The Buccaneer Golf Course

The Buccaneer Golf Course is an 18-hole, par-70 course on the grounds of The Buccaneer, the family-run resort just east of Christiansted. Bob Joyce laid it out in 1973 over about 5,668 yards, the sea shows from 13 of the 18 holes, and three of them run right along Grotto Beach. It is open to the public, plays in under four hours, and sits minutes from most of our Christiansted-district homes.

The course

The layout is two loops of nine, par 35 on each side for a total of 70. Joyce routed it over the estate's low hills, so the fairways tip downhill toward the water on the way out and climb back on the way in. It is short by modern standards, and that is the point: this was built as a resort course for guests to enjoy, not a championship venue to survive. The scorecard reads about 5,668 yards, and most players walk off in under four hours.

Water is the theme. The Caribbean is in view from 13 of the 18 holes, and three of them play right along Grotto Beach, one of the resort's three strands. There are four par-3s, at the 3rd, 9th, 10th and 13th, ranging from roughly 110 to 150 yards; the 3rd is the shortest hole on the card at around 116 yards. Two par-5s and a run of par-4s fill out the rest, with the 17th the longest hole at about 469 yards. None of it is long, but the elevation changes and the open, breezy setting keep the round interesting.

The fairways are generous and the forced carries are short, so the course gives up pars to a player who keeps the ball in play. The ocean holes are where it bites: with the trade wind behind you an approach can sail long, and into the wind a well-struck shot can come up short of the green. That give-and-take is the character of a seaside course, and it is most of the fun here. Because the yardage is modest and the trouble is mostly the wind rather than length or forced water carries, the scorecard stays friendly for anyone who plays within themselves.

How the course plays

This is a seaside course, and the wind is the main defense. The trade wind is light at dawn and builds through the morning, so a round played early is a different, calmer game than one that starts at noon. Add the hills and the elevation changes and you have a layout the resort fairly describes as playable but not a pushover. The modest yardage means big numbers are avoidable and the pace stays quick, which suits mixed-ability groups, higher handicappers, families, and anyone who would rather see the ocean between shots than grind over a card.

The pace is one of the course's quiet virtues. With rounds finishing in under four hours and the layout short enough to walk, you can be off the first tee at 7:30, done by mid-morning, and on a beach by lunch. That rhythm is the reason the course suits a vacation more than a golf pilgrimage: it asks for a morning, not a whole day.

Set expectations by what you want from the day. If you are after a scenic, sociable round that leaves the afternoon free for the beach, this is the course on St. Croix to play. If you want a full championship test, that is Carambola Golf Club on the other side of the island, the longer and harder of the island's two 18-hole courses. Many visitors play both on the same trip and treat The Buccaneer as the relaxed day and Carambola as the workout.

When to play

Two clocks matter here: the time of day and the time of year. The trade wind is lightest at dawn and strengthens through the day, so the earliest tee times give you the calmest, coolest golf and the truest read on the ocean holes. By early afternoon the wind is a real factor and the sun is hard on an open course, which is why locals and repeat visitors book the first slots. If you can only tee off late in the day, expect to play the wind as much as the yardage.

Across the year, the island's high season runs roughly December through April, when the weather is driest and the resort is busiest; that is when morning tee times fill first and booking ahead pays off. Summer is hotter and quieter, with cheaper stays and easier tee sheets, though you play earlier to beat the heat. The wettest stretch is September through November, the heart of hurricane season, when a passing shower can interrupt a round but rarely takes a whole morning. The course runs year-round, seven days a week, so the real question is not whether to play but when in the day to go.

Tee ratings

Men usually play the blue or white tees and women the red or white; walking is allowed and two-person carts are available. Course and slope ratings at last check were as follows.

Those slope numbers sit well below a typical championship course, which lines up with how the round feels on the ground: reachable, forgiving off the tee, and tougher only when the wind is up and you are trying to hold a green near the water.

Green fees and rentals

Rates change, so treat the numbers below as a guide and confirm the current sheet with the pro shop when you book. At last check the course charged as follows.

Beyond the sheet: club rental ran about $35 to $55 for a set, a half-hour lesson with the resident pro was around $65, and a basket of practice balls was $5 to $8, all at last check. The pro shop stocks TaylorMade rental sets, so you can fly in without clubs and still play a proper round. Nine holes is the sensible option if the wind or the heat is up, or if you are fitting golf around a beach afternoon; eighteen makes more sense on a cooler morning. Call the pro shop at 340-712-2144 to confirm rates and book a tee time.

Booking, access, hours and dress

The course is public. You do not need to be a resort guest to play, and non-golfers staying elsewhere on the island are welcome to book. The catch in high season is that resort guests fill the cool morning tee times first, so if you want to be off before the wind builds in December through March, reserve a day or two ahead rather than showing up and hoping. Groups should call further ahead, since the tee sheet is not large.

Play runs seven days a week, from 7:30 in the morning until sunset. The dress code is standard resort golf: collared shirts for men, and no tank tops, halter tops, denim or swimwear on the course. Tee times go through the pro shop by phone (340-712-2144); the course sits at 34 Seaside Crescent, on the resort grounds off the East End Road a short drive east of town. Booking by phone also lets you ask about the day's wind, cart availability and whether a starter tournament is filling the early slots.

