Abaco Club Bahamas – Highly Commended

For an amazing golf holiday - or a lifetime of them - The Abaco Club reigns supreme for tee time exhilaration

Golf in the tropics is often billed as a less than challenging experience and unfairly so. Holidaymakers from across the globe dream of combining a little exotic fairway action with a relaxing vacation amongst the picture-postcard palms. But all too often, Caribbean course layouts can be somewhat flat and featureless in design. Many are also affiliated with big, amorphous resorts that care more about high occupancy rates than providing a first-class guest experience.

The Abaco Club by contrast, offers a distinctive break from the typecast norm. That’s because, strictly speaking, The Club isn’t a resort. It’s an international, private sporting club. There are no towering beachfront condos, no ‘foodathon’ buffets. Instead, the Club offers a bespoke luxury experience to those seeking to escape the stresses of everyday life and kick back in a setting of unrivalled comfort and beauty.

What makes The Abaco Club a world-class property? Its one-of-a-kind setting certainly helps. Located on the most charming of the Bahamas’ Outer Islands - Great Abaco – the development is graced by a 2.5-mile powder-soft beach. And the golf course is far from predictable. Perennially ranked as the number-one course in The Bahamas, the Scottish-style links course offers plenty of demanding elevation change, which is unusual for an island layout. Many of the holes also sport stunning coastal views, making the task of fine-tuning your game an exercise in determination.

As you’d expect, the Club also boasts an array of water sports amenities — from kayaking, sailing and snorkeling to bone fishing and deep-sea fishing. Some of the best trophy-fish waters in the world can be found within minutes of the Club’s shoreline. Guests can also spend time on the tennis courts or at the fitness centre or unwind with a signature beauty treatment at the club’s luxurious spa. Cap it off with lunch al fresco at Buster’s Beach Bar, or sample the exquisite local cuisine offered daily at The Cliff House restaurant, and you have the makings of the perfect golf-to-pamper day.

For those inspired to make The Abaco Club, their home-from-home, residences for sale range from cosy cabanas and charming cottages to stately villas and grand oceanfront estates. Each property is within steps of the beach, and meticulously appointed with all luxury home-from-home essentials. Wake to the sound of crashing waves, stroll to the golf course or spa, or just relax on your private patio and look out over the sparkling, turquoise sea while the Abaco parrots chirp their warm welcome. It’s an atmosphere of quiet sophistication, where you, your family and your friends can enjoy total relaxation when you want it - and a wealth of wonderful leisure activities when the mood takes you.

“The Abaco Club is truly a world unto itself,” says Kristi Hull, the Club’s real estate sales director. “It’s an enclave that offers the perfect antidote to modern-day life. People become members and buy homes here because they fall in love with Abaco and want to establish a permanent connection to the place. They want to be able to return year after year to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the community with family and friends. And they make new friends here, too - from all over the world. It’s a unique place, and one that sells itself at a glance.”

Frequent hopper flights depart daily for Abaco’s Marsh Harbour International Airport from international hubs Nassau, Miami, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, making The Abaco Club an easy destination to reach. Chances are, though, you won’t find it an easy place to leave.

www.theabacoclub.com