CAYMANAS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
Located a short 9 miles outside Kingston, Caymanas Golf Club rests in the foothills of St. Catherine and overlooks the parish’s verdant cane fields, stretching all the way to Kingston Harbour. A well-known Canadian Golf Architect, Howard Watson, designed the course in the 1950s. Watson incorporated the course’s hilly environment in his layout. Several of the 18 tee boxes are elevated while the fairways undulate in accordance to the topography of the craggy limestone hills. Watson also used the area’s vegetation to create a tropical parkland around the course. Stately Cotton and Guango trees line the fairways and guard the greens throughout the course’s 6,844 yards, creating daunting natural hazards. Strategically placed bunkers and ponds also make for more challenging play.

Looking onto Hole 18, Caymanas’s elegant club-house has a bar, restaurant, and swimming pool – the perfect way to cool off after a long round. The club-house also holds a pro-shop, which offers a full compliment of the latest golfing equipment and apparel such as clubs, gloves, tees and balls as well as items bearing the Caymanas Golf Club logo.

The Club, which hosted several International Championships, including the Jamaican Open, the Jamaica Classic and Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, is sloped at 123 from the Blue Tees and measured at 6844 yards.

CINNAMON HILL GOLF CLUB AT WYNDHAM ROSE HALL RESORT 
One instinctively marvels at the parcel of land on which the Robert von Hagge-designed Cinnamon Hill Golf Club (formerly Three Palms), at the Wyndham Rose Hall.  On an island rife with lushness and topographical character, and short on acreage, the layout moves from an open, windswept front nine into the lower elevations of the Blue Mountains on the back nine, where dense foliage traps the fairways of the incoming holes.    

Boasting interesting, tranquillic, descriptive and sometimes downright intimidating names - such as “Big Bamboo” – hole # 1, “Dead and Gone” – hole # 4, “Caribbean Ghost” – Hole # 5 and “Majestic Blue” – signature 7^th Hole -   each hole has its own intriguing characteristics and is sure to leave behind a memorable experience.

As a golf course, Cinnamon Hill is quick to retain the heritage of the land, a quality of resort golf that always makes the guest feel as though he is witness to a larger tableau than the course itself. The course has been built on what was once, in a time when sugar was being fervently exported, a 400-acre plantation, and remnants of the area's history, in the form of aqueducts, gravestones, and ruins of historic homes, each a crumbling reminder of a land that once breathed a life of its own, long before golf.  At the second hole, the first of these landmarks, the former house of Annie Palmer (The White Witch of Rose Hall), sits on the hill that forms a backdrop for the short hole.   Few golf resorts in the world boast such a spectacular setting, and few architects have been able to accomplish such an excellent routing to take full advantage of the land.   An exceptional caddie program only enhances the overall experience, combining an age-old tradition of the game on a decidedly atypical golf course. For both local knowledge and a history lesson, taking a caddie is a wise choice.

CONSTANT SPRING GOLF CLUB
Located in the heart of one of Kingston’s nicest residential areas, Constant Spring was built in 1920 by Scottish architect Stanley Thompson, a mentor of Robert Trent Jones, making it one of Jamaica’s oldest golf courses. It is a tight, short course with a breathtaking view at the 13th tee, and the challenge of driving to a narrow plateau of fairway beyond a steep valley.  

Originally based in Solomon's Penn on Hope Road, it moved to its current location in the first decade of the 20th century.   At first it was a nine-hole course but expanded to the full 18 in the early 1930s. It has hosted all of the island's top players, many of the socially elite and more than a few concerts during its residence in upper St. Andrew.

The club has a fully functional clubhouse and restaurant, and is also a well equipped recreational facility which offers, in addition to golf, Tennis, Badminton, Squash and Swimming.  

HALF MOON GOLF CLUB
Half Moon Golf Club, on the grounds of the Half Moon Resort, has for decades set the benchmark by which Jamaica golf is measured, and the standard has never been more impressive. Designed by the renowned Robert Trent Jones Sr., the course opened in 1961 and since has firmly established itself as one of prized courses that the Caribbean has to offer. Located just east of Montego Bay, the course's close affiliation with its namesake way lull golfers into a false sense of the course's difficulty; Half Moon is not your typical resort course. 

