Sandals Golf and Country Club, Sandals Golf Club golf course

Ranked · 6 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses in Jamaica

Jamaica is the most serious golf island in the Caribbean, with a tight cluster of championship courses in the hills and along the sea around Montego Bay. From a dramatic mountain layout above Rose Hall to a historic seaside club that once hosted a world championship, here are the six we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to play it.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Sandals Golf Club, Robert, via Google

How we chose them

For an island its size, Jamaica punches far above its weight in golf, and almost all of it sits within a short drive of Montego Bay on the north coast. The Rose Hall estate alone holds two championship courses, the mountain White Witch and the seaside Cinnamon Hill, while the long established Half Moon and Tryall resorts add a Robert Trent Jones classic and a course with genuine tournament history. Beyond Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Negril each contribute a course worth a round. The appeal is the variety packed into a small area: sea level links style holes, dramatic mountain golf and trade winds that never quite leave you alone.

We weighed design quality, conditioning, setting and the pleasure of the round, and we favoured courses a visiting golfer can readily arrange to play, since almost all are resort or daily fee layouts. Every fact here, from designers and opening years to redesign dates, was checked at the time of writing. The verdicts are ours, and the order reflects our editors' view rather than any single published list. If you want any of these built into a costed trip, with a Rose Hall or Half Moon base and the courses arranged around it, that is what our concierge does.

The ranking

White Witch Golf Course

Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril · Par 71, 6,758 yards · Rose Hall, Montego Bay

Jamaica's standout course, a Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril design climbing the hills above the Rose Hall estate, a par 71 of around 6,758 yards with the Caribbean in view from the great majority of its holes. Named for the legend of Rose Hall's Annie Palmer, it is the most dramatic golf on the island, all elevation change, mountain backdrops and exposed greens, and the most demanding in the wind. With the Rose Hall hotels at its foot, it is the natural anchor of a Montego Bay golf trip.

Plan a Montego Bay golf trip

The Tryall Club

Ralph Plummer, 1958 · Par 71, 6,772 yards · west of Montego Bay

The most storied course in Jamaica, a Ralph Plummer design from 1958 set on a former sugar plantation on the coast west of Montego Bay, with the holes running between the sea, an old waterwheel and the hillside. It hosted the Johnnie Walker World Championship through the early 1990s, drawing the game's best, and remains an exclusive villa resort with a course of real character and history. The seaside front nine and the climbing back nine give it genuine variety and a strong claim to the island's best round after White Witch.

Plan a Tryall golf trip

Half Moon Golf Course

Robert Trent Jones Sr., 1962 · Par 72, about 7,100 yards · Montego Bay

A genuine piece of golf history, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design opened in 1962 at the Half Moon resort just east of Montego Bay, and for decades the pre eminent championship course on the island. A classic parkland and seaside test of around 7,100 yards from the tips, it carries the Trent Jones hallmarks of bold bunkering and large greens, and has hosted significant amateur and professional golf over the years. Mature, well run and attached to one of the Caribbean's grand resorts, it is a comfortable and historic base.

Plan a Half Moon golf trip

Cinnamon Hill Golf Course

Hank Smedley 1969, redesigned von Hagge and Baril 2001 · Par 72 · Rose Hall, Montego Bay

The seaside companion to White Witch on the Rose Hall estate, first laid out by Hank Smedley in 1969 and substantially redesigned by Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril in 2001. A par 72 that mixes holes along the beach with others climbing into the foothills past an old great house and waterfalls, it is gentler and more forgiving than White Witch and a beautiful, photogenic round. Together the two Rose Hall courses make a complete two course base for a Montego Bay trip.

Plan a Rose Hall golf trip

Sandals Golf and Country Club, Ocho Rios

Ocho Rios, north coast

The best golf in the Ocho Rios area, a mature parkland course set in the hills several hundred feet above the town, with sweeping views back down to the coast. Tree lined and rolling, it is a relaxed, scenic round rather than a championship monster, and its elevated setting brings cooler air and a real sense of the island's green interior. For golfers basing on the eastern half of the north coast, it is the natural choice and an easy add to a multi course Jamaica trip.

Plan an Ocho Rios golf trip

Negril Hills Golf Club

Negril, west coast

The only championship course on Jamaica's famous west coast, an inland layout in the hills behind Negril's celebrated Seven Mile Beach. A par 72 that rolls across wooded, undulating terrain with water in play, it is the round to pair with a Negril beach stay, away from the Montego Bay cluster. It will not displace the Rose Hall or Half Moon courses on quality, but for anyone holidaying in Negril it is a welcome and convenient day's golf.

Plan a Negril golf trip

Designers, opening years and redesign dates verified June 2026. Almost all Jamaican championship courses are resort or daily fee layouts open to visitors. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm tee times, caddie and cart policies and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Play the best of Jamaica

Tell us which of these are on your list and roughly when, and whether you want a Rose Hall, Half Moon or villa base with the courses arranged around it. One concierge handles the tee times, hotel and transfers and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

Jamaica golf questions

What is the best golf course in Jamaica?

White Witch at Rose Hall, a Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril design in the hills above Montego Bay, is our pick for the best course in Jamaica, a dramatic mountain layout with the Caribbean in view from most holes. The historic Tryall Club and the Robert Trent Jones Half Moon course are the other contenders at the top.

Where is most of the golf in Jamaica?

The great majority of the island's best golf is clustered around Montego Bay on the north coast, within a short drive of the airport. White Witch, Cinnamon Hill, Half Moon and Tryall are all near Montego Bay, while Ocho Rios and Negril each have a course of their own. A week based around Montego Bay can take in four or five championship rounds.

When is the best time to play golf in Jamaica?

The drier, cooler months from December to April are the peak golf season, with warm days, lower humidity and the lightest chance of rain. Summer and early autumn are hotter and fall within the Caribbean hurricane season, but bring lower green fees and quieter courses. The trade winds are a year round factor on the coastal holes.

Are Jamaica golf courses open to visitors?

Yes. Almost all of Jamaica's leading courses are resort or daily fee layouts that welcome visiting golfers, and many are attached to hotels at Rose Hall, Half Moon and Tryall. Green fees at the championship courses are at the higher end for the Caribbean. Always confirm tee times, cart and caddie policies and fees directly before booking.

The Tee Sheet

Caribbean course openings, Rose Hall and Half Moon news and the trips our concierge is quietly building. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Last reviewed June 2026. We verify designers, opening years and redesign dates at the time of writing and review them again on a schedule.