The practice range, lessons and the simulator

There is a practice area with balls for sale, so you can warm up before a round or spend an hour grooving a swing. The resident pro gives half-hour private lessons, booked through the pro shop, which is the sensible move if you have not swung a club since last summer and do not want to spray your first three holes into the trade wind.

The clubhouse also has a golf simulator, the only one on St. Croix, loaded with more than 90 international courses. It is a useful backstop on a rare rainy afternoon or after sunset, and a way to play a famous course you will never otherwise reach. The course runs weekend nine-hole starter tournaments on Fridays; visitors who want a bit of low-key competition can ask the pro shop whether there is room to join.

What to bring

A seaside course in the tropics rewards a little preparation. The essentials:

• Sun protection first: a hat, sunglasses, reef-safe sunscreen and a light long-sleeve layer. There is little shade between shots.
• More water than you expect. The heat and wind dehydrate you faster than the short yardage suggests.
• Golf shoes or trainers with grip; the fairways roll over hills and can be slick after a shower.
• A collared shirt and non-denim shorts or trousers to meet the dress code.
• Your own clubs if you are particular about them, or nothing at all: the pro shop rents TaylorMade sets.
• A few extra balls for the ocean holes, where the wind sends the occasional shot toward the beach.

The clubhouse and the 19th hole

The course's own bar is Chips n' Slices, the spot for a cold drink at the turn or after the 18th. For a full meal you have the run of the resort's restaurants, all open to non-guests. The Terrace, in the great house, serves breakfast every day and dinner Wednesday through Sunday. The Mermaid sits on the beach for casual lunch daily, roughly 11 to 5. Beauregard's on the Beach, over on Grotto Beach, does lunch Wednesday through Sunday with sushi and tacos. The Martel Lounge is the room for a sunset drink. Hours shift with the season, so check the resort's dining page before you drive out. For a wider list of tables on this side of the island, see our East End restaurants guide, and the Christiansted restaurants guide for town.

The resort around the course

The golf course is one piece of a much older estate. The hotel began in 1947 with eleven rooms, the first on St. Croix that a local family built and ran for itself; the Armstrongs still own it today, three and four generations on. The land goes back much further. The oldest surviving building on the property dates to 1653, when a Knight of Malta held the estate, and a sugar works was added in 1733; the old mill and the great house are still part of the grounds. The resort joined Historic Hotels of America in 2006.

The Armstrongs had held the land since the 1920s before they opened the inn, and they built the hotel up from those eleven rooms over the following decades, adding the golf course in 1973. Keeping a Caribbean resort in one family for the better part of a century is unusual, and it is the through-line of the whole property: the estate, the great house, the beaches and the course have all grown on the same ground under the same name.

Today the property runs to 340 acres above Christiansted harbor, with 131 rooms, three beaches (Mermaid, Grotto and Whistle), eight tennis courts, two pools and a two-mile trail through the grounds. That scale is why a round here feels like more than a walk in a field: you are playing across a working resort estate with centuries of history under the fairways. The spa takes outside bookings for massages and facials, which pairs well with a morning round; see our spas and wellness guide for the options.

Golf on St. Croix

The island has three courses, and they divide neatly by purpose. Knowing which is which saves you from driving to the wrong end of the island for the wrong game.

Carambola, in a green valley on the northwest side of the island, is the serious one: Robert Trent Jones Sr. built it in 1966, it runs to par 72 and better than 7,000 yards from the tips, and it is the only championship-length course in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Reef, on the East End at Teague Bay, is a nine-hole, par-35 course of around 3,100 yards with a driving range and a full disc-golf layout beside it, the easy afternoon round for guests staying on that end. Put together, the three make a real golf-trip case: you can play all three in a few days without repeating yourself, with The Buccaneer and The Reef as the scenic, quick days and Carambola as the test that earns the trip.

Geography decides the order. The Buccaneer and The Reef are both on the east side, ten to twenty minutes apart, so they pair naturally into one day or two easy mornings. Carambola is a half-hour-plus drive to the northwest, best given its own morning with time for the tide pools or a north-shore beach afterward. A golfer with three or four days can play all three without backtracking, and a rental car makes the whole plan simple; there is no ride-share on the island to fall back on.

Combining golf with a beach day

The best thing about this course for a villa guest is what sits next to it. A morning round finishes with the whole afternoon open, and the beach is right there. The Shoys, the calm crescent through the Estate Shoys guard gate next door, is a five-minute move from the 18th green; give your name at the gate and say you are going to the beach. Christiansted's boardwalk, with its bars and dive shops, is about three miles west. For a full menu of swimming spots close by, our beaches near Christiansted guide lays them out.

If you are staying on the East End, flip the order: beach in the morning, then a twilight nine at The Reef. If you are chasing Carambola, its side of the island pairs with Davis Bay and the Annaly Bay tide-pool hike, both a few minutes down the hill. The East End guide ties the whole quarter together.