Measuring a massive, 7,119 yards from the back tees, it comes as no surprise that it has been selected as host venue for several professional and amateur tournaments, including the Jamaican Open and the Dunhill Cup. The course boasts some of the trademark Jones features, including runway tees and loads of strategy and challenge. However, Half Moon stands out among the rest of Jones' design catalog for subtleties often lost in his later work. Whether it be use of the land’s movement or the 'figure eight' routing that cleverly changes angles just enough to cause bewilderment on the windy days, nuance is a sublime quality at Half Moon Golf Club. The greens also demand special attention: while they are very playable, their shape and contour often force the better golfer to work the ball to get their approaches close to tucked pins, while leaving an opening for the novice player to run the ball in. Therein lies the single greatest feature that Jones understood well – a course balanced enough to challenge the best in the world, yet playable for the resort golfers who make up the majority of play.

MANCHESTER CLUB
Carved from the rolling hills near Mandeville more than a century ago, the Manchester Country Club is Jamaica's and the Caribbean’s oldest golf course.   Boasting 140 years of history, it is easily the most unique in Jamaica with its’ nine greens and 18 teeing grounds.   It was founded as a Country Club in 1865 and soon after the Scots invented the game of golf, a golf course was built on the premises.   

It is situated in the middle of the town of Mandeville, the capital of Manchester and has one of the most breath-taking scenic wonders, provided by the course’s 2201 foot elevation.  

Manchester Club however, not only offers golf, but Tennis and Squash as well.   There are three large Tennis courts and two Squash courts.    Although it is a private members club, it is open to the public and is one of Mandeville’s main tourist attractions.  

NEGRIL HILLS GOLF CLUB
Moments away from Negril’s famous seven-mile white-sand beach, golf enthusiasts will find this relaxed resort’s hidden gem – the Negril Hills Golf Club. This 18-hole course sits in the hills behind Negril, just ten minutes outside of the town. Famous for its elevated tees and greens, undulating fairways and emerald ponds, the Golf Club promises an enjoyable round that’s a perfect break from Negril’s captivating sand and sea.

Built in 1993 by Robert Simmons, the course spans 6,333 yards, cut into Negril’s low, rolling hills. This topography makes for fast play, with snaking fairways and mildly sloping greens. It also reveals fleeting views of Negril’s distant golden sands and calm seas. Along the fairways, coconut and other tropical trees dance in the soft sea breezes wafting in from the coast. This course is characterized by water hazards, boasting nine ponds that all come into play. Marshlands and sandtraps also lurk throughout the course, waiting to claim wayward balls.

Towering behind the 18th hole, the airy clubhouse has a restaurant, snack bar and spacious dining room. There’s also a pro-shop and registration area. 

SANDALS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
Formerly known as Upton Golf Club, the Sandals Golf & Country Club was established in 1951 as a 9 hole course located 700 feet above sea level in Upton, Ocho Rios, a few miles east of Ocho Rios.    The original 9-hole layout which was designed by P.K. Saunders changed in the early 1960s to become the 18-hole course we know today.   The Clubhouse also relocated a number of times before settling in its existing location.   

In June 1992, Sandals Resorts International purchased Upton Golf Club and set about creating one of the most elite golf courses in Jamaica.     All the greens were rebuilt with Tifdwarf Bermuda grass and the fairways resurfaced with Bermuda grass and all the existing crabgrass removed. 

Although comparatively short – 6311 yards, par 71 from the Blue Tees, the course makes for a challenging 128 slope.        

Facilities at Sandals include a well stocked snack bar, Beverage Carts on the course, two Practice areas comprising a well designed putting green with a convenient chipping area and a long iron driving range. 

SUPERCLUBS IRONSHORE GOLF CLUB
The former Ironshore Golf & Country Club, now SuperClubs Ironshore,  is a links-style, par-72 course. Once referred to as Jamaica's gem in the rough, it’s a demanding course with plenty of doglegs and bunkers to challenge your A-game. Since January 2000, SuperClubs, the Caribbean's all-inclusive resort giant, has been polishing that gem.  A beautifully decorated new clubhouse was built and put in operation, and a massive course renovation completed. The greens are in their best condition in 20 years, locals say.

