When the Caribbean comes to mind, you think of lounging in the sunshine, basking in the tropical temperatures, sipping on rum cocktails, golden sand underfoot and a rhythmic drum beat in your ear, having spent the morning surfing the waves. You don’t necessarily think golf.
But that’s all changing.
The Caribbean – and Barbados in particular – is every one of those things, but it’s also an emerging golfing destination and earlier this year I was fortunate to get a firsthand look at Apes Hill, the island’s premier golfing hotspot.
Situated in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, Barbados is just over 200 miles from mainland South America and enjoys a tropical climate, meaning warm weather and sunshine year-round, and is far enough east to sit outside the hurricane paths which most of the other Caribbean islands are vulnerable to.
An eight-and-a-half-hour flight from London may seem a little long to many, but the rewards more than make up for it once you arrive in Bridgetown, the island’s capital and main port.
Apes Hill itself is a 35-minute drive into the heart of the island, and to its highest point, where, from 1000 feet above sea level, spectacular views of both the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the west can be seen.
Spread across 192 hectares of spectacular landscape, Apes Hill, like much of the agricultural land on the island, was a sugarcane plantation in the colonial years, and the produce accounted for roughly 60 percent of the land and 90 percent of the island’s exports.
Now, Apes Hill is a biodiverse wonder. Under the guidance of Golf Course and Resort Superintendent Ed Paskins – a larger-than-life Kiwi who, accent aside, exhibits all the best traits of the Bajan people – luxury, nature and clever invention blend seamlessly and the organic produce of the vegetable gardens, fruit groves, bee hives, and more all makes its way to the kitchens of the two top-tier restaurants on site.
But more on that later. Let’s get to the golf.
Apes Hill’s Championship Course
Originally designed by Jeff Potts and Chris Coles and opened in 2006, the property was bought by Canadian businessman Glen Chamandy who brought in Ron Kirby to redesign the course. Now, the Kirby-designed Championship 18-hole golf course actually has 19 holes, as a short, island-green par-3 breaks up the shortish walk (or cart ride) back to the clubhouse, and it’s the perfect way to settle a wager or get one final full swing in if you’ve just birdied the par-5 18th and weren’t quite ready to pack up the clubs for the day.
The 19th green at Apes Hill, with the clubhouse behind
And there’s an Irish flavour here too, as Roddy Carr worked side-by-side with Kirby on the project which lasted two years and cost an estimated $30 million on the golf course alone.
The result is spectacular. Weaving through natural vegetation, over rocky outcrops, and around deep-cut gullies, all the while with a testing Atlantic breeze to factor in, playing Apes Hill is a blast.
From the Championship tees, it measures almost 7,200 yards but plays as short as 5,400 from the forward tees, with several other options in between, and there is an ideal mix of holes where you’re encouraged to open your shoulders and swing hard and others where playing for position is the prudent move.
Large greens offer generous-seeming targets, but gentle to severe undulations and grain mean that lag-putting from distance is no easy task but the immaculate conditioning of both the Zorro Zoysia tees, the rough and fairways and TifEagle Bermuda putting surfaces means that mistakes are always user errors.
All 18 holes are excellent, but the par-4 second, 13th and 14th holes, the par-5 ninth and 18th holes, and the four par-3s are extra special. After a gentle, uphill opener, it’s risk and reward personified as you’re presented with a choice on the second tee – lay up short of a deep gorge or play aggressively and have a potential early eagle chance.
‘The Cave’ – The 16th hole and last of the stunning par-3s
The par-3s are all visually stunning. The green on the fifth is carved from the rock with a steep drop-off to the left and only a narrow strip of bunker offering salvation on that side. The 12th – the first leg of Apes Hill’s own ‘Amen Corner’, plays from an elevated tee to a green framed by palm trees and an ocean backdrop, and the 16th – known as ‘The Cave’ – also plays downhill but over water with an open-ended arch in the rock cropping behind.
