The Royal Westmoreland Journal

US$500m Royal Westmoreland investment will cement Royal Westmoreland as the largest and best luxury golf resort in the Caribbean

250 new properties and an additional 18 holes of golf as part of US$500m investment will cement Royal Westmoreland as the largest and best luxury golf resort in the Caribbean

To strengthen Royal Westmoreland's position as the premier luxury golf resort in the Caribbean, owner John Morphet is investing US$500m to purchase the neighbouring 250 acre Lancaster sugar cane plantation, on which he will build 250 new properties, 10 acres of luxury retail development and a second 18-hole championship golf course with new clubhouse. As part of this extraordinary investment, he has also purchased the famous Mullins Beach Bar and Suga Suga Spa, which are being completely refurbished to form a stunning new beach club for Royal Westmoreland villa owners and guests.

John Morphet plans to develop the additional 250 acres with stunning new properties, most of which will have golf course and Caribbean views, and has already appointed one of Atlanta's top planning, architecture and landscape firms to carry the project forward. Tunnell-Spangler Walsh and Associates, who were involved in the original development at Royal Westmoreland, will plan the next phase of development, maintaining Royal Westmoreland's reputation for an expansive resort layout featuring designs sympathetic to Bajan tradition, without resorting to pastiche.

Royal Westmoreland will also be the first resort in the world to feature golf by both legendary course design brothers Robert Trent Jones Jnr. and Rees Jones. The second 18 is being designed to be as spectacular as the first, and Rees Jones knows it will be tough to better his brother's work – but is determined to do exactly that.

"It is quite simple, really," said John Morphet. "Royal Westmoreland is the premier golf resort in the Caribbean and I intend it to stay that way. 36 of the best holes of golf in the world, our own beach club, bar and spa and another 250 acres on which to build luxury villas will ensure the matter stays beyond doubt for years to come."

Bill Tunnell, Principal-in-charge at Tunnell-Spangler, with over thirty years of professional experience in planning and architecture, has designed residential, commercial and golf projects in fourteen US states, Europe and the Caribbean.

"To renew the relationship with Royal Westmoreland is a fantastic opportunity," he said. "Our knowledge of the estate will enable us to plan and design the next phase to the exacting standards required at Royal Westmoreland and we are very much looking forward to working with Rees Jones on the development of the second 18-hole Championship golf course."

Royal Westmoreland, known as one of the most exclusive golf locations in the world, is already a popular destination amongst some of the great sporting icons of our time. Successful Ryder Cup Golf Captain Ian Woosnam, soccer star Gary Lineker, and Ashes cricketing heroes Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff, plus many well known "Captains of Industry" from the UK, Ireland, Canada and the USA all own properties on the Estate.

New fleet of golf buggies

A new fleet of 70 golf carts is now in operation.
These wonderful new carts are from Club Car and offer superior ride and comfort over the old carts.

Summer projects on the Royal Westmoreland golf course

Although the estate can often seem a little quieter in the summer months, behind the scenes it's a hive of activity as several renovation and upgrading projects have been taking place on and off the golf course.

Tee renovations
Several tees have been added or renovated during the summer. On the 3rd hole, two new upper tees have been added. These new tees will not only present a new challenge but also help to spread wear more evenly.

The 7th blue tee has also been extended to help spread the effects of play, and has moved back slightly, extending the hole by a few yards.

The blue teeing area on the 15th hole has also been renovated to not only extend playing coverage but also level out the playing surface as tees can move and subside over the years. Some of the tees didn’t warrant a complete rebuild but simply needed to be graded to level out the playing surface. This was the case on the 5th and 7th gold tees where the turf was stripped before the tees were levelled and the turf replaced.

The advent of modern technology has had a tremendous impact on how far and straight a club golfer can drive a golf ball. This can make some of the original design spec of a course become redundant. Luckily Westmoreland has withstood the Titanium revolution quite well, so only a couple of new tees will need to be constructed to bring some of the original features of the course back into play. One such hole is the 8th. A new gold tee is being constructed to bring the bunkers back into play. All other tees will then move a teeing ground back, i.e. reds to the old white tee and so forth. Other tees that have undergone reconstruction include the ladies tee on the 6th and also the gents blue tee on the 15th.

General course maintenance
The wonderfully manicured fairways and greens that we all enjoy playing on don’t happen by accident! Unfortunately no golf course can ever be in perfect condition for 365 days of year, as essential maintenance projects have to be undertaken to ensure the greens and fairways stay free of disease. Coring and top dressing is one of the practices which keeps the greens in tip top shape.

Cart paths
Several areas of cart path were dug out and replaced during the summer. Cracks and bumps are often caused by advancing tree roots, which can get under and buckle the paths. A new path has been added to give access to the south end of the range, including an area to park carts.

Around the Clubhouse
In early summer the lake on the 9th was dragged to alleviate the algae and pondweed that builds up over a period of time. The lake has also being fitted with a fountain.

A new 'starters box' has been installed beside the putting green. This will enable us to better control the tee times and importantly the pace of play.

A new fleet of 70 golf carts are now in operation. The new carts are from Club Car and offer superior ride and comfort over the old carts.

To make way for the extra new carts we have also had to build a new bagstore unit. The new storage housing gives us the ability to hold more bags in a safer environment.