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Join hosts Anastarcia Palacious and Renaldo Dorsett as they sit down with the people who shape Baha Mar: the chefs, the artists, the visionaries, and the guests to uncover the moments, the culture, and the quiet details that turn a destination into something unforgettable.
Because the real story of Baha Mar isn't in the brochure. It's in the people who live it!
Robert: And that’s what Baha Mar is all about: putting on a quality experience.
Renaldo: Welcome to Beyond the Stay, live at Baha Mar, where we take you behind the scenes to tell you why this resort is so much more than a destination, but it’s a community. I’m Renaldo Dorsett, and today we’re going to take you to the greens as we look back at the Baha Mar Golf Invitational. Joining me is Georgette Rolle, Director of Golf at Royal Blue, and Mr. Robert Sands, Senior VP of Government and Community Relations here at Baha Mar. Thank you both for joining me on this episode.
Robert: Thank you for having us.
Georgette: Absolutely. Thank you for having us.
Renaldo: Now, I want to start, of course, another successful edition of this amazing event, but I want to tell people why this invitational means so much because it gives back to the Baha Mar Foundation, and of course, it does so much to help the community. Tell us about why this event came about in the first place.
Robert: So, this event came about primarily to create awareness for the Baha Mar Resort Foundation, which three pillars are, conservation, culture, and community. And we wanted to identify an event that will help us raise funds to be able to enrich the foundation to give back to the community. And we thought that this was an excellent way through golf and in an environment that is world-class to have an event that would bring together sponsors, community, commercial entities, interested golf players who would be prepared to pay in a first-class, world-class golf tournament, raise substantial funds in which we can then give back to the community through the Baha Mar Resort Foundation.
Renaldo: And what are some of those ways that the foundation has given back and helped to touch areas of the community here in the Bahamas?
Robert: Well, we have given, over the last four years—and our last tournament was for the fourth annual golf tournament—we have raised in excess of one million dollars, and we’ve given back to the community in excess of one million dollars. And we tend to do them in various pillars: Community-related events such as the Bahamas Red Cross, such as Senior Citizens’ Homes, such as Down Syndrome, the Association for the Physically Disabled, Bahamas Gulf Junior Federation. We’re giving back to mentorship groups that help with males, safe houses for women, dormitories for women for the college of the Bahamas. So, we have a plethora of charitable organizations that we support throughout the year. And by doing this, we help to straighten these associations, who in turn also strengthen the communities in which they operate in.
Renaldo: Georgette, one of the things Mr. Sands mentioned was junior golf. And I know your name has been synonymous with the development of golf in the Bahamas. How do you see this event helping to reach that aspect?
Georgette: I think that the level of tournament that we provide, you know, creates such an excitement in the community. And we saw that with the caliber of players that would have registered for this year’s event. We were able to finish in under five hours with 120 players, you know, and that only happens with having, you know, players with lower handicaps, better players registered. You know, typically you’ll see a lot of higher handicappers register, but we’ve shown that this is an event to play and it’s creating a buzz, and you’ve just seen the growth of the game with that. And so, with more adults playing, we’re definitely going to get, you know, more kids interested as people understand the benefits of the game and why they should be involved.
Renaldo: Speaking about growth, how have we seen this growth from year one to where we are now?
Robert: Well, let me backtrack a little bit. Sustainability is part of the ethos of Baha Mar, and mentorship of persons in the junior category is pivotal for the sustainability of golf for the future. That is why we tend to include them in our tournaments, but more importantly, contribute some of the proceeds to their continued development. That is the only way golf will be sustained throughout the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. So, that is pivotal to the foundation and pivotal to their participation in this golf tournament.
And how do we see growth over the year? Well, growth really is in terms of fundraising and not so much in terms of participation because we maxed out our ability to grow in terms of the amount of players that we can have, but because this is such a prestigious event, many, many corporate entities want to be a part of this arrangement. And we fine-tune it by ensuring that the levels of sponsorship increase incrementally year over year, and by making the tournament even more dynamic, it helps us to raise incremental money. But over the last four years, in our first year we raised slightly more than $175,000, in our second year we raised $230,000, in our third year we raised $290,000, and in our last tournament, we raised in excess of $300,000. So, the momentum is there. And as we fine-tune the tournament, add different elements to it to make it even more exciting, we’re on good track to ensure that growth, in terms of fundraising, continues.
Renaldo: What were some of those elements that have been added? As you mentioned, each year the fundraising has gone up, so obviously you’re doing something right, the development continues. What are some of those elements on the golf side that have been added?