The 13th is rated as the hardest hole on the course and it’s easy to see why. Driving through a narrow chute, thick vegetation to the right and a canyon left which narrows in as the hole goes, it’s a beast, and the elevated green with trouble short and left only makes it harder. It was on this hole that the reason for the name ‘Apes Hill’ became glaringly apparent as a troop of green monkeys watched on in amusement as I found out exactly why it’s Index 1.
This green monkey offered no assistance in my forlorn search for my ball
The final leg of ‘Amen Corner’ asks you to navigate through – or try to go over – towering palm trees that ask a right-hander for a draw if going low or a fade if going high, and again, you’re likely to have a simian audience for your troubles.
A downhill – and usually downwind – par-5 to finish makes for top-class drama before moving on the 19th and then the 20th Hole, as the bar and restaurant closest to the clubhouse is called and where the food, beverages and refreshments live up to the 19 holes that preceded them.
The 12th, 13th and 14th holes are Apes Hills very own ‘Amen Corner’
Little Apes
The 18-hole Championship Course isn’t the only way to wet your golfing whistle at Apes Hill, and the 9-hole Little Apes Par-3 course is tremendous fun.
Measuring between 95 and 145 yards, each of the nine holes mimics one of world golf’s iconic short holes, and the course is maintained to the same immaculate standard as the Championship Course.
Whether you’re a non-golfer who fancies taking a few swings, a child or beginner who might be overawed by the prospect of a full 18 holes or looking to warm up before or wind down after the main event, it’s buckets of fun and something for the entire family.
This hole is modelled on a famous 12th hole we see every April
Apes Hill Performance Centre
Again, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player, we can all do with a little tune-up from time-to-time, and that’s exactly what you can do at Apes Hill’s state of the art Performance Centre, run by PGA Professional and Director of Golf, Jody Addison. The Scot arrived at Apes Hill in 2021, having previously worked at world famous clubs including Royal Liverpool, Sunningdale, and Sandhurst in Melbourne, and is as easygoing as any Bajan we met, which is saying something.
A quick driving lesson from Addison before our opening round was just what the doctor ordered and playing alongside him, I was pretty proud of myself when I drove the green on the second. That was until he stepped up and drilled a 2-iron to 12 feet.
If you’re looking to sharpen up before your round, a tune-up on off days, or are just looking to become more comfortable with a club in your hand, this is the perfect place to do it.
Other courses to play
If you’re not content with playing Apes Hill exclusively during your stay, there are several other golf courses on the island, and there are more strong Irish connections here. Sandy Lane, roughly a 20-minute drive from Apes Hill, is Irish owned and the names above the door include J.P. McManus, Dermot Desmond and John Magnier.
The venue for the ultra-exclusive Tiger Woods wedding back in 2004, Sandy Lane has two Tom Fazio-designed 18-hole Championship Courses – The Country Club and the Green Monkey – and a 9-hole course, called the Old Nine, which was the first opened in 1961.
The Green Monkey is ultra exclusive, permitting an extremely limited number of visitors each year, and when it was constructed in 2004, it was billed as the most expensive golf course ever built due to the amount of dynamite and excavation work needed, but The Country Club is much more accessible.
Very forgiving off the tee, its challenges come to the fore on approach play and on the slick putting surfaces and is thoroughly enjoyable to play as a change of scenery, not that you need a change of scenery in such a place.
It also hosted the 2006 WGC World Cup of Golf, won by Bernhard Langer and Marcel Siem of Germany.
There is also Royal Westmoreland Golf Club, also a 20-minute drive from Apes Hill, though it was closed for renovation during our visit.
The view from the Sandy Lane Clubhouse makes it easy to see why Tiger Woods chose it as his wedding venue
The Accommodation
Apes Hill isn’t a hotel, it’s a development with individual villas, most of which are privately owned but leased back to the resort for most of the year.
We stayed in the four-bedroomed Hill Top Villas which overlook the par-3 golf course and exploring it with the rum cocktail that welcomed us was an experience in itself. Each bedroom was equipped with a large, walk-in closet that leads to an ensuite bathroom and sliding doors leading out onto the spacious terrace complete with a large, private swimming pool.
