Royal Blue Golf Club at Baha Mar, Nassau, fairway and green running beside the lake
Best of · The Bahamas · Ranked

The Best Golf Courses in the Bahamas

Bahamas golf is a short list and a sharp one: the world's original tropical links on Abaco, a Tom Weiskopf course wrapped in Paradise Island ocean views, Jack Nicklaus at Baha Mar, and two of the most exclusive private clubs in the hemisphere. Access, not quality, is the puzzle here, and the difference between a great trip and a locked gate is knowing which bed unlocks which tee. Here are the five courses that matter, ranked.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · Editorial policy · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Royal Blue Golf Club, Baha Mar, via Google

How we ranked them

We rank on the quality and character of the golf first, then on what each course adds to a traveling golfer's week: architecture, setting, the welcome, and what the fee buys. In the Bahamas that second filter does heavy lifting, because the islands run on a resort access model: almost every course worth flying for is attached to a resort or private club, and your accommodation decides your tee sheet. We rank the golf honestly and tell you exactly what each gate requires. Fees are indicative 2026 figures from published rates and recent visitor reports; always confirm directly before booking.

One honest exclusion note. Grand Bahama's once famous courses have faded from the front rank since Hurricane Dorian in 2019, and we have left the island off this list until its golf recovers. The current center of gravity is Nassau and Paradise Island for accessible resort golf, and the Out Islands for the private club masterpieces.

The ranking

01

The Abaco Club on Winding Bay

Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie, 2004 · par 72, 7,182 yards · Abaco · playing access for club guests

The best golf a visiting golfer can actually play in the Bahamas, and a genuine original: when it opened in 2004 the Abaco Club was billed as the world's first tropical links, and the claim holds up on the ground. Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie ran firm, rumpled fairways through low dunes and sea grape above the absurd turquoise of Winding Bay, with the trade wind doing the work a Scottish gale does at home. The club is private but hosts playing guests who stay on property, where cabanas and cottages line a two mile beach. It is the Bahamas round worth building a trip around, and the wind makes it a different course every day.

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02

Ocean Club Golf Course, Paradise Island

Tom Weiskopf redesign, 2002 · par 72, 7,100 yards · guests of the Ocean Club and Atlantis · Troon managed

The grand resort round. Tom Weiskopf rebuilt this Paradise Island layout in 2002 into a par 72 of 7,100 yards that occupies its own peninsula, water visible from nearly everywhere and in play more often than the scorecard admits, with the closing run along the ocean the stretch everyone photographs. Access runs through a stay at the Ocean Club, the Four Seasons flagship where the fairways double as movie scenery, or at Atlantis across the island, and Troon's management keeps conditioning at the standard the fee implies. It is the easiest of the top tier courses to attach to a family vacation, which is precisely how most golfers meet it.

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03

Royal Blue at Baha Mar

Jack Nicklaus · Nassau · resort guests · indicative US$280 all in with cart and rentals, recent visitor reports

The most bookable serious golf in the country. Jack Nicklaus designed Royal Blue as the headline course of the vast Baha Mar resort on Nassau's Cable Beach, a layout of two personalities: a front nine through lakes and limestone on the resort side and a wilder back nine working inland terrain that feels nothing like a casino property. Resort guests book directly, recent visitor reports put the all in cost around US$280 with cart and rental clubs, indicative for 2026, and the practice setup is the best in the islands. For a buddies group mixing golf with Nassau's restaurants and tables, this is the anchor round; always confirm rates directly before booking.

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04

Albany

Ernie Els design · 7,400 plus yards from the tips · New Providence · members and resort guests

The tour pros' winter address. Ernie Els shaped Albany's links style course across the southwestern corner of New Providence, a broad shouldered test stretching past 7,400 yards from the back tees, with water, wind and well known residents: the course hosts the year end Hero World Challenge and a roster of touring professionals call the marina community home. Access requires staying at Albany or knowing a member, which keeps the tee sheet quiet and the bar for inclusion here honest: the golf is championship grade, the gate is real. If the group can get in, the comparison with Royal Blue across the island settles itself by the third hole.

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05

Baker's Bay Golf and Ocean Club

Tom Fazio, 2010 · Great Guana Cay, Abaco · strictly private · the islands' top rated course

The unicorn. Tom Fazio's 2010 layout at Baker's Bay on Great Guana Cay is, by most credible rankings, the best course in the Bahamas, a sandy, sea edged design threaded through the dunes of a private island community whose membership reads like a fame index. We rank it fifth on this list for one reason only: a traveling golfer cannot buy access at any price, and a ranking built for trip planning has to say so. It earns its place as the benchmark, the course the others are measured against, and the reminder that in the Bahamas the architecture is world class even where the velvet rope is absolute.

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Editorial ranking by the GolfForKings desk, June 2026. Fees are indicative 2026 figures from published rates and recent visitor reports; always confirm directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Building the trip

The Bahamas works best as a split stay: three or four nights in Nassau covering Royal Blue and the Ocean Club from one base, then a hop to Abaco for the links if the budget allows, with the bed booked before the tee time at every stop. November to May is the season; hurricane months trade risk for discounts. For the wider Caribbean context, our luxury golf resorts in the Caribbean ranking sets these five against the region, Punta Espada and the Dominican Republic are the natural comparison shop, the all inclusive golf resorts list covers the package route, and the Dominican Republic golf holidays page prices the region's most bookable alternative. Mexico's Quivira makes the case for the mainland alternative.

Plan your Bahamas golf trip

Tell us your dates and group, and one concierge matches the right resort to the right tee sheets, Nassau, Paradise Island or Abaco, and costs it to the head. No obligation.

Bahamas golf questions

What is the best golf course in the Bahamas?

Among courses a traveling golfer can realistically play, the Abaco Club on Winding Bay leads: the Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie design from 2004 is the world's original tropical links, par 72 and 7,182 yards along a turquoise bay, open to guests staying at the club. The Tom Fazio course at Baker's Bay rates as the archipelago's best pure layout, but it is strictly private.

Can visitors play golf in the Bahamas?

Yes, but the model is resort access rather than walk up golf. Royal Blue at Baha Mar is bookable for resort guests in Nassau, the Ocean Club course on Paradise Island serves guests of the Ocean Club and Atlantis, the Abaco Club hosts playing guests who stay at the club, and Albany requires a stay or an invitation. Plan the bed before the tee time.

How much does golf cost in the Bahamas?

Budget premium resort numbers. Recent visitor reports put a Royal Blue round at about US$280 all in with cart and rental clubs, and the other marquee courses sit in a similar or higher bracket once resort access is arranged. All figures are indicative for 2026; always confirm directly before booking.

When is the best time to play golf in the Bahamas?

November to May is the prime window: dry season, trade wind cooling and the islands at their best, with December to April the peak for both weather and rates. June to November is hurricane season, when humidity rises and storm risk is real, though green fees and rooms drop accordingly. The wind plays all year, which is exactly what a links design like the Abaco Club wants.

Related

Luxury golf resorts in the Caribbean Golf in the Dominican Republic Punta Espada Best all inclusive golf resorts Dominican Republic golf holidays Quivira, Mexico

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts verified June 2026 against club and resort published information; fees indicative, always confirm directly before booking. Last reviewed June 2026.