Georgette: This year had added what we call a pop-up, right, which is a first of its kind, with a three-hole alternate shot loop mid-course. And the buzz that created within, like, the community of golfers that were registered and registering to play, I mean, it was amazing. You know, persons were coming out making sure that they practiced that format, you know, I was, you know, jokingly saying, you know, that a lot of golf marriages, you know, might have been broken up, you know, like, I guess, while practicing for and even during that event. But the excitement with even that addition, you know, after was amazing. And then one thing that we always do with our event is just make sure that our art of tournament portal player names and handicaps and everything is just, you know, out there for the player to see, very transparent, they can see all the rules and everything, you know, prior to, you know, so that when, like, tournament day comes, you know, it’s just super easy and now it’s just time for fun.
So, we’re really looking forward to, I guess, to announcing what’ll be our cool addition for year five, right, our fifth anniversary, but even so, with the activations and fun items that we have on course I mean, you know, it’s more than the tournament. It’s, kind of like, a party, right? I mean yeah, you know, it’s supposed to be five hours of fun to where, you know—I can taste various dishes from one restaurant or the other, and of course, drinks as well for the players, live music on course, large leaderboards. You know, we do it differently and I think that’s what persons expect of us each year. And so, we’re happy to, you know, need to continue to push to keep, you know, exciting persons about what’s coming up next.
Renaldo: I know it’s supposed to be five hours of fun, and I guess that fun starts before, from the night prior, when you have your welcoming, but it did get competitive out there, so tell us about the competition on the course. Is there one particular hole where I think things take a turn? Because as it gets down, people want to win. You want to win those prizes. Tell us about the competition.
Georgette: So, the format is a scramble format, right, and so ideal for fun, friendly competition, but this year for holes four through six, we had an alternate shot aspect, and so I think that right there defined the competition. I think that was definitely the focal point after the tournament to where persons were like, okay, you know what? We won because we were steady through those holes, right? We were able to count on our partner [unintelligible 00:09:22] through that stretch. And so, I think that right there was what really hyped up the competition for us.
As I mentioned the caliber of play was so much better this year as we batch our pairings, I guess, based on skill level. I mean, this year was just totally different. It was just so much easier to, kind of, stagger them, which led to faster play, more enjoyment. But yeah, no, our 2025 champions came into this year, you know, I really looking for a repeat, but unfortunately they were dethroned. Our 2024 champions were out there practicing as well. So, it was really cool to see a new champion, and so we’ll see what 2027 brings.
Renaldo: I want to talk about the engagement from the fundraisers, engagement from corporate Bahamas, and you mentioned, you know, the growth each year in terms of what you get back from them. As soon as you put this out there, what is that demand like where you have corporate Bahamas saying, I need to be a part of this? I know you mentioned being at max capacity. How soon does that list, you know, just fill up rather quickly?
Robert: Well, appreciate that this particular tournament has two elements to it. It’s the best golf tournament in the Bahamas, bar none, so everybody wants to be a part of it. Secondly, we really pay attention to some of the types of prizes and awards that we give to the participants. Not your traditional-type golf prize giveaways. We try to be very creative, adding a different jewel to the crown every particular year.
But more importantly, we demonstrate to corporate Bahamas, to our partners, and to our supporters that we put our money where our mouth is. We demonstrate and we showcase the fact of where this money goes to, almost immediately after the tournament. So, our tournament was in June of this year. On August the 26th, we will distribute to 18 charitable organizations in excess of $300,000. So, they touch, feel, see the commitment of the Baha Mar Resort Foundation from this particular golf tournament, and they can feel confident they have been part of the strengthening of communities as a result of these contributions to deserving entities.
And next year, you know, hopefully we get to the point whereby we’re going to have more of these corporate Bahamas participants in higher categories of sponsorships. That’s how we’re going to grow the event, and that’s how we’re going to be able to contribute more to the community.
Renaldo: And Georgette, from a competitive perspective, what makes this Royal Blue Course one that stands out among the others?
Georgette: I think that our back nine is truly special. Well, so we’ve got the bright green grass, like that Paspalum grass that we have, yeah, that adds to it. The natural limestone rock faces that are present, like, throughout that back nine as well, and the designer, you know, like, did a fantastic job of just showing off our natural beauty. And yeah, and there’s views that are on our back nine that I don’t think that you’d expect to see, you know, playing a course here in Nassau. It absolutely sets us apart.
