Abaco Club on Winding Bay

Donald Steele and Tom Mackenzie are names familiar to most European golf fans: Steele competed in Open Championships then became a golf historian and writer before establishing his own design business, leading to consultation on Open rota courses. Tom Mackenzie is one half of the Mackenzie & Ebert design firm, the leading architects in Europe, and both Mackenzie and Martin Ebert worked for Mackenzie before going out on their own. There is certainly a European influence with the design at The Abaco Club, with a marrying of links-style golf into the Caribbean landscape. The first few holes play out toward the water, highlighted by the beachside green on the par-3 fourth and seaside tee on the drivable par-4 fifth. As players head back to the clubhouse they’ll first have to navigate a daunting four-hole finishing stretch that ascends to the top of a stone quarry, before culminating at the downhill par-5 18th. Ever-present wind and challenging green surrounds, plus pot bunkers, sand dunes, firm greens and penal native bushes make this quite a test, though the views are endless. Access to the golf course and world class training facility are limited to club members and villa guests only.