The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Royal Blue Golf Course at the Baha Mar resort is set to be one of the major attractions to the groundbreaking project, billed as the “Bahamian Riviera.”

Baha Mar senior vice president Robert Sands said the development of the course has progressed according to plan and is on pace to coincide with the resort’s opening in December 2014.

The 18-hole course was designed by legendary golf icon Jack Nicklaus and his company Nicklaus Design.

“The state of readiness is there. We are very proud of this 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signature course,” he said. “We believe it is one of the best. This golf course has dimension to it. It has height, it has distance, it has beauty, it’s a playable golf course, but it will be challenging and its level of challenge can be enhanced by the type of play we bring to this area. We are very, very happy with our partnership with Jack Nicklaus and what they have produced for us and it is consistent with the level of offering that Baha Mar will be bringing to the fold on December 8, 2014.”

Sands also highlighted the impact the course will have on the country’s sports tourism product.

“We think it is a tremendous amenity to the Baha Mar gaming resort and also helps to propel the Bahamas as a future host for PGA tournaments that we hope will obviously take place here,” he said. “We have had multiple discussions with leadership in the Ministry of Tourism and our own team and certainly this will be an ideal location for a professional golf tournament. I am absolutely certain that something will come to fruition.”

One of the major attractions to the course has been the preservation of indigenous Bahamian vegetation and limestone formations.

“The good thing about this course is that it utilises things that are indigenous Bahamian items. Most of the vegetation has been preserved. As you drive through you will see things such as pigeon plum, cocoa plum, silk cotton trees, sapodilla, all preserved in their natural habitat,” Sands said.

“You also see collections of birds and ducks in this environment and this is part of the whole Baha Mar theme of things indigenous to the Bahamas and promoting its natural beauty. Another good thing about this course is its environmental sensitivity in terms of how we treat pesticides, and the vegetation.”

The course, which stretches in the east from the boundary line at the Office of the Prime Minister to the west at Lake Cunningham, has been under construction for approximately 15 months.

The indigenous aspect of the course extended to its construction as well with Bahamian architect Bruce LaFleur and Associates responsible for the design of the clubhouse along with Woslee Construction and Enviroscape working on course development and landscaping.

The new course, located on the site of an old course, will incorporate 25 perc ent fewer maintainable acres than the former design.

The Royal Blue has applied for certification with the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Programme for Golf.

The award-winning programme focuses on educating golf course operators on proper wildlife management, education and outreach, as well as a number of other areas that help to conserve the environment.

Brandon Skopelja, design coordinator at Nicklaus Design, said the Royal Blue will be another elite level course in the line of venues designed by the company.

“We’re one of the world’s leading golf course architects. What we do is we bring Jack’s ability in design and playing to our clients. I look over Jack’s interest throughout the golf course throughout the whole construction process to ensure that the client is getting the product that they signed up to get from us and the quality we promised to deliver,” he said. “We’re proud of the product that has been completed so far, its been a great experience. I think it will be playable for everybody.”

Approximately 70 Nicklaus Design courses have been ranked by major industry publications like Golf Digest, Golfweek, GOLF Magazine and Travel and Leisure Golf, in various national or international Top-100 lists.

Nicklaus Design courses have hosted a combined total of over 750 professional golf tournaments worldwide or significant national amateur championships, including events on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour, the LPGA Tour and the Web.com Tour, among others.

They currently boast 45 golf courses and projects under development in 24 different countries.

“There is no question in my mind that the best new resort in the Bahamas will attract the best tournaments in the Bahamas and that is Baha Mar and Royal Blue,” Sands said.