The Best Golf Courses

Cable Beach: The main course is the Radisson Cable Beach Golf Course The oldest golf course in The Bahamas, this par-72 green was the private retreat of British expatriates in the 1930s. Today, it's managed by a corporate namesake of Arnold Palmer and owned by Cable Beach casino marketers. Small ponds and water traps heighten the challenge, amid more than 7,040 yards of well-maintained greens and fairways.

Paradise Island: Tom Weiskopf designed Ocean Club Golf Club, an 18-hole, par-72 course, and it's a stunner. With its own pitfalls, including the world's largest sand trap and water hazards (mainly the Atlantic Ocean) on three sides, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player have endorsed this course. For the best panoramic ocean view -- good enough to take your mind off your game -- play the par-3 14th hole.

Grand Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island: Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., The Reef Course opened in 2000. The Bahamian press called it a bit like a Scottish course, "but a lot warmer." The course boasts 6,920 yards of link-style greens.

Grand Bahama Island: Megaresort Crowne Plaza Golf Resort & Casino at the Royal Oasis offers two golf courses, Emerald Golf Course and Ruby Golf Course. Both are par 72, with rolling, sandy terrain.

The Exumas: At long last the Southern Bahamas has a world-class golf course: Four Seasons Resort Emerald Bay Golf Club opens onto the waters of Emerald Bay. The par-72, 18-hole course was designed by Greg Norman, the famous golf architect, who created six oceanfront holes. The course is challenging, yet not daunting, so that it appeals to golfers of various skills.

• Grand Bahama Island
• Nassau