Logo
Panel background

Mid Ocean Club

St. George's Parish, Bermuda

Want to play
Have played

The “Father of Golf Architecture”, Charles Blair Macdonald and his associate, Seth Raynor, originally laid out the Mid Ocean Club course and it opened for play in 1924 adjacent to the Atlantic.

Overall rating

Course rating full ball
Course rating full ball
Course rating full ball
Course rating full ball
Course rating full ball
5
Gallery image
Gallery image
Gallery image
Gallery image
Gallery image
Gallery image

Mid Ocean Club

Set on the northeastern tip of Bermuda in wealthy Tucker's Town, is one of the world’s finest golf courses. The “Father of Golf Architecture”, Charles Blair Macdonald and his associate, Seth Raynor, originally laid out the Mid Ocean Club course and it opened for play in 1924 adjacent to the Atlantic.

In The Evangelist of Golf, George Bahto commented as follows: “Macdonald and Raynor traveled to the island and drew up several possible routings from relief maps of the area, finally settling on one. Once the planning stages were complete, Macdonald left Raynor to attend to the actual construction, assisted by Charles Banks and Ralph Barton, a construction supervisor. It was Banks who later built the Castle Harbour course on the adjoining property.”

“When the course opened in 1924, Mid Ocean set a new standard as the finest inland course in the world. Rather than succumb to the temptation of forcing scenic cliff-top holes at the expense of good golf, Macdonald and Raynor showed great restraint by skilfully routing Mid Ocean to take full advantage – first and foremost – of the natural contours of the site.”

The Atlantic Ocean does not play a major part in the design of Mid Ocean it merely provides a beautiful backdrop to a number of holes, the majority of which are set back a little further inland among the stately pines, the pretty glades and the dramatic valleys.

The course was lightly modified by Robert Trent Jones in the 1950s when he added new tees and bunkers. Today’s layout is a stern test, especially when the trade winds are freshening, but with numerous tees to choose from it’s also a very enjoyable course for the handicap golfer. Perhaps Mid Ocean's most notable and most treacherous hole is a Cape template, the 433-yard par four 5th, with its elevated tee atop a hill with a glorious view across the shimmering Mangrove Lake.

If you are only remotely interested in golf, a walk round Mid Ocean is a joy and naturally you must wear the mandatory Bermuda length shorts. Contrary to Mark Twain, Mid Ocean is most definitely not “a good walk spoiled”, we tend to agree with Mr Twain’s alternative saying, "you die and go to heaven, I'll stay here in Bermuda".

World Top 100 Golf Courses

The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings

  1. Cypress Point Club

    California, United States

  2. Pine Valley Golf Club

    New Jersey, United States

  3. Royal County Down (Championship)

    Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

  4. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

    New York, United States

  5. National Golf Links of America

    New York, United States

Explore All