Keeping in mind that this is a 30-year-old resort course, the 6,570-yard layout delivers what is expected - an entertaining golf experience, with several water encounters and a number of interesting blind shots. Fairways are separated by tall, frilly Australian pines, as well as flowering hibiscus and bough

SUPERCLUBS GOLF CLUB, RUNAWAY BAY
On the main Street in Runaway Bay, twelve miles outside of Ocho Rios and 42 miles from Montego Bay, you will find the SuperClubs Runaway Bay Golf Club.    The 18 hole, par 72 course was designed by Major John Harris from Britain and opened in 1960.    From the Blue Tees, the course measures a long 6,870 yards with a slope rating of 124.    A slight advantage can be obtained from playing the White tees as the course is then reduced to 6487 yards with a 120 slope.    The Red tees are measured at 5389 yards and sloped at 117.

The combination of the wind gusting up to 35 miles per hour, long rolling fairways with large flat greens and breathtaking views of the Caribbean Sea, guarantee that golfers can expect an exhilarating experience whether they beginners or accomplished players.

The PGA-quality golf course has hosted many an international event including the MatchPlay games between the United Kingdom and the West Indies, the Jamaica Open and the World Cup of Golf Super-qualifier tournaments.  

In July 1994, the original clubhouse which was located across the road from the golf course, was completely destroyed by fire.   The new Clubhouse, formerly a private residence right on the golf course, was completed and put into operation in July 1998.   An elegant and comfortable lobby is now one of the many pleasant features of the new Clubhouse, while a vast open-air Pavilion Restaurant and Bar provides for a great opportunity to watch fellow golfers finish on the 18^th hole.   The well stocked Pro Shop, which opens each morning at 6:30 a.m., offers a wide range of golfing items from clubs, balls and tees to designer’s shoes, golfing apparel.

TRYALL
Tryall's 18-hole, par-72 championship course was designed by Ralph Plummer and has played host to such prestigious international events as the Johnnie Walker World Championship, last won by Fred Couples in 1995.   With holes that kiss the shoreline and flirt with the edges of jungle ravines, it is probably the most celebrated golf course in the Caribbean.

The golf course stretches 6,772 yards from the ocean-side up into forested hills, past coconut groves, and back down to the sea along a route lined with flowering plants and magnificent trees. Just off the seventh tee is a working 18th century water wheel that once powered the estate's sugar mills. From the back tee of this hole, players hit through a stone rectangle formed by the overhead aqueduct and its supports.

The hillside ninth tee offers a panorama of ocean, mountains and the Tryall Great House, which dates back to 1834 and is the centerpiece of the 2,200-acre resort. Guests stay in luxurious one- and two-bedroom Great House villas or two- to six-bedroom villas, all with personal staffs.

The resort is owned and managed by 50 homeowners, many associated with the resort for generations. They have preserved the atmosphere of charming gentility that has been "modernized" out of many other historic properties. Yet the resort has kept pace with the times, developing into a popular family destination with a wide range of diversions, including a unique opportunity to ride horses in the ocean at Chukka Blue, and a riding establishment nearby.

WHITE WITCH GOLF CLUB
One of Jamaica's most famous legends is the White Witch of Rose Hall, the wicked 19th-century mistress of a 4,000-acre sugar plantation who abused her slaves and killed three husbands. Locals are quick to say that Annie Palmer still haunts the Rose Hall Great House and the estate grounds - including the White Witch Golf course built there on the grounds.     The name may sound spooky, but visitors to the golf course, have dubbed it something a little less ominous—“beautiful.”

The White Witch Course, designed by the team of Robert Von Hagge, Rick Baril and Mike Smelek, opened in August 2000 as the centerpiece of the new Ritz Carlton Rose Hall Resort. Instead of traditional tropical terrain, the layout is mountainous and rugged. The 6,718-yard course sticks to the high ground where there are cool breezes and ocean views on 16 holes. This elevated route can be intimidating, with its carries over jungle-like terrain, but the course intertwines with the mountains and provides golfers with some of the best views of the sea. If you bring your camera along, you will be too taken up with the scenery to be intimidated.