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GREAT GOLF
O
TOP SPOTS TO
The Caribbean offers some of the
best golfi ng in the world – from luxe
championship courses to great-
value public clubs. Lizzie Williams
tells you where to get in the swing
SANDY LANE HOTEL, BARBADOS
USP: Elegant resort on the ‘platinum’ west coast
offering well-heeled players three outstanding,
award-winning courses
VITAL STATS: The Old Nine – 9 holes, 3,345 yards, par 36.
Country Club – 18 holes, 7,060 yards, par 72.
Green Monkey – 18 holes, 7,343 yards, par 72
SIGNATURE HOLE: Green Monkey 16th – from an
elevated tee, the green is 225 yards away and guarded by a
bunker with a monkey-shaped grassy island in the middle
Ultra-luxurious Sandy Lane near Holetown is known as the
grande dame of Barbados. Tiger Woods got married here
in 2004 – need we say more about the quality of the golf?
The most extraordinary of the three courses is Green
Monkey, named after the Bajan primates that dash across
it. When it opened in 2004, it was reputedly the most
expensive golf course ever built. After zig-zagging across
fl attish fairways, from the eighth hole the course drops
into a 60m-deep stone quarry shaped like an upside-
down wedding cake. Players then realise what all the fuss
and fi nance is about: each hole is laid out on fl at shelves
anchored to exposed limestone rock faces. It’s super-
exclusive, open only to Sandy Lane guests.
The other two courses are open to all. The casual Old
Nine is a remnant of the original course built when the
hotel opened in 1933, and curves along tree-lined fairways
in the Sandy Lane estate. The championship Country
Club course opened in 2001 and, like Green Monkey, was
designed by acclaimed golf architect Tom Fazio. Laid out
around the hilltop clubhouse, it offers a solid round in
classic parkland with lush greens, fi ve lakes, immaculately
cut fairways and ocean views.
HIGHWAY 1, ST JAMES; WWW.SANDYLANE.COMThis page
Tee off on Sandy Lane’s
legendary Green Monkey
course and you’ll soon discover
why it’s renowned worldwide- including the primate-
shaped bunker and holes sited
alongside layers of limestone