Jamaica has always been a favorite destination with golfers who love a challenge, be it from the island's legendary breezy conditions to courses that play over natural terrain that ranges from sandy shoreline to rugged mountains. The island offers plenty of courses to choose from, but many of the best are located in the Montego Bay area.
The Tryall Club course features a tee shot through the stone pillars of a historic aqueduct -- part of a former sugar plantation -- but this 18-hole, par-72 course doesn't rely on gimmicks to challenge players. Your best shot at playing this course, which edges along the Caribbean and the Flint River, is in the summer months; winter play is limited to Tryall Club guests.
"Like [plantation mistress Annee Palmer], the legendary 'White Witch of Rose Hall,' the course is alluringly dangerous and unpredictable," says designer Robert von Hagge. "Just as her personality might shift without warning, so do the winds, turning a six-iron shot in the morning into a five-wood late in the day." The course is dotted with rock outcroppings and cut by ravines, with ocean views on almost every hole. It's a par-71, 6,859 yards long.
Montego Bay's Half Moon has been called the best golf resort in the region by Caribbean World magazine, and the golf course has been recently renovated to better suit the modern game. Also voted one of the Caribbean's most underrated golf resorts by Travel & Leisure magazine.
An all-inclusive stay at the Rose Hall Resort & Country Club includes golf at the resort's renowned Cinnamon Hill Ocean Court, which features great ocean and mountain views. Golfers can warm up on an open front nine before tacking the more challenging back nine filled with traps and dense foliage.
Guests of the Superclubs all-inclusive resorts can play on the 18-hole Ironshore Golf Course, one of three courses that make up the SuperClubs Golf Club. This par 72, 6,633-yard course is known for its tricky blind holes and traps.
