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Ruby shines
WTDFJul09_Golf
Ruby shines
Popular course reopened
With the recent reopening of The Ruby course, golfers can enjoy a full range of challenges on Grand Bahama, whatever their skill level.
Located on the north side of West Sunrise Highway, The Ruby was knocked out of commission by back-to-back hurricanes in 2004. So was its sister course, The Emerald, which remains closed.
The 18-hole, par-72, Ruby is more than 7,000 yards. It was originally laid out by two legendary designers, Dick Wilson and Joe Lee, in 1964. Later, the renowned Jim Fazio Golf Design group gave it a $6 million upgrade. Larger greens and creatively relocated traps were part of the improvements.
The most recent facelift of The Ruby was completed in January, when it was again open for play, says Donald Archer, manager of operations for the owner, Harcourt Development (Bahamas) Ltd. The clubhouse is open again, as well. The Ruby is considered to be relatively easy to play from the front tees but much more challenging from the blues.
It rejoins the inventory of top-notch golf courses on Grand Bahama, which includes The Lucayan and The Reef courses at Our Lucaya Resort and the nine-hole layout at Fortune Hills Golf & Country Club. Dick Wilson also designed the picturesque 6,824-yard Lucayan, and he partnered with Lee again on Fortune Hills .
The future of golf on Grand Bahama looks even brighter with the addition of two more championship courses at the $4.9 billion Ginn Sur Mer resort community being built now in West End. Both of these signature links—one designed by Arnold Palmer and the other by Jack Nicklaus—will feature oceanfront holes. The 7,650-yard Palmer course was nearing completion at press time, according to a spokesman for Ginn Resorts, the developer of the complex.
Work was about 85 per cent complete, with grassing set to begin in May. A 500,000-gallon-per-day reverse osmosis plant has been built and a small clubhouse was expected to be completed by the end of 2009.
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