Dateline March 22-26, 2026: Bermuda

The Pompano Beach Club began a couples’ golf tournament 27 years ago, and it has operated every spring since (the exception was COVID). It is a fun tournament where you play a different format each day on three different golf courses. The best part is that with great people you meet from different countries, a large contingent from the States. We had the pleasure of playing in this tournament for the first time in 2006, our pre-blog days. This year, we decided to revisit after 20 years. This is their 27th year for the “Spring Golf Tournament.” 

Tom Lamb, from Waban, Massachusetts, fell in love with Bermuda during several vacation trips in the early 1950’s. He partnered with a Bermudian friend, Ewing Trott, and started Bermuda’s first fishing club.  The Pompano Club was aptly named after the fish found on the shallow sand flats in front of the resort where it stands today. In 1956, Tom Lamb purchased the club outright from his Bermudian partner following the passage of the “Pompano Act” in the Bermuda Parliament. This “Act” was specifically passed to allow the transfer of total ownership to Tom Lamb from Ewing Trott. What an endorsement for Tom and his wife, Jean, for their love for Bermuda. The Lamb’s developed the Pompano Beach Club in the late 50’s and early 60’s into a small hotel. All of the accommodation buildings are named after local game fish as a tribute to the resort’s fishing club heritage. The Lamb’s had several managers during its first twenty-five years.  In 1989, the Lambs turned it over to their three children, Aimee, Tom, and Larry. Tom and Larry jointly managed the day-to-day operation The resort has been family-owned for the past 70 years and is about 45 minutes from the airport.

What a time to travel with TSA issues, but we knew since Wilmington was a small airport it would probable be not too bad but we planned to go a little early just in case. We had a 6 AM flight to Atlanta for an 11:20 connection to Bermuda. A car service picked us up at 3:30 AM and dropped us at the Wilmington airport just after 4 AM. The airport is under renovation, making the trip up the steep temporary walkway with golf clubs and bags difficult. Fortunately, they had a golf cart that took us up the hill, where we could drag the cubs the rest of the way to check in

We were checked in by about 4:45 and at the gate. We were right, since the airport is small there was no line and we went right through TSA. Delta loaded us on the flight early due to the weather approaching Atlanta, but not soon enough, Atlanta was hit hard by the weather and shut down, and we remained grounded in the plane in Wilmington for about 2.5 hours before we finally took off. Our flight from Atlanta to Bermuda was on time. Since our layover was scheduled for 3 hours, we made the flight.

The Bermuda flight was 100% booked when we last looked online, but with all the flight cancellations due to blizzard conditions across the country, we wondered how many would miss their connection. The flight was 1/3rd full when we took off, and many people never made it.

We landed on time in Bermuda, took a van with other couples who were headed to the Pompano Beach Club Couples tournament. The drive was a twisting 45-minute drive, especially riding on the left side of the road. We were blown away by how much Bermuda had changed in 20 years, with new construction everywhere.

We turned into the property, and the Pompano Beach Club had not changed, except for a new dining room built where there was once a deck overlooking the ocean. It had its lovely quaintness, we remembered so well.

Our room was a cottage up the hill that overlooked the ocean. We laughed about how much better shape we would be in after hiking up the long hill, then two flights of stairs to reach the room.

The Tournament Begins

The welcoming cocktail party was beginning at 5 PM. We had a chance to freshen up and headed down to the patio bar overlooking the beach. There were all sorts of Bermuda drinks flowing with special shots of Goslings Rum, an eighth-generation family business, and sponsor of the tournament. There was plenty to snack on with an excellent appetizer spread. Most conversations were about the stories of how everyone got to Bermuda, and those who were making their way. We met some very nice people from Kansas and Oklahoma. One of our great memories of our last trip was the fun of meeting so many new people, all looking for a great week; this was no exception.

Our hosts told us the plans for the week, how to find out who we were playing with, and the schedule for courses and tee times. It was only 8:00 p.m., but we could not stay up another second, so we took the long walk up to the room.

Our first round was at a course right next to the Mid Ocean Club. John had heard wonderful stories from friends who had played the Mid Ocean course over the years. A “Bucket List Course” that is nearly impossible to get on. We were hopeful this would also be a great golf track. It took about an hour for the van to get there because of a motor scooter accident. (Do not rent a motor scooter!)

