Sandals Emerald Reef Golf Club on Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas
Located on Bahamas' Great Exuma Island, Sandals Emerald Reef Golf Club is one of the top Caribbean golf courses. The Greg Norman signature design overlooks the clear, blue waters that are famous in this part of the world for fishing and scuba diving.
The golf course was built in 2003 and is a championship-caliber design from Norman, playing up to 7,001 yards and a 140 slope from the championship tees. Many of the holes are narrow, starting with the par-5 first hole that features water right and out-of-bounds left.
The front side plays more inland and shielded from the elements, including a short, drivable, par-4 fourth hole that plays beside an inland pond, which Norman calls his favorite on the course.
"You look at the site plan and the fourth looks like a nothing hole," said Norman. "Then you get on the tee, and you can tee off with a 7-iron and a wedge, or a 5-iron and a pitch. ... Everything you do just compounds the problem. I just love that little hole."
Starting at the par-3 11th, the course plays out on a peninsula and hugs the sea. It's capped with a long, 574-yard, par-5 15th hole that plays from a high elevated tee downhill towards the fairway and requires a shot over the coast to reach the green in two shots.
Emerald Reef was formerly a Four Seasons property before Sandals Resort bought it in 2010 and made enhancements to both the golf course and resort grounds, which feature many oceanfront villas and ocean-view guest rooms.