Mid Ocean Club

The setting, the views, the property, the excellent strategy and variety of holes are all excellent. The course is right on the ocean with beautiful views, and plays through valleys and elevatins wonderfully. It has long holes, short holes, holes that flow left and those that flow right, uphill shots, downhill shots, and several blind shots. There are lots of elevated greens and quite a few with false fronts. Good mounds and ridges in the greens. The cape hole is one of the most memorable tee shots I have ever played. The redan, biarritz, and punchbowl holes are some of the many memorable holes. The course plays challenging but very fair.
Some oddities for such a high end course and facility were that the rental clubs were quite dated and not top-of-the line. They were fine but usually at high-end courses I've gotten better. And it took quite a while for the driving range to open such that we almost weren't able to warm up. However, the service was very good and it didn't detract from the pleasure of playing the course. This is a bucket-list type experience.

One of the best courses I have played; having recently played Pete Dye, Willie Park and Seth Raynor courses. Every hole is unique, challenging, but yet forgiving and greens rolling true. I had only one day to play while in Bermuda and was torn between Mid Ocean and Port Royal. You will not be disappointed in choosing Mid Ocean. I spoke with five other golfers who were able to play both on their trip and they all thought Mid Ocean was the best and a must play.

If you can carry the ball 215+ yards, I would suggest playing from the tips..it was manageable except for a couple intimidating tee boxes.

Few golf courses succeed in grabbing a player's attention and holding it for 18 holes, and keeping it long after the round is over. Mid Ocean is one of them. This C.B. Macdonald masterpiece starts with a hilltop, ocean-greeting par four and follows with an eclectic mix of long, short, uphill, downhill, stunningly beautiful and strategically engaging holes, one after another. These holes are all knitted together beautifully, and wander through the tony Tucker's Town neighborhood toward Bermuda's eastern end. As soon as I holed out beside the blue Atlantic water on 18, I wanted to trot up the hill and try it all over again. If you visit Bermuda, you should do what you can to play multiple rounds at Mid Ocean.

Okay, Mid Ocean is expensive. All-in it was about $280. But what a course. CB Macdonald had an amazing piece of property and created one of his greatest courses. Everything is fair...difficult but fair. If you hit a good shot, you'll be rewarded; hit a bad shot and you'll be punished. That's just how golf should be. We played on a December morning with winds of 25-35 knots, gusting to 45 knots. In case the course wasn't tough enough! With this wind, I don't know that it would be fun for a 20+ handicapper. In addition to the play, the views are amazing. We also enjoyed a nice post-round lunch in the grill, overlooking the 18th hole. If you can afford it, definitely play this course.

There are only a handful of island courses in the world worth chasing down. This is one of them.
The private club, dating to 1921, accepts public play on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The 6,548-yard par-71 course designed by Charles Blair Macdonald delivers fabulous ocean views to begin and end the round. The inland holes are the backbone of a fun routing through a tropical jungle.
The modern world has encroached on the design -- several roads cut through the back nine -- but this is still classic golf at its architectural best.
Macdonald, a founding father of golf in America, is a hot name these days, thanks to the opening of Old Macdonald, a tribute course designed by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina at Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon. Macdonald's work at Shoreacres near Chicago and National Golf Links in New York is sacred ground.