St. Lucia has only 2 golf courses on the entire island, the one at our resort, and a private country club at the north part of the island. Our resort course was a 9 hole, par 33 with very tight holes. There were many nice par threes, but the par 4's and par 5 were terribly tight holes. The fairways were lined with jungles and creeks, but the grass was as green as you will see and the conditions were as good as I could have expected (greens rolling at about an 8).
Courtney and I each had our own caddie to fill us in on the local knowledge (and they were required), and I quickly learned that these guys have almost no clue what they are doing, but they act the part very well. The best part is when you ask them to read a putt for you, and he tells you a spot to aim for. But once you aim your putter to that spot and look back up to the target, he has moved the aim point a couple inches. I ended up trusting my own green reading skills (or lack thereof).
Aside from their green reading, the caddies were actually very nice. They pulled a fresh mango off a tree for us in between two holes, and we had the best mango I have ever tasted while walking down the fairway. You don't get that option at most golf courses!
After the round, and losing about 6 golf balls in the jungle, we bought our caddies a Piton Beer (local brew) and talked about their lives and culture.
It was a great experience for both of us, and I suggest it to anyone that visits St. Lucia. There are some pictures posted on facebook about of golfing adventure and the rest of the trip if you are interested!