The communal areas are all bright, spacious, and comfortably luxurious, with indoor and outdoor dining and lounging areas and all the modern conveniences one can expect or imagine.
Each villa has its own four-person buggy which offers easy access to the entire resort, and there is plenty to do besides golf.
Other activities
You could easily spend a week or more bathing in the sun and dipping in and out of your private pool, but there is no shortage of other activities to engage in on the Apes Hill grounds.
Tennis courts, padel courts, and a state-of-the-art fitness centre are all situated down beside the 20th Hole bar and restaurant, just a short buggy-trip from all of the villas. There are also numerous hiking trails throughout the resort, where you can enjoy the shade, marvel at the fauna and flora including the Bearded Fig Tree from which the island gets its name – Los Barbados means ‘The Bearded One’ in Portuguese.
The padel courts are floodlit and makes for a fantastic evening activity
It’s all natural, it’s all ecologically efficient, and it’s all irrigated from an on-site reservoir, showing that long-term sustainability is not just a buzz word at Apes Hill, it’s an ethos.
One evening, we were treated to some marvellous storytelling from a local ‘Rasta Man’ at the old lime kiln on the site, and it was an unforgettable experience as the shadows lengthened, the fire burned, the wine flowed, and the West Indian accent regaled us with hilarious tales.
Venturing outside the resort, we took an East Coast Highlights Tour, where our learned guide provided us with a detailed history of the island from pre-colonial times to the present day, and explained exactly what Bajan people – particularly those on the east coast where the next land mass you hit is Africa – enjoy some of the longest lifespans in the western world. Spoiler alert, it’s the clean, sea air, purified over almost 3,000 miles.
You can also head for St Lawrence Gap or Holetown for some late-evening music and drinks, but there is no shortage of restaurants nearby.
Walking trails criss-cross the complex
The cuisine
The dining in the 20th Hole restaurant or the Noisy Cricket – Apes Hill’s other restaurant and whose name origin become abundantly clear when you’re driving back to your villa – is excellent.
Serving a blend of international favourites and local specialities, all tastes are catered for, but if you’re having too much fun at your villa, you can also avail of the in-villa dining experience where the catering staff come to you and wait on you hand and foot from your own kitchen and by the time you’re going to bed, the full stomach is the only remaining sign that they were even there.
Venturing a little further afield, the Fish Pot restaurant and La Cabane – both approximately 15 minutes away – provided superb cuisine and cultural experience. Being an island, the seafood is recommended, and I’ll forever compare future blackened mahi mahi and red snapper to those served up on this trip.
And finally, the people
I don’t say it lightly when I say that the Bajans – that’s the colloquial term for what are officially called Barbadians – are among the friendliest and welcoming I’ve ever encountered.
From the resort staff to the caddies, the housekeepers, to the random people you meet in shops, restaurants, and on the street, everybody had a smile, a kind word or a joke, or some friendly advice and at no point did I ever think it contrived or disingenuous.
Spend 10 minutes in a rum shop – rum shops are bars, dotted all over the island, most ranging from small to miniscule, and any we saw had a healthy gang of customers no matter what time it was – and you’ll feel like you’ve made friends for life.
Even a pale-faced Irishman with at best a rudimentary understanding of cricket – the other religion, alongside rum – but who’s heard of Malcolm Marshall can find himself arm-in-arm, saluting the 1980s West Indies, and agreeing that they are the greatest Test cricket team of all time.
The verdict?
Luxury and casualness are uncommon bedfellows, yet Apes Hill somehow manages to blend them seamlessly, offering the highest quality of service and facilities, yet delivering them in a completely unpretentious manner.
What they provide is all from the top shelf, and they don’t feel the need to remind you of it because it speaks for itself. The golf course is one that you could happily play everyday and never tire of, and you’re virtually guaranteed warmth and sunshine all year round.
Would I come back? Yes, in a heartbeat.
To learn more about Apes Hill or to book, visit the website here.