Erika,

Well I will be glad to give you my opinion even though i have never played MR. We have thought about playing golf in the VI on one of our previous trips, but always found other things to do. Over the past 14 years we have vacationed and played golf in AZ, Vegas, CO, SC, and FL...all of which had many courses that tourists travel to play. MR did not seem like one of those courses to me. I had read reviews that the course was short and "creatively" laid out due to land limitations. Doesn't play like a traditional course. Also, read that the fairways can be very dry, as they do not water....they wait for rain to water. I thought that I read somewhere that they are under new management....maybe the quality of the course has improved. I would imagine there are some very scenic views around the course and that the triangle would be a challenge. We love to play golf on vacation.....however, we have found that snorkeling, beach bumming, hiking, sailing, boat drinks, and good ol'relaxing island style had been very rewarding on our trips to the VI. In fact, we will be going to STJ on Saturday.

You can read reviews of the course on golfcourse.com. It rated 2.4 out of 5.0.

http://www.golfcourse.com/search/cc_display.cfm?clubid=6025&courseid=6035

Greg & Susie

Thanks Greg...I think that's all I needed to make the decision for me. It's not like VI is known for golf therefore I think we'll pass. Besides, I'm up for snorkeling, beach bumming, hiking, sailing, boat drinking and relaxing much more than golfing!!

Thanks for the reply and have FUN on your trip to STJ. I'll be working this Saturday so I'm sure I'll be jealous that you'll be there and I'll still be a week away. 🙂

Thanks again,
Erika

Mahogany Run ( www.mahoganyrungolf.com) is now owned by the Ginn Company (www.ginncompany.com). My wife worked for them for almost a year, and it is a great company, doing wonderful things there. The course itself is awesome! And the Devil's Triangle is a Hoot! 13, 14 and 15 make it up and if you can get thru the 3 with no penalty strokes, you get a free poster and a certificate of achievement! Number 14 is hailed by Links magazine (Dec. '94) as "One of the most beautiful holes is golf." I've been playing it for over 8 years and, while I am no Arnold Palmer, I have only broken 100 once (got a 99! Woohoo!). Very challenging, gorgeous views...the cruise ship golf pros say it is the best in the Caribbean, when they would come into the restaurant where my wife worked every week. They rent Callaways and Titlist DCI's, carts are inlcuded and they even have shoes for rent. Not sure of the rates, as I am a memeber, so I get a a special rate, but your figures sound about right.

Best in the Caribbean? I would be remiss if I didn't mention the two wonderful courses on STX -- The Buccaneer and Carambola, a Robert Trent Jones course.

Take into consideration that the golf pros on the cruise ships don't get a chance to play those courses very often, what with the lack of cruise ship visits to STX. I have played them both and enjoyed them. The Reef, too.

In 1980 Mahogany Run Golf Course, a George & Tom Fazio design, opened for play. Golf Digest proclaimed it more of an engineering marvel than an architectural one as the course had to be carved and blasted into an area of land just less than 110 acres. With only 77,000 square feet of greens and tight winding fairways, this is target golf with beautiful ocean views culminating in the course’s Signature holes known as The Devil’s Triangle.

In 1994, Contran Resorts purchased the course. Despite several hurricanes, including Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, the new ownership was able to complete construction on a 300,000-gallon-per-day reverse-osmosis water desalination plant. For the first time, groundskeepers were able to keep the course FULLY IRRIGATED YEAR-ROUND using the desalination plant and a new Toro Osmac irrigation system.

In June 2004, Mahogany Run was acquired by The Ginn Company, a Celebration, Florida-based firm that specializes in real estate development and sales, hospitality management and golf course construction and maintenance.

Open seven days a week, Mahogany Run is the only golf course on the island of St. Thomas, in the beautiful US Virgin Islands. The public course is located approximately 20 minutes from the cruise ship docks in the town of Charlotte Amalie and only 15 minutes from the ferry dock at Red Hook.

Mahogany Run has been under the direction of General Manager Kristine Macken since 1994.

Here's the link to their website: http://www.mahoganyrungolf.com/ .

I think you can get cheaper rates after 2 pm.