Robert Trent Jones II Designs New Course in Bahamas

The developer of Cotton Bay in Eleuthera, Bahamas, has announced that Robert Trent Jones II, Golf Course Architects (RTJ II) will design a private 18-hole course at the waterfront resort community. Already familiar with the island from family vacations to the former Cotton Bay Club, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. will design the new course adjacent to the original course, the only Bahamian layout designed by his father, Robert Trent Jones, Sr.

"My family has great memories of vacationing at the Cotton Bay Club, and I think my father loved his course there as much as any work he ever did," said Jones, Jr. "The chance to go back to Eleuthera to design an RTJ II course just a stone's throw from one of my father's true masterpieces is truly a gift, and I will do my best to match his achievement for a modern-day masterpiece in Caribbean courses."

RTJ II has designed more than 200 golf courses worldwide. The real estate around his courses has appreciated more than homes on other designer courses over a 10-year period, according to a recent study by market research firm Longitudes Group, LLC. Homeowners and their guests at Cotton Bay Estates, as well as guests at the nearby Cotton Bay Villas hotel, will have access to the Cotton Bay Club's new course.

"As native Bahamian developers, we're committed to environmental sustainability at Cotton Bay," said Franklyn R. Wilson, chairman of Eleuthera Properties Limited, the developer of Cotton Bay. "Robert Trent Jones, Jr.'s company embodies this, and paired with his love for Eleuthera and history on the island, Robert Trent Jones II was the obvious architect of choice."

Additional amenities will include Ocean Fox at Cotton Bay, the first full-service dive shop on South Eleuthera in more than 30 years; Davis Harbour, a private marina currently open with 38 slips with plans for expansion; and miles of private pink-and-white sand beaches. Cotton Bay will also offer two privately-owned islands for barbequing, fishing and sunbathing visits.

Eleuthera is accessible from Nassau and south Florida by commercial air carriers, and an exclusive partnership with Sentient Jet will offer private jet services to and from the island. For more information about Cotton Bay, call 800/255-4539 or 786/888-6306, or visit www.discovercottonbay.com.