Our clubs had been sent earlier in the morning and were on our golf cart. After warming up, we teed off at the first hole. The weather was sunny with 15-20 mph winds. We were told it was hilly, but nothing could have prepared us for such steep hills.

They had electric carts set up with Geo Fencing, a very effective way to stop carts from going into areas the course wants to protect. The problem is there were no markings on the course showing where those virtual fences were set, and the screen on the cart did not show the barriers, you can often see at most golf courses. When you enter an area inside the barrier, the cart stops, and you have to back it into the permitted area. There were many stories of golfers who had to push their carts manually to free them, sometimes very frustrating.

The format was a Modified Best Ball: Both players hit drives from their respective tees, and the best is chosen, then each player plays their own ball from their position into the hole. The best of the 2 scores is the team score for that hole. Each player’s drive had to be used 2 times on every 9 holes.

Practice does not make perfect. We shot a 46 on the front nine, but recovered a little and shot a 38 on the back. The round was long, about 5 ½ hours, but we were fortunate to play with a very nice couple, Rob and Patty Tykal, so we made the best of the time between shots.

Back to the hotel for another round of cocktails…

We Joked About Being Adopted

We met some wonderful people from Kansas and Oklahoma. They asked us to join them, and then insisted we be part of their dinner reservation each evening. We felt like the “old people” were adopted by the kids. What was fun, they were 15 to 20 years younger, the same age we were on our first trip.

After dinner, we stopped at the bar and had an after-dinner drink. The bartender made us a Rum Old Fashion… it was terrific, it might become our new drink of choice! Enough energy was spent for the day, and we were exhausted, and headed to the room about 8:30 and were asleep by 9. We had a great day, but our golf left us near the bottom of the flight; hopefully, we will improve tomorrow.

Port Royal Golf Club is a Robert Trent Jones Course. It was originally designed in the late 1960’s and was opened in 1970. The 16th hole is one of the most photographed par 3s in world golf. During the original design, a landowner refused to sell crucial property, forcing Jones to rethink his routing. His solution was inspired: a 235-yard par 3 where both tee and green perch on cliffs above the Atlantic Ocean, separated by a chasm where waves crash against ancient rock. The course was updated in 2009 by Roger Rulewich, who worked on the original design team, the 16th remains exactly the same.

The PGA has a fall stop at Port Royal in November called the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. The 2025 winner was Adam Schenk, who has been a member of the PGA since 2017.

Up early to play the second round of golf. Port Royal is one of two public golf courses on the island. The tournament format for the day was a scramble using at least 2 drives from each person per nine holes. The first hole we looked like champs putting for birdie, but it went downhill. We played with a couple from the Boston area (John Molinari and Andrea Dutile), They had a fifth wheel so we talked about our RV ad ventures, they were super nice.

We played a bit faster, only 5 hours, the course was in pretty good shape for the time of year. The signature hole (#16) was beautiful and very daunting. We could see why it is one of the most photographed holes in the world. After playing we sat in the bar and had a local IPA. What was a bit shocking is the beers were $20 each..holy cow!
When it was all done, we had shot 85 in a scramble…bad on us…Making us  “DFL” net, and next to last in gross.

We have two more rounds to improve, so we shall see. Unfortunately, the weather is not looking good, but the weatherman is mostly wrong. Let’s hope!

With all the rain, the courses were soaked, and some of the greens were underwater. The competitive round was cancelled, but everyone had the option to go play in the rain, cart paths only, or take the day off. We chose not to play because the hills are so steep that we would probably be sliding up and down. It was still raining but looked like it might clear a bit, so we headed to the Royal Navy Yard.

As always, history comes first. The Dockyard was first built from the late 1700s to the early 1800s by the British. The reason was that after the British lost the Revolutionary War to the American Colonies in 1783, they no longer had bases on the U.S. Coast. The British had owned Bermuda since 1621, so they confiscated a large area of land for military use from the English Colonists to build the Dockyard. They built the Dockyard in Bermuda because it was right in the middle of major shipping routes. It took about 50 years to build, using thousands of British prisoners, slaves, and some Bermudians. It was a key repair and supply hub for ships crossing the Atlantic, it was often called the “Gibraltar of the West” for its heavy fortifications and strategic importance.

