How to Play Baker's Bay Golf

Stepping onto the first tee at Baker's Bay Golf Club is an experience unlike any other, where the challenge of a Tom Fazio masterpiece meets the raw beauty of the Bahamas. To score well here, you need more than a good swing, you need a sharp strategy for the wind, an understanding of the unique Paspalum turf, and a game plan for a few pivotal holes. This guide will walk you through exactly how to prepare for and play this spectacular course, helping you approach its challenges with confidence.

Understanding the Baker's Bay DNA: Conditions and Mentality

Before you even think about your swing, you have to respect the two main characters at Baker's Bay: the wind and the turf. Get your mental game right for these two elements, and you’re already halfway to a successful round.

Taming the Bahamian Breeze

The wind at Baker's Bay isn't just a factor, it's the defining feature of the course. It can be a gentle friend one minute and a relentless opponent the next. Your first job is to accept it. You will hit perfect shots that get knocked down or pushed offline. That’s okay. The key is adaptation, not frustration.

• Embrace the Knockdown: Your full-swing, high-launching 7-iron from back home might be the wrong play here. You'll need to learn to flight the ball lower to keep it under the wind. We'll cover how to hit that shot later.
• Club Up, and Then Up Again: A common mistake is under-clubbing into the wind. If your gut and the yardage say 8-iron but the wind is strong in your face, a 6-iron might be the smarter play. Swing smoothly, don't try to force a shorter club. Your mantra should be: When it's breezy, swing easy. Trying to hit the ball harder only increases spin, making the wind affect it even more.
• Play the Crosswinds: Don’t fight the crosswinds, use them. If the wind is blowing hard from left-to-right, aim well left of the green and let the wind be your caddie, guiding the ball back towards the target. It feels uncomfortable, but trusting the wind is a big part of scoring here.

Mastering the Paspalum Turf

Baker's Bay features wall-to-wall Platinum T.E. Paspalum, a type of grass perfectly suited for seaside courses. It plays differently from the Bentgrass or Bermuda you might be used to, especially around the greens.

• Fairways: The good news is that balls sit up beautifully on Paspalum fairways. It's like having a perfect lie on almost every shot. Enjoy this and take confidence from knowing you'll almost always have a clean strike at the ball.
• Putting: Generally, Paspalum greens are a bit slower than fast Bentgrass greens. Your primary adjustment will be speed. During your warm-up, spend extra time on the practice green hitting long-distance putts of 30-40 feet. You need to recalibrate your brain to give the ball a firmer rap to get it to the hole. Grain can be a factor, but a simple way to read it is to look for shininess. If the grass looks shiny, you're putting down-grain (faster). If it looks dark or dull, you're putting into the grain (slower).
• Chipping: This is where Paspalum can be tricky. The grass is dense and "sticky," which means it tends to grab the clubhead if you're not precise. Balls don't release and run out as much as on firmer turf. This makes the classic bump-and-run with an 8-iron a less effective shot. Instead, you'll want to rely more on shots that carry most of the way to the hole, like a soft-landing pitch with your sand wedge.

Course Strategy: Navigating Fazio's Masterpiece

A round at Baker's is a journey. Tom Fazio designed the course to build in drama, routing you through quieter inland holes before exposing you to the magnificent - and punishing - oceanfront. A smart game plan is a must.

Pre-Round Preparation

Don't just use the world-class practice facility to loosen up, use it to dial in your Baker's Bay game.

1. Warm Up Your 'Wind' Shot: After a few full swings, start practicing three-quarter shots with your mid-irons. Focus on hitting the ball lower than normal.
2. Calibrate Your Wedges: Spend 10 minutes in the short-game area chipping from the Paspalum. Get a feel for how the ball reacts off the clubface and how much it releases (or doesn't).
3. Own the Lag Putts: On the putting green, focus entirely on speed. Forget about making short putts for a bit and just work on getting your long putts to finish in a three-foot circle around the hole. Three-putt avoidance is a huge part of scoring well on Fazio's large, undulating greens.

