White Witch Golf Course

The verdict

White Witch is the round that trades on theater. Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril routed it across the steep hills of the Rose Hall Estate at the turn of the millennium, opening in 2000, and they used every foot of the elevation. From the high ground the holes fall toward the sea and climb back into the slopes, and the Caribbean is visible from nearly every tee. As a par 71 of about 6,758 yards it is not long, but the land does the work the yardage does not.

The name carries the place. Annie Palmer, the so called White Witch of Rose Hall, is the folklore figure said to have ruled the plantation in the early 1800s, and the Rose Hall Great House sits at the heart of the estate the course is draped over. For a Montego Bay golf trip White Witch is the spectacle round, the one with the views and the drama, best paired with its lower sister course Cinnamon Hill and the older character of Tryall to the west.

The holes worth the trip

The drama is in the elevation. White Witch sits high above the coast, and several holes plunge downhill toward the sea before the round works its way back up into the hills, so club selection is as much about the drop as the distance. The greens are perched and the surrounds fall away, which puts a premium on the right number into the wind that swirls across the high ground.

The views are the constant. Few resort courses keep the ocean in the frame as relentlessly as this one, and the run of holes along the upper slopes gives the long sightlines that make the photographs. A caddie is part of the package here, and a good one earns the fee on the blind tee shots and the elevation reads that the eye gets wrong.

For a Rose Hall trip we set White Witch against Cinnamon Hill down by the water. The two play as a pair, the witch up in the hills with the drama and the views, Cinnamon Hill along the coast with the Great House and the waterfall. Book the tee time when the light favors the high holes.

Where to stay nearby

White Witch sits within the Rose Hall resort corridor east of Montego Bay, where a cluster of large beach resorts puts you minutes from the first tee. A stay on the estate or along the Rose Hall strip lets you play the witch and Cinnamon Hill on consecutive mornings without moving base.

If you would rather mix the resort golf with something more historic, Tryall lies about half an hour west and makes the natural third round of a Montego Bay trip. We can build the stay either way. Tell us your dates and your group and we will match the base to the golf.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near White Witch and Rose Hall.