In the War of 1812, the British used it to attack the United States (Washington D.C.), and in WW2, when the US and England were on the same team, the Dockyard was a critical Atlantic base. Hundreds of ships were repaired, it helped convoys cross the Atlantic and defend against German submarines.

Beginning in the early 1950s, most Naval operations were shut down, and in 1995 the Naval station was closed. Given its historical importance, Bermuda began restoring the site in the 1980s, and it now serves as both a National Museum and a preserved landmark of the island’s maritime past.

Commissioner’s House, Bermuda

Commissioner’s House has stood atop its Dockyard hill since 1827, built by local and enslaved laborers and later by British convicts, its cast iron frame shipped from England to become the first structure of its kind in the world. It served its original purpose for only a decade, housing the resident Commissioner of Dockyard before the British Army took it over permanently, and from there its purpose shifted with the needs of each era: Royal Marine barracks, Allied headquarters for submarine radio interception during World War II, and then finally abandonment in 1951. For over twenty years it sat vacant, weathered and decimated by time, until the Bermuda Maritime Museum repossessed it in 1975 and began a quarter-century restoration that brought it back to life.

The museum reopened to the public in 2000, and now its floors tell stories that span Bermuda’s history in a global context. The ground floor houses Defense Heritage, chronicling the island’s defense history and honoring the local lives lost in World War I and World War II, while the first floor is dedicated to Bermuda’s role in the slave trade. Moving through the building, exhibits explore immigration and tourism, the connections between Bermuda and the Azores, the West Indies, and on the second floor, the US Navy Room narrows the focus to the shared maritime history between Bermuda and the United States, their interwoven wartime pasts reaching back across generations. The collections evolve, new exhibits appear, and the house that once served commissioners and soldiers now serves memory.

Naval Clock Tower

The clock tower was built in 1846 as part of the Royal Naval Dockyard. Designed in a Victorian architectural style, it served as a timekeeping device for sailors and features a distinctive clock mechanism imported from England. It was a focal point for naval operations during the 19th century. The structure has undergone various restorations to preserve its historical significance and remains a symbol of Bermuda’s maritime heritage.

The Forts

Each of the five forts was positioned to protect against a possible assault of the Naval Yard. Fort Hamilton guarded the main channel from ships entering the yard, while Fort George served as the central defensive fortification and surveillance point. Fort St. Catherine, the earliest of them, provided crossfire support, and Fort Victoria added overlapping fire from the western side. Fort Scaur sat southwest on a hill, controlling land access to the dockyard.

It was raining pretty hard so we only viewed a few of the forts, but it was still a memorable trip.

Thursday was our planned day off from golf to explore the island; most importantly, it was John’s birthday and we thought we might go into town and the beach. Unfortunately, the rain continued, so going to the beach was not an option, it was a little cold and we had been to town our last trip so we decided to hang around the resort. We spent the morning working on this blog and other odd things; it was a lazy day. It was John’s 79th Birthday!

The Birthday Party

We met the gang that adopted us to have dinner with them

and celebrated John’s 79th birthday. It was fun, such wonderful stories and banter. Everyone was exhausted so no after dinner drinks we headed back to our rooms to get ready for golf the next day, round 3. John and I want to turn around our performance but we willl have fun no matter what!

We were excited to redeem ourselves and play great golf, but things were not going very well. It was a bit cold and windy, and Janice had perfected the “kill the worms” shot. Our partners weren’t playing that well either, so on the last 3 holes, we had a match. We should have done that from the beginning because all of our shots were much better. Janice birdied that last uphill par 4 by hitting her third shot less than a foot from the hole… YEA! With all that our score was pathetic, but so much fun! The weather never cleared all day, but this will always be memorable golf.

The last night there was a giant cocktail party to announce all the winners. We have to say, in our flight we finished “DFL” in both net and gross — not our finest golf moment, but the memories and great times will forever be with us. One of the couples we hung with won overall net for the event… that was special! Each winner had their picture taken with the Head Pro from Port Royal, Stephen Lambert. Once the official announcements were over, we headed to dinner with the gang. Below is a celebration of the winners and the people we met.