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NTThe young guns are painting a new scenewith their bold style of play on the PGA Tour

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Th e Bahamas Islands chain, which sits just southeast of Florida, contains 700 diff erent islands spread out over several thousand miles, but only 30 of them are actually inhabited.

But it’s highly unlikely that any of them are as pleasant of a hid-den resort fi nd as the secluded and welcoming luxury golf and fi shing enclave of Th e Abaco Club on Winding Bay featured on Great Abaco Island.

Th e island itself features a population of 10,000 people, who are mainly concentrated on the major city of Marsh Harbour. Th e city contains one working traffi c light, a KFC food outlet and the international airport, plus a smaller private one, which services direct American Airlines & Delta connections from various cities in Florida and the East Coast.

While Caribbean golf and resorts have been popular for decades, especially for visitors from the East Coast, what makes Th e Abaco Club unique is that the property features a luxury housing devel-opment. With homes ranging from $3 million to $20 million, the development is open to resort guests to gain a glimmer of this oft en overlooked and underappreciated destination.

“We don’t do things like everybody else,” said owner David Southworth, a Boston CEO of his own development company, which operates fi ve other similar resorts in the U.S. and U.K.

He started the genius marketing idea of letting vacationing tourists seek out the best of the Bahamas without fi rst having to make a seven-fi gure investment or sit through a never-ending sales pitch in the middle of their vacation.

Unlike nearby Baker's Bay, site of the fabled Jordan Spieth-Rickie Fowler annual spring break trip, Th e Abaco Club is low key, understated and full of what Southworth likes to call, “bare-foot luxury.” Th at includes a 2-mile undisturbed crescent moon-shaped beach, the fi rst authentic island 18-hole Scottish links designed golf course, which is rated No. 1 in the Bahamas and Top 10 in the Caribbean; tennis, spa, pool, along with diff erent varieties of dining and adjacent world class fi shing.

“We specialize in all the things money can’t buy, beach, sunset, fi shing, golf, barefoot luxury, relative seclusion,” Southworth said.

“I can remember coming in from an early morning bone fi shing trip and looking over at the 17th and 18th green and seeing peo-ple fi nishing out their round. A few minutes later, we’re docked, then it’s lunch, spa, perhaps golf or the beach. Th at’s an experience that’s hard to beat or replicate.”

Southworth is committed to continue to open the door to his little piece of paradise to others. In 2018, Th e Abaco Club will host a Nationwide Tour professional golf event for the second

Barefoot Luxury in the BahamasThe Abaco Club delivers world-class golf, sun and surf on a secluded island in the CaribbeanBY ART STRICKLIN

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year which will be nationally televised and resulted in at least one home sale last year.

“We’re enjoying it more than we thought we would,” he said. “Many of the players stay on property and have a good time with the fi shing, the golf and the beach.”

Th ere are 20 individual villas Abaco Club guests can rent which can accommodate a couple or small family. If more space is needed, there are larger units as part of the rental pool. A guest can come and bring his family three times before a membership must be purchased, with no home ownership required for an international membership.

“I haven’t heard anybody say they didn’t want to come back aft er being here once because of the personal service, the feel of being a guest, not a visitor, and the wide variety of things to do,” Southworth said.

Of course, to be a great golf resort fi nd, it helps to have a great golf course and that’s where Th e Abaco Club golf fi gures into Southworth’s “we don’t do things like everybody else,” mantra as well.

U.K. architects Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie arrived before the facility fi rst opened in 2004 to craft the fi rst-ever Caribbean authentic Scottish-Irish links. Far from the scenic and easily forgettable golf courses which dot the region, Steel and Mackenzie took the oceanside land and craft ed a very interesting, playable and entertaining par-72 layout.

Th e Abaco Club site features plenty of rolling and heaving fair-ways where shots can go in any direction once they hit the turf with the wildly undulating greens off ering a similar challenge. Th ere are acres of white-sanded waste area just off the fairways which off er a chance to recover from a poor shot, provided you can thread your ball through a myriad of trees and jungle brush.

Of course, since this is a proper U.K. links, albeit one a few thousand miles to the west, there are plenty of bunkers on the Abaco Club course. Some are of the smaller pot variety, others much larger and more menacing.

Another true links characteristic in place here, is the holes with steep banks and a green grass funnel through the middle to thread your shot. A fi ne case in point is the par 4 ninth hole, one of the most interesting on the course.

Th e fairway threads left to right off the tee with high banks on either side to bounce your ball off of for an easier approach to an elevated, well-bunkered green. Th e par-4 12th is another testi-mony to a well routed hole with trees and bunkers to navigate to reach the green.

Of course a layout this close to the Atlantic Ocean would have its share of scorecard soothing scenery and that’s certainly the case here. Front nine holes Nos. 4-7 all run with the ocean to one side or the other, including two par-3 challenges which sit among wav-ing trees. Even the window in the mid-round restroom off ers a stunning view of the ocean.

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On the back nine, the watery drama cracks up starting on the elevated tee box of the par-4 15th hole where the ocean is visible in the distance. Th e par-4 16th starts out straight along the water before a 90-degree turn to the right.

Th e par-3 17th is a scene stealer with ocean all along the right side and waves dramatically crashing against the rocks next to the green. Th e par-5 18th closes the course on a grand note with ocean on the left side, tee to green and another elevated green to fi nish your Abaco Club test.

Another diff erence maker is the extensive practice facility next to the modest pro shop. Th ere is a large double-sided range for all manner of full shots along with two putting greens, two chipping greens and some practice bunkers.

It’s no wonder British Open champion Darren Clarke keeps a house here and is a regular user of the practice facilities, especially before the Masters, along with Graeme McDowell and Rickie Fowler.

Of course, the resort has stories to tell like most great places. It was opened in 2004 by visionary developer Peter de Savary who insisted on the best of everything, including backup electrical and water systems and the unique links design.

He sold to the Ritz Carlton chain in 2006 which saw this as a luxury resort goldmine, but when there were not enough regular visitors to fi ll the corporate P&L statement, Ritz Carlton and its parent company, Marriott International, soon began to lose inter-est in the project.

Southworth fi rst visited in 2011, saw the distressed conditions, but didn’t think he could do anything about it.

“I never thought I had a chance to get this, but I had bought another project from Ritz in the past, so I had a few contacts and knew some people there.”

He closed on the sale of the resort in December 2014 and began to restore it to the de Savary vision, with a more open populist touch. He has spent millions in neglected renovation work, sold more properties, allowed more visitors and added more unique touches including a large new marina to dock larger boats. Th e marina will begin to take shape in early 2018. A new tennis center addition will soon follow.

Little Harbour, where the new modern docks will take place, is still humming on most weekend nights, especially at the sandy fl oor Pete’s Pub where the newest and freshest catch from Wind-ing Bay is brought in and served to guests aft er being listed on the whiteboard menu.

Should you want to explore watery landscape, you can charter a boat for deep sea fi shing and aqua sightsighting including the ancient native villages of Hope Town and Cherokee and the clas-sic seaside dive bar, Nippers, on Great Guana Cay.

But back at Th e Abaco Bay, it’s just more unspoiled beaches, more stunning sunsets, water toys, unique golf, fl awless practice facility and more tropical food and drinks.

Barefoot luxury, open to all.

For more information on vacations at Th e Abaco Club or full-time lodg-ing, go to www.theabacoclub.com or info@Th eAbacoClub.com.

It’s no wonder British Open champion Darren Clarke keeps a house here and is a regular user of the practice facilities, especially before the Masters, along with Graeme McDowell and Rickie Fowler.