A Strategic Walkthrough of Key Holes

You need a specific plan for certain holes where a good score is made or a great round is ruined. Here’s how to approach the most significant stretches.

The Scoring Stretch (Holes 2-6)

After the gentle opening hole, this inland stretch is your best opportunity to score. The holes are more protected from the wind and offer legitimate birdie chances. Approach this part of the course aggressively. If you have a wedge in your hand, fire at the pin. Banking a couple of pars or a birdie here provides a valuable cushion before you head to the more exposed closing holes on each nine.

The Atlantic Gauntlet (Hole 11 & The Par-3 14th)

This is where the course shows its teeth and its beauty. Hole 11 is a breathtaking par-3 perched on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The visual intimidation is immense. The play, regardless of pin location, is to aim for the absolute center of the green. Ignore the flagstick. Take one more club than you think, aim for the middle, and make a smooth swing. A par here feels like a birdie. Similarly, the 14th demands your full respect. The club you hit can vary by as much as three or four clubs depending on the day's wind. Trust your caddie, trust your number, and make a committed swing.

The Epic Finishing Stretch (Holes 16-18)

This is one of golf's great finishes. As you play along the Sea of Abaco and the Mega-Yacht Marina, strategy trumps power.

• Hole 17: This par-3 over a piece of the marina often plays straight into the wind. Most players bail out to the collection area on the right, which is fine, but leaves a very tricky up-and-down. The bold play is to take enough club to carry the front bunker and land it safely on the putting surface. Once again, the middle of the green is your best friend.
• Hole 18: This fantastic par-5 is a classic three-shot hole. The fairway slopes towards the water and marina on the right, so your tee shot should favor the left-center of the fairway. Do not get greedy on your second shot. A simple layup to your favorite wedge distance (e.g., 100 yards) leaves you a simple, flat approach to a receptive green. Trying to be a hero here often leads to a quick double bogey and ruins an otherwise great day.

The Baker's Bay Shot Arsenal

Having a few specialty shots in your bag will make a massive difference. Here are three you should absolutely feel comfortable hitting before you tee off.

1. The Low, Flighted "Stinger"

This is your go-to shot into the wind. It keeps the ball low, penetating, and less affected by gusts.

1. Take one or two extra clubs (e.g., a 6-iron instead of an 8-iron).
2. Grip down on the handle about an inch. This shorts the club and gives you more control.
3. Play the ball about one ball-width further back in your stance than normal.
4. Make a smooth, abbreviated three-quarter backswing. Don't go all the way to parallel.
5. On the downswing, focus on feeling like your hands stay ahead of the clubhead through impact. Finish with a low, abbreviated follow-through. You’re punching the ball, not lifting it.

2. The Confident Splash from Fluffy Sand

Fazio's bunkers are visually stunning, but they contain soft, fluffy sand. If you dig too much, the club gets stuck. If you're too timid, the ball stays in the sand.

• Open the face of your sand wedge wide before you take your grip. You want to use the "bounce" on the bottom of the club.
• Play the ball forward in your stance, just inside your front foot.
• Focus on a simple thought: splash the sand out of the bunker and onto the green. Don’t think about hitting the ball. Pick a spot in the sand about two inches behind the ball and commit to accelerating the clubhead all the way through the sand to a full finish. Speed is your friend here.

Final Thoughts

Success at Baker's Bay isn't about overpowering the course, but about outsmarting it. By managing the wind with smart club choices, respecting a few key holes, and dialing in your short game for the Paspalum turf, you will not only score better but will also have a far more enjoyable walk around this incredible property.

Having a trustworthy game plan is solid, but adapting it on the fly when the wind shifts is another challenge. We developed Caddie AI for these situations. When you're standing on the 11th tee at Baker's with a confusing crosswind, our app can provide an instant recommendation on a target line and club selection. It's meant to deliver that expert second opinion, removing the doubt so you can trust your swing and commit to the shot with total confidence.