and Let Die was filmed. Johnny Cash’s winter home overlooks the tee on the previous hole. Green fees include buggy, range use before play and a caddie. Twilight rates operate after 1.30pm from May 1 until October 31. The course has a pro shop and offers club and shoe rental, golf instruction and a practice area.

SuperClubs Golf Club – Montego Bay, Ironshore - Formerly the Ironshore Golf & Country Club, this is an 18-hole, par 72, 6633 yard course designed by Canadian Robert Moote some 40 years ago. A challenging parkland layout with plenty of trees, it features several blind holes to test golfers. The clubhouse has a bar, restaurant and pro shop selling top golf equipment and sportswear. Caddies are mandatory, and come into their own when playing the tricky blind holes. Greens fees and transfers are complimentary for guests of Grand Lido Braco Resort & Spa and Breezes Montego Bay. Buggies and caddies are extra. Club rental is available.

Sandals Golf and Country Club, Ocho Rios - 18-hole, par 71 course with three sets of tees and playing to 6404 yards. Tight fairways and tiny, elevated greens are a feature of this resort-style course. Fairways are edged by trees and give views of the mountains and the sea.  Complimentary green fees and twice-weekly golf clinic are available to guests at all six Sandals resorts in Jamaica, including transfers. Caddies are mandatory and cost extra, as are buggies. TaylorMade clubs and Adidas shoes can be rented. The plantation-style clubhouse has a pro shop, club storage facilities and restaurant.

SuperClubs Golf Club at Runaway Bay - 18 holes, par 72, 6870-yard championship course designed by Briton, Commander John Harris, in 1960. A former host of the Jamaica Open, it features long, rolling fairways and large, flat greens protected by grassy mounds and sand traps. There is a golf school with video analysis, driving range, practice green and practice bunker and chipping area. Golf school instruction and green fees are included for guests of Breezes Runaway Bay Resort & Golf Club, now linked to the golf course by a tunnel under the main road. Rental clubs, buggies and mandatory caddies are not included.

Negril Hills Golf Club, Negril - 18-hole, par 72, 6333-yard course by Robert Simmons and built in 1994, it zigzags through lush, tropical vegetation with a number of lurking water hazards adding to the challenges posed by elevated tees and greens and undulating fairways. The 5th hole doglegs to the left at right-angles, demanding an accurate drive and ensuing approach shot to a green flanked by a marsh. Guests of SuperClubs’ Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa enjoy free golf at the club. Mandatory caddies and rental clubs and buggies are not included.

Jamaica’s other courses take in two private clubs near Kingston – the parkland Caymanas Golf & Country Club, which opened in 1957, and Constant Spring Golf Club, which first opened as a nine-hole course in 1920 designed by Stanley Thompson and was extended to 18 holes the following decade – plus the veteran, nine-hole Manchester Club course and the nine-hole, executive course at SuperClubs Golf Club Braco, 25 minutes from Runaway Bay.