Going for Golf

Sandy Lane - Beware of the Monkey

Sandy Lane

Known as ‘Little England’, Barbados is the latest island to see the benefit of having top-class golf courses to attract golf tourists from around the world.

The Green Monkey has a great reputation and people around the island speak about this Tom Fazio design with reverence. The course has been designed around an old quarry and Fazio has used the exposed coral and stone to great effect. The 16th is the signature hole and it’s a great hole to play. From the back tees it’s a three-wood down into the quarry itself, with the quarry walls and a pond framing the green. It’s not until you get down to the green you realise just how big it really is.

Caddies are a prerequisite to playing the courses at Sandy Lane, but believe me they are worth a good couple of shots off your score. Mine went by the name of Sean. When I stepped on to the first tee – which looked in better condition than some greens I have played on – I realised why people talk about this track with reverence.

I am not sure I could have found a blade of grass out of place if I tried. Sean advised me to aim down the left side of the fairway and that my target should be a tree in the left-hand rough. I duly obliged and found myself in the middle of the fairway. With 165 yards to go though, I thought I should take a seven-iron; Sean, however, told me to hit an easy eight.
I won the argument and my third shot was, as a consequence, from the back rough as I flew the green. Note to self: listen to the caddy, that’s why he’s there.

My favourite holes were the third – a 423-yard, par-four with a tough second shot to a raised green protected by coral stone with a 40-foot drop in front; the eighth, a great 198-yard, par-three, uphill over a ravine; and the 10th, a long 635-yard, par-five from a very high tee looking down on to a perfect fairway.

The Country Club layout that shares the same clubhouse as the Green Monkey is a combination of nine holes from the original Sandy Lane golf club and nine new holes designed by Fazio.

The new front nine gives golfers plenty of room, with wide immaculate fairways, and the variety of tees accommodates golfers of all levels. As you would expect, the original nine holes on this track are well bedded in and offer some real challenges – and a run of holes from 14 to 18 do not have a par-four among them.

One of the most famous holes in Barbados is to be found on the old nine at Sandy Lane: the par-three seventh hole, at just 132 yards from the back tee, is just awe-inspiring. The tee is perched way above the green in the trees and the view out from the tee to the tranquil blue waters of the Caribbean is one of the best in golf anywhere around the world. Make sure you concentrate on your club selection after taking in that view; it’s very easy to over-club and you will probably need no more than a little wedge.

But that is not the only hole of note on this beautiful nine-hole track, which was part of the original 18-hole course at Sandy Lane. Add in the ‘green’ monkeys which play in and around the trees that line all the Sandy Lane courses and you can see why this is simply one of the very best settings in the world to play golf. It is worth noting, however, that only those staying at the resort are entitled to play the course, which means you have to spend some time at a luxurious Caribbean retreat if you want to hit the fairways. It’s a hard life!

With more new courses coming online, Barbados will continue to attract those British golfers who travel the world each year in search of a blend of great courses, alongside a good dose of sun and nightlife. Barbados has it all and in abundance.