Picture - Ensemble Vacations Magazine

Jamaican Triple Treat
ANITA DRAYCOTT
Jamaica swings an ‘ace’ with three of its best
golf courses located just 15 minutes from
Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport.
The Rose Hall Golf Association includes the
Half Moon, White Witch and Cinnamon Hill
courses, all within minutes of each other.
All offer stay-and-play packages.
Bewitched
Just down the road at The Ritz-Carlton Golf
& Spa Resort, the White Witch, designed
by Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril, will cast
its spell on golfers. Its ‘beauty-and-the-beast’
allure starts on the spectacular 550-yard par-
5 first hole, which requires an elevated tee
shot, with sensational views of the Caribbean,
down to the fairway 250 feet below. The
course is named after Annie Palmer, the
‘White Witch,’ who owned the Rose Hall
sugar plantation on which it was built. Annie
was a ruthless beauty who, as the story goes,
murdered her three husbands.
Generous fairways
shaped by stately
royal palms, plenty of
bunkers to catch
errant shots and no
silly gimmicks.
How Sweet It Is
Playing Cinnamon Hill is like a swing through
history. On Number 15 you putt alongside
the waterfall where Elizabeth Barrett
Browning is said to have penned, “How
do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
Number 14 passes the house where singer
Johnny Cash lived for 30 years. An ancient
aqueduct winding through the course is a
reminder that this was part of an 18th-century
sugar plantation. There’s also a Canadian
connection: Robert Ames, brother of PGA
touring pro Stephen, is the director of golf.
Over the Moon
In 2008 Half Moon was named ‘Golf Resort
of the Year’ (in the Rest of the World category)
by the International Association of Golf
Tour Operators.
I played a round with golf director, Ewan
Pebbles, on the meticulously manicured
7,119-yard course originally designed by
Robert Trent Jones, Sr. It’s classic Jones
at his best, with generous fairways shaped
by stately royal palms, plenty of bunkers
to catch errant shots and no silly gimmicks.
The Scottish-born Pebbles has recently opened
the resort’s own golf academy. The staff mission
at Half Moon is “we try to exceed guests’
expectations.” Mission accomplished.
BONNE SANTÉ