Golf with kids and juniors

The course is a good place for a child to play real golf. Junior green fees for players 16 and under are discounted, the short yardage means a young player is not overmatched, and the four par-3s give beginners holes they can actually reach in regulation. A half-hour lesson with the resident pro is an easy way to start a kid off, and the practice area lets them hit balls without holding up a round. On a rainy hour, the clubhouse simulator keeps them swinging. For families where only some play, the resort's three beaches, two pools and trail give everyone else somewhere to be within the same gates, and Christiansted's shops and boardwalk are a few minutes west.

Getting to the course

The Buccaneer sits at 34 Seaside Crescent, on the East End Road (Route 82) a short drive east of Christiansted, roughly ten minutes from the middle of town and about 25 to 30 from the airport on the other side of the island. Parking on the resort grounds is free. Two things surprise first-time visitors: there is no Uber or Lyft on St. Croix, so you drive yourself or arrange a taxi, and driving is on the left, a holdover from Danish and British days. Rent a car for the flexibility, especially if you want to reach Carambola on the far side of the island. Our renting a car and getting to St. Croix guides cover the logistics, and the Christiansted guide maps the town you will pass through on the way.

Questions guests ask

Is the Buccaneer golf course open to the public?

Yes. You do not have to be a resort guest, or staying at The Buccaneer at all, to play. Non-guests are welcome to book a tee time and use the pro shop, practice area and clubhouse bar. In winter, resort guests do book up the early morning slots first, so reserve a day or two ahead if you want to be out before the wind builds. Call the pro shop at 340-712-2144 to confirm availability and rates, and to ask about the day's conditions before you drive out.

How much does it cost to play?

At last check, green fees ran $70 for nine holes and $120 for eighteen, with lower junior and military rates and carts at $25 to $40. Club rental was about $35 to $55, a half-hour lesson around $65, and practice balls $5 to $8. Golf pricing changes season to season, so use these as a guide and confirm the current sheet with the pro shop when you book. The full breakdown is in the fees table above, and nine holes is a good-value option if you are fitting a round around a beach afternoon.

Is the course walkable, or do I need a cart?

Walking is allowed, and the course is short and gentle enough to walk comfortably, which is unusual for a resort layout. There are hills and the sun is strong, so most players still take a two-person cart, especially in the afternoon heat. If you want to walk, go early, carry water and start before the trade wind and the midday sun are up. Carts run $25 for nine holes and $40 for eighteen at last check, and a cart is the easy call if you are playing all 18.

How difficult is the course for beginners?

It is one of the friendlier courses a newer golfer will find. The yardage is modest, the slope ratings are low, and it was designed for resort guests of every ability rather than for tournament play. The wind and the elevation changes add interest without punishing you the way a long championship course would. Beginners, high handicappers and rusty vacation golfers all tend to enjoy it. If you want a stiffer test, play Carambola, which is longer, greener and rated well above The Buccaneer.

What should I wear?

Standard resort golf attire. Collared shirts for men, and no tank tops, halter tops, denim or swimwear on the course. Soft spikes or golf shoes are ideal, but many visitors play in trainers without trouble. Bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and more water than you think you need; the course is open and sunny, and there is little shade between shots. A light long-sleeve layer helps against the sun on the exposed ocean holes.

Should I play The Buccaneer or Carambola?

Play both if you have the days. The Buccaneer is the scenic, sociable round with ocean views on most holes and a quick pace, close to Christiansted and the East End villas. Carambola, on the northwest side, is the longer championship course, greener and more demanding, and worth the drive for a serious golfer. If you only have time for one and want views and a relaxed day, choose The Buccaneer; if you want the sternest test on the island, choose Carambola. Both are open to the public and take tee times by phone.

Can I play if I'm on a cruise or a day trip?

Yes, though timing is the thing to plan. St. Croix's cruise dock is in Frederiksted on the west side, so budget the drive time east to the course and back, plus the round itself. With a taxi arranged for the return or a rental car for the day, a nine-hole round is comfortable on a port day; eighteen is possible if the ship is in long enough. Call the pro shop ahead to lock a morning tee time so you are not waiting on the sheet when the clock is against you.

Can I rent clubs, and is there a driving range?

Yes to both. The pro shop keeps TaylorMade rental sets, so you can travel without clubs and still play, and there is a practice area with balls for sale to warm up. The clubhouse also has a golf simulator loaded with more than 90 courses, the only one on St. Croix, which is handy on a rainy afternoon or after dark. Half-hour lessons with the resident pro are bookable through the pro shop, and starting with one is a good idea if it has been a while.

Villas near the course

The Buccaneer sits at the edge of our Christiansted-and-East-End cluster, so a golf morning is easy from most of the homes we manage. Shoy's Beach House is the closest of all, right on The Shoys beach through the guard gate next door. Cozy Condo with Beach Access and Sunset Oasis are both minutes from town and the course. If you are pairing golf with the East End's quieter beaches, browse the East End collection, or see every home on our villas page to find one that puts the first tee within a short drive of the front door.