TPC Network Expands to Caribbean With TPC at Baha Mar

The PGA TOUR’s Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course will be part of a $3.5 billion integrated gaming resort opening in the spring of 2015 in Nassau, The Bahamas.

Baha Mar, the $3.5 billion integrated gaming resort opening in the spring of 2015 in Nassau, The Bahamas, has partnered with the PGA TOUR’s TPC Network to announce TPC at Baha Mar. The Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course will be the TPC Network’s first Caribbean golf course and complement the resort’s elite collection of hotel brands, including The Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Grand Hyatt and SLS LUX, as well as an ESPA spa and other experiences.

“The PGA TOUR is thrilled to expand the TPC Network’s brand presence into the Caribbean for the first time by partnering with Baha Mar’s visionary resort destination,” said Charlie Zink, PGA TOUR Co-Chief Operating Officer. “TPC at Baha Mar truly epitomizes the standard of excellence and tournament-hosting capabilities for which TPC courses are recognized worldwide.”

The 7,189-yard TPC at Baha Mar course will be designed as “two courses in one,” with the front nine providing dramatic play highlighted by ocean views and other water features, and a back nine that winds through in-land forest of native habitat and an unexpected amount of natural topography. The course features bunker placement and green design that incorporate the contours of the local landscape while creating a scenic golf course to be enjoyed by a broad variety of players.

The design of TPC at Baha Mar has also made a point to focus on preservation and was recently registered as a member of the Audubon International Classic Program. The golf course’s salt-tolerant Platinum Tiff Eagle Paspalam turfgrass will be irrigated with treated water from the resort.

Additionally, the course is home to 15 species of native trees, including protected mahogany, silk cotton, Caribbean pine and buttonwood, as well as red and black mangroves. And more than 70 species of birds, including the Bahama woodstar, egret, and osprey, can be found on the course, while the wildlife in the surrounding lake includes terrapin and mosquito fish species. A hidden cave with a protected family of indigenous bats has also been preserved within the course.

The TPC at Baha Mar will also feature the Royal Blue Clubhouse, highlighted by traditional Bahamian architecture, that will feature a bar and grill restaurant serving breakfast and lunch. The clubhouse also includes an open courtyard overlooking the golf course, as well as locker rooms and a golf shop.

The addition of TPC at Baha Mar to the PGA TOUR’s TPC Network follows the October 2014 opening of TPC Cartagena at Karibana, located in Cartagena, Colombia, as the TPC network’s first non-U.S. property. TPC at Baha Mar will bring the total number of private, resort and daily-fee clubs in the TPC network to 33. Twenty of the clubs are operated by affiliates of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, Inc., and each TPC has hosted or has been designed to host TOUR-sponsored golf tournaments.

The Baha Mar resort is set on 3,000 feet of white sandy beach, 10 minutes from Nassau’s international airport. The Baha Mar Casino & Hotel includes a 1,000-room hotel and a 100,000-sq. ft. Las Vegas-style casino. The resort will also include a 700-room Grand Hyatt, a 300-room SLS LUX, and a 200-room Rosewood at Baha Mar. Amenities, in addition to the TPC’s Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, will include 200,000 square feet of flexible convention facilities, including a 2,000-seat entertainment venue; an ESPA spa; art galleries featuring Bahamian art; more than 40 restaurants, bars and clubs; global luxury designer and local artisan boutiques; and 20 acres of landscaped beach and pool experiences, including a beachfront sanctuary with native Bahamian flora and fauna.

In addition, upon completion of renovations, the all-inclusive Meliá Nassau Beach will become part of Baha Mar.

“We are very proud that TPC at Baha Mar is the newest property in the PGA TOUR’s prestigious TPC Network of resort and private golf courses,” said Sarkis Izmirlian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Baha Mar. “We’re committed to looking for the most extraordinary partners from around the world, whether it is at tee time or dinner time, to bring the best of the best to our guests at the new Bahamian Riviera.”