Sandy Lane Resort

The best part about playing Sandy Lane CC are the off-the-course facilities. The clubhouse and pro shop are wonderful. The course itself was in good condition and was a perfectly good round of golf. But for architecture buffs, the routing was a bit basic. There are only a couple of memorable holes. The good news is the 18th hole is one of them, a stout par 3 over a pond just below the clubhouse. It's a great way to finish.

My son was married at Sandy Lane and I had the privilege to play The Green Monkey. The caddies were excellent with execution of distance to the flag and also the knowledge of the deceptive greens. If you looked at the green and planned to break right, it would break left. An up hill putt would actually be a down hill putt. The caddies played a big role with this course. Excellent and beautifully challenging. Occasionally had to scare the monkeys off the tee box!

When you have a world wide reputation for excellence , it puts pressure on you to deliver an exceptional experience and we fou d it sadly lacking . For some reason they don't have many golf carts available so you have to carry or use a trolley . We only had small bags so needed space to carry extras so had to opt for the trolley. These were terrible , old rusty and constantly tipped over which was infuriating, surely sandy lane can afford a few decent golf carts. .? I would add that the course involves walking up a steep hill soif you have trouble walking you would really struggle .

Other problems were that two ladies' tees were not marked , out of 9 ,again really slack .

The course is well kept and very pretty but greens were disappointing .

Strange facilities, you walk into a cavernous locker room only to find the toilet cubicles are so small you can't fit in them , I am a size 4, and then they didn't lock anyway which is ridiculous.

This course will put a good notch in your wallet but is worth it to see the views, the well manicured gardens and the beautiful clubhouse. Everything from the entrance to the locker rooms to the restaurant is top notch. There is no detail overlooked. I would play it again (despite the cost) just to be pampered for the day.

Like everything else in Barbados, this course is expensive, over top expensive some might say. They do offer a 7-day pass that lets you play 7 rounds over 10 days which eases the pain a bit. Adding in the caddy fee (40 US$) and tip makes it cost even more. Having said that, if you're holidaying in Barbados then money is probably not an issue in which case this is a great golf course. Beautifully maintained, the golf course and the entire golf experience is first class from arrival to departure. Friendly staff, fantastic clubhouse, gorgeous scenery and good caddies, it all adds up to a great round of golf. Remember, this is the place (Sandy Lane Hotel) that Tiger Woods took over for his wedding, and the golf club terrace is where they had the reception. Beautiful facility. Unfortunately, over the years the food has become a bit hit and miss , especially considering the price.