Royal St. Kitts Golf Club

I played Royal St. Kitts three times during the Admiral's Cup Pro-am, a cool event in its seventh year that brings four-person teams from throughout America, Canada and the UK. Every round was a treat.
A completed redesign by Canadian Thomas McBroom in 2003 spruced up the old Frigate Bay Golf Club and made the island golf-trip worthy.
A steady breeze - sometimes a bluster - added an extra layer of challenge. Course conditions were mostly solid. Besides the bare spots in certain fairways, the greens were a little slow, but they were better than the Four Seasons Nevis course on the sister island next door.
The front nine lacks aesthetics, yet still offers some stout holes. The finish of the back nine makes the day. When you're standing on a hill above the 14th green, the view of the ocean blue dominates the horizon. The same goes for no. 15, a par-3 playing down to a bunker-laden green. The next two par 4s hug the shore, so don't tug your tee shot left.
Royal St. Kitts might not be one of the most coveted courses in Caribbean. However, in my book, it certainly ranks among the most fun.

After looking at the pictures, I couldn't wait to get to St. Kitts and play this course. When we arrived, as we passed the course coming from the airport, I was sure that the course we passed was a muni course, not Royal St. Kitts. It looked like a goat pasture. It ended up being the front nine of Royal St. Kitts.

The course is in horrible condition. I should add the greens were in excellent shape, but the tees and fairways were in horrible shape. You couldn't tell where the fairways began and ended with the rough. It really looked like a muni course.

From a layout perspective, the front nine was a little boring, but that could be because it was just not even pleasing to look at? I did like overall layout, and the back nine layout definitely improved.

The last 4 finishing holes are spectacular right along the ocean. It made the round worth it. There was literally only one other group on the course, so the pace of play was perfect, and we did enjoy the round. But course looks nothing like the pictures from a condition point of view. If not for the last 4 holes, would have really been disappointed and asked for money back.

As a Canadian, escaping from the frozen northern tundra during February is bliss. When it's to the Caribbean, its even better when your destination is the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club on the tropical island of St. Kitts (about 2.5 hours from Miami). The golf course was the first on the island, and its stretch of finishing holes, 15-18, are some of the strongest I've ever played. The whole course is, essentially, through swirling winds. But the setting, the collection of par-3's (including the par-3 15th), and the condition of the greens make this course a thrill-a-minute. Some spotty conditioning on the fairways, but overall, a very strong island golf experience

I'll admit I have a soft spot for St. Kitts, which I played four years ago. I shot one of my lowest rounds - a 75 - that day. It's gentle contours are forgiving, and the ocean views on the back nine are inspiring. It's too bad this is the only game in town. You have to sail to Nevis to play at the Four Seasons to find another championship course.