The Ocean Club on Paradise Island is a Phoenix Rising
By Dale Leatherman
Paradise Island, Bahamas (Oct. 10, 2002) -- History on Paradise
Island, a sliver of very precious land a bridge away from Nassau,
can be measured in pre-Sol and post-Sol. Sol Kerzner, that is, the
incredibly imaginative and canny South African developer whose Sun
International Hotels is an international leader in family entertainment
and gaming destinations. Kerzner took the island by storm in 1994,
scooping up several major hotel properties owned by Merv Griffin.
In less than a year, he opened the doors on Atlantis, a spectacular
1,136-room resort with a 14-acre waterscape park.
Four years and $650 million later, the soaring Royal Towers more
than doubled Atlantis’ guest capacity. The world's largest
outdoor open-water aquarium became even bigger -- 11 million gallons,
100,000 species. New attractions were added – The Dig, an interactive
underground replica of an archeological site with windows onto the
underwater world of the lagoon; and a huge likeness of a Mayan Temple
with five-story waterslides into a shark lagoon. It is a fantasy
land – pricey, but who can put a price on feeling like a kid
again -- or acting like a kid with your own children? It’s
not all about kids, either. There are 38 restaurants, an impressive
spa, a huge casino, a world-class marina, and more.
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While Atlantis was being built, a much quieter project was underway
at another Kerzner acquisition, the Ocean Club, the 1960s private
enclave of Huntington Hartford II, heir to the Great Atlantic &
Pacific Tea Company fortune. It was Hartford who convinced the government
to give Hog Island a new name -- Paradise Island.
Hartford built the Ocean Club, a luxurious 52-room hotel and four
two-bedroom cottages, and commissioned architect Dick Wilson to
create an 18-hole course for the pleasure of his guests. In the
1960s the Ocean Club was the place to be seen with the likes
of William Randolph Hearst, Burl Ives, Benny Goodman and a host
of earls, dukes and ambassadors. When Hartford’s fortune and
interest waned, the club passed into other hands.
I visited the Ocean Club in 1994 when the Kerzner purchase was being
finalized. Hartford’s idyllic playground was down-at-the-heels,
tended by a dispirited and careless staff. But the place charmed
me nevertheless. The two-story hotel encloses the Courtyard Restaurant,
a romantic dinner setting complete with candlelight, fountain, reflecting
pool and overhanging palms.
I fell in love with the swimming pool, set in gardens designed
to resemble Versailles. Stone steps climb a quarter-mile from the
pool through seven grassy terraces with fountains and statuary imported
from Europe. At the very top of the steps lies a twelfth-century
Augustinian cloister, purchased in France by William Randolph Hearst
and shipped piece-by-piece to Florida, where it was bought by Hartford.
 Six
years later, approaching the hotel in a limo from the airport (standard
treatment for Ocean Club guests), I worried that the place would
have lost its charm. No need. The $107.5 million spent to restore
and expand the hotel was well spent, and the staff members are attentive
and understandably ebullient about their jobs. At 107 rooms and
suites, the hotel is still small enough to be cozy and exclusive
(Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan are
among the frequent guests). And it has world-class amenities such
as a full-service spa and a chic beachfront restaurant, as well
as the historic Courtyard Restaurant. Two miles of beautiful beach
front the resort.
The golf course, a classic Dick Wilson design, was also in poor
shape when I saw it back in 1994, and the constant traffic of small
planes into an adjoining airstrip was distracting. It was a pretty
track, with occasional views of the ocean, and fairways lined with
thick tropical vegetation.
 A
redesign by Tom
Weiskopf in 2000 has transformed the course into an entirely
new track (which encompassed the old airstrip). Much of the foliage
that blocked the ocean views was removed to make way for seaside
tees and greens, as well as 121 luxury homesites (all sold in a
month) along the Atlantic Ocean and Nassau Harbor. Ernie Els is
the Ocean Club’s touring pro, and Michael Jordan stages his
annual Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational (televised October
17, 2002) here.
 The
wind gives notice on the first hole and can cause you to overshoot
on this downwind, moderate par four. Then it’s in your face
on the long par five second hole, and water enters the picture in
the form of wetlands along the right side, leading to a small green
backed by the ocean. The third hole, a 176-yard par three to an
elevated green, is also into the wind, which makes the large bunkers
surrounding the green particularly menacing. Four, a long demanding
par four that is ranked most difficult for men, also battles the
wind, with a thread-the-needle second shot to a green protected
by ocean two sides and sand on the other.
As this opening quartet foretells, wind and water turn out to be
the prevailing threats on this 7,123-yard par 72 layout, and there’s
plenty of sand, to boot. With the seaside foliage removed, there
is nothing to protect the course from gusty breezes off the ocean
which play havoc with club selection and shot placement.
Lagoons large and small come into play on many holes. One of the
prettiest of these is the 208-yard twelfth hole, “Spyglass.”
Shots must carry across an inlet to a forward sloping, well bunkered
green .
 Hole
seventeen, “Pintail Crossing” is ranked the second hardest
hole on the course for men, but that depends entirely on the wind.
On a good day, the green is drivable. What makes it special is that
a beautiful beach borders its entire length.
The course provides a good, fair test of Caribbean
golf – dealing with wind that can change from moment to
moment. The setting is somewhat marred by house construction along
its perimeter, but it will only get better with time. Play it now,
while it’s still open to Atlantis guests. A time will probably
come only members and Ocean Club guests will have playing privileges
on what is one of the finest courses in the
Bahamas.
For more information call Sun International Resorts (800-321-3000)
on Paradise Island, or the golf club, (809) 363-3925.
The Vitals
Ocean Club
Paradise Island, Bahamas
www.oceanclub.com
Phone: 800-321-3000
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