Golf Vacation Alert: Take a Look at the Bermuda Islands
Looking for a different golf trip destination this coming Fall or Winter? As you begin planning an upcoming golf trip, consider a Bermuda Islands package that includes perfect golf weather, great accommodations, spectacular golf and now best value through Golf Zoo!
Having visited this unique and beautiful place, playing golf, touring various hotels, Resorts, and Bermuda recreation spots, I clearly see how the Island will become a popular golf trip destination! The key to a great Bermuda golf vacation is to travel between November - March time frame. Your trip will be great as the weather during this time is comparable to Florida, Arizona and Caribbean Island destinations, plus golf courses are in great condition and costs are lowest during "low season". Don't be fooled by the low season description - it is considered low season because majority of typical vacationers travel to other destinations for warmer beach settings. But, as golfers, we simply are looking for good accommodations, great golf, daily sunshine and temps in the upper 60's to 70's and good value!
Beautiful Bermuda - A Golf Paradise
Located in the middle of the balmy Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda is only 640 miles off the coast of North Carolina, and about a two-hour flight from many eastern U.S. and Canadian cities. This little oasis of rolling terrain, pristine golf courses, pink-sand beaches, and turquoise-blue waters is a combination of slightly British, slightly American and very Bermudian.
With seven top-end Golf Courses, this tiny island has the highest concentration of courses per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Golf Zoo can include all seven courses in a custom golf package for your group.
Belmont Hills Golf Club Mid-Ocean Club Oceanview Golf Club Port Royal Club
Riddell's Bay Golf Club Turtle Hill Golf Club Tucker's Point Club
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| #16 at Port Royal Golf Club |
About The Golf Courses
Small, elevated greens are often guarded by sand traps to catch a wayward approach shot. Bermuda's topography is very "hilly", or actually a quite rugged. Very little flat land can be found.
Elevated Greens and tees provide spectacular views of the ocean, rocky shorelines, cliff tops and pink sandy beaches. Irrigation is very limited so the greens and fairways are always firmer and faster than those found elsewhere around the world. And as you would imagine, water - the Atlantic Ocean and various ponds that dot courses, play a huge part in the layout of almost all of Bermuda's golf courses. Windswept cliff tops, steep ocean drop-offs, and breathtaking views are the highlights of play everywhere.
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| #1 Tucker's Point Club |
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| # 18 and Riddell's Bay Clubhouse |
Port Royal Golf Club - The first six holes roll through steep hills and tropical vegetation, but the par-5 7th turns left toward the Ocean and rises to an elevated green with only blue water as backdrop. The 160-yard (white tee), par-3 8th will require an accurate shot as a ball hit to the right, or long will find its way down the steep, craggy cliff to the beach and ocean below. But the signature hole is the 235-yard (tips) 16th, which sits on the edge of an ocean cliff, and simply requires a precision shot...after the group photos complete.
Turtle Hill Golf Club at Southampton - Perhaps the world's best 18-hole par-3 course, in fact, Golf Digest gives this scenic hillside course a 4-Star Rating. A challenging short course, but very fun to play and perfect for a departure day morning round!
Riddell's Bay Golf Club - Bermuda's oldest Golf Club - built in 1922. This par-70 links-style course winds along a peninsula between Bermuda's Great Sound and Riddell's Bay. Shot-making and ball position is key to scoring well at Riddell's Bay, especially the #1 Hdcp par-4 8th green (surrounded by water), and the par-3 17th that requires an uphill tee shot to a severely sloping green surrounded by pond and deep bunkers.
Belmont Hills Club - A "sneaky long" 6,100 yard course requires good tee shot placement and precision short iron shot-making. Many holes offer great views of Bermuda's Great Sound and Hamilton Harbor, especially the steeply downhill par-3 17th that drops nearly 80 feet to a small green.
Tucker's Point Golf Club - Significant elevation changes create a challenging and incredibly scenic golf round. A great risk/reward course with several par four holes that will make you want to "gamble". The 315-yard steep downhill, dog-leg left par-4 12th hole is drive-able; miss the green left and you could get a favorable right bounce to the green, but miss right and you have donated to Harrington Sound. Play the par-4 17th from the back tees (315 yards) for the incredible island and ocean view. Go for the green. Even if you don't pull off the shot, you have the view, and only a short shot to the green.
Mid-Ocean Club - The holes playing along the rugged edges of the ocean such as the 200-yard par-3 17th, and the 420-yard par-4 18th will test any player skill, especially if the wind is blowing. Most holes play across, and up-and-down considerable elevations leaving various blind shots. Built in the early 1920's, and continuously ranked among the Top-50 Courses in the World, Mid-Ocean has a long and storied history. Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower favored playing the course, and Babe Ruth is said to have carded a double-digit score on the difficult, 430-yard par-4 fifth.
Places To Stay
For good accommodations with great location and top-end amenities we recommend Fairmont Southampton, Fairmont Hamilton Princess, Newstead Belmont Hills Resort, Tucker's Point Resort, and Coco Reef Beach Resort. Full profiles and property pictures can be found on the Golf Zoo website. I have stayed at all these properties and each one is unique in style, comfort, offer great dining and lively lounges, and all share excellent, friendly Bermudian service.
Dining/Nightlife
Bermuda has a wide variety of dining choices that is North American and European influenced, but fresh seafood dishes and Bermudian special dishes are hard to beat. Wherever you choose to stay in your golf package, the lounges are energetic and the locals very friendly. You will also be "required" by the locals to try two Bermudian specialties - a Dark 'n Stormy (Gosling's Black Seal Rum mixed with Ginger Beer)...and the Bermuda Rum Swizzle!
Getting Around The Island
Rental vehicles are not available, the best way to get around is by taxi, or local transport van shuttle (for larger groups). The government regulates taxis, so most are very clean, air-conditioned and very friendly and knowledgeable drivers. If you like a particular driver, get a business card . The driver will pick you up whenever, or wherever you need a ride.
Let's Go...
I am glad to share some information on my experiences in Bermuda. Simply, the destination is a great golf trip destination, and economically-speaking, a comparable value October-March to U.S. and Caribbean warm-weather destinations. Give us a call for additional Bermuda golf package details and ideas. Through our continuing commitment to destination knowledge, we take the 'unknown" factor out of golf travel for you. As such, Golf Zoo is proud to be the leading golf package provider for groups traveling to Bermuda!
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