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Port Royal Golf Course celebrates 54 years

VaselineJune 26, 2024

2 3 minutes read

Port Royal Golf Course celebrates 54 years

Port Royal Golf Course is celebrating its upcoming 54th anniversary with an appreciation golf tournament, awards ceremony and reception on Saturday (June 29).

A spokesperson said: “On Saturday 29 June 2024, Port Royal Golf Course, which officially opened on 29 October 1970, will celebrate its 54th anniversary as a world-class public championship golf course with an appreciation golf tournament, awards ceremony and reception.

“Ironically, Kim Swan, the current Chairman of the Golf Course Board of Trustees, was a product of the Port Royal Golf Course when it opened in 1970. Chairman Swan felt compelled to draw attention to Port Royal and thank it for its half century of service as a golf club. important tourism product for Bermuda.

“In its original form, Port Royal became the official home of Bermuda Championship Golf by hosting the now dominant Bermuda Open and Bermuda Amateur Championships for decades. In its modern form, the renovated Port Royal Golf Course attracted six PGA Grand Slam of Golf events and has now hosted the PGA Tour Butterfield Bermuda Championship for five years in a row.”

Mr Swan said: “The introduction of a public championship golf course changed the social landscape of golf for the betterment of the game and the country as a whole. The Port Royal Golf Course heralded a period of social change as golf in Bermuda transitioned from an openly segregated society in the 1960s and before.

“The construction of the Port Royal Golf Course coincided with the construction and opening of the Southampton Princess Hotel and it has not escaped my notice that we are eagerly awaiting the restoration of that same facility as we celebrate our own. The relationship between Port Royal and Southampton Princess has seen major convention groups grace our shores – groups such as Time Magazine and IBM booking the entire course for a week at market rates – with celebrities such as Jack Nicklaus and Billy Eckstein putting their stamp of approval on our world-class establishment.”

The spokesperson said: “The creation of Port Royal ushered in an era of unprecedented inclusivity in golf available only at the public facilities at the 9-hole Ocean View Golf Course. As a world-class golf course with full service facilities, Port Royal attracted people from all walks of life.

“The Reginald Tucker era included the late Eric Parker and the late Hubert Smith, both of whom were established figures in the Bermuda golf scene – Eric Parker at Belmont and with the Bermuda Golf Association and Hubert Smith through Ocean View Golf Club – the merger of The Golf Culture of Bermuda had begun. Reginald Tucker, from an established golfing family in St. George’s, was a major executive figure at the Bank of Bermuda and an accomplished golfer.

“Completion of the Port Royal Golf Course was delayed for several months before it opened in October 1970.”

Former civil servant Dr IW Hughes said: “Reggie Tucker was a no-nonsense guy who got things done.”

Kim Swan said: “Mr Wardman was a champion golfer and it was under his stewardship that Noel Van Putten and Frank Rabain were introduced to the Port Royal Golf Course as General Manager and Golf Professional and the course went from strength to strength attracting unprecedented numbers of golfers. annual.”

The spokesperson said: “On Saturday 29 June 2024 we will celebrate the glorious 54-year legacy of the Port Royal Golf Course.”

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