You know, players, I guess, day in, day out, whether it’s our resort guests or even our local players, you know, you play the front nine, you know, nice island feel, palm trees, lots of water, right, you know? But then you get into the back nine, and yeah, it’s just beautiful. I mean, even for me, you know, being there day in, day out, I can appreciate that, especially in comparison with the other golf courses that I played.
Robert: We create an environment for the local community to feel at home. We don’t make it difficult for them to play golf. Yes, there are costs related to it, but we put in place incentives for individuals to be able to pay golf affordably, whether it’s time of the day, whether it’s for their membership of the Bahamas Gulf Federation, so by extension, we help the Bahamas Gulf Federation, by creating an incentive for their members to play. And also kudos to Georgette and her team players and the associates. I mean they’re always welcoming. They do a fantastic job in how they care for the golf course, et cetera, and all of those elements just add to, you know, a perfect day for golfers to participate in.
Renaldo: I want to talk about that atmosphere around it because it does start from the pairing party the night before, and then you have so much of the anticipation building for the event. Tell us how important it is to create this atmosphere to, you know, welcome all of the participants.
Robert: Well, you know, we start this planning process the day right after we finish the last tournament. And website creation, the invitation that goes out to past players, a promotion to potential players to join. So, you know, this is something that is very well orchestrated on a year-round basis. But if we’re expecting much from persons who are participating in this tournament, the onus is on us to ensure that we give them a quality experience. And that’s what Baha Mar is all about. This is what the Baha Mar Resort Foundation is all about. That’s what the Baha Mar Gulf Invitation is all about: putting on a quality experience.
And that starts not only at the pairing party the night before, but long before. But the pairing parties at least gets people in the mood for what’s coming the following day to meet some of the persons you may not have met in the past, but also in a setting that is iconic. We try to move it to different locales around the resort so that we can show off what we also offer as an operation, and I think that goes down very well. In fact, I would say this year’s pairing party was the best so far. So, we continue to be on an upward momentum in terms of experiences. And Baha Mar is also about experiences, and so I think that pays off quite well.
Renaldo: Was there a particular moment on the course this year that stood out to you, whether it was in competition, whether it was in fun? I know you’re you were you’re having to oversee this entire thing. Was there a moment that stood out?
Georgette: So, this year, the addition of the live DJ was amazing for us. We would have also, I think, probably had a first this year. So, our long drive winner was a—sorry, Larry. I think Larry’s in his 70s, you know, and so Larry was, you know, going around saying, well, I mean, well, you know, because it’s very rare that you’d see, I guess, well, you know, someone, I guess, at that age win a long drive contest, right?
Robert: You know, he’s going to be happy for you saying that [laugh].
Georgette: Oh, my goodness, you know, what? When he came in to collect his prize, which was an umbrella, and so, we would offer a complimentary engraving of the umbrella handle, right? And I said, “You know what, Larry? Let’s put Long Drive Larry on there.” He said, “Do it,” right? You know? So, now Larry has an umbrella, you know, as such.
But we were able to, you know, create a fair enough environment, you know, for anyone to win, you know, various contests and such, so I thought that was a super cool moment there. And then of course, there’s the [unintelligible 00:17:23] shot competition over holes four through six. I think, like, that was the highlight of this, and it was the intentional highlight of the golf aspect, you know, of it. And I know persons are already wondering, hey, what are they going to do next year? Like, what little twists are we going to pop in there, and it’s going to get them excited, get them out.
And another thing that we would have offered was for some of those companies to be able to identify two persons in their company or such that can take advantage of discounted rates as Mr. Sands, you know, mentioned, right, you know, just various incentives that we want to put out there. You know, because those supporting the foundation, if you look at our sponsors from year one, many of them are multi-year sponsors, right? And that’s a relationship, right, you know, that we want to continue to nurture. I think that rolled out really, really well. They were super appreciative, and I think that, you know, they’re going to see that we, I mean, one, care, and just want to continue to nurture this relationship for years to come.
Robert: For me, the tournament has become while still fun, more competitive. And for me, the highlight was the excitement on people’s faces waiting for the end, for—
Georgette: Yes.
Renaldo: Yes [laugh]. Absolutely.
Robert: —the results to come out. And I can only think about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat [laugh] because, you know, individuals were wow. And then they, you know, you hear the commentary in that, “Oh, I had a bad day,” or, “If my putting was a little bit better,” or et cetera, et cetera.
Georgette: All the smiles.
Robert: All the smiles and excitement, et cetera, et cetera. So, enjoyment and competition, but also waiting with baited breath as to who would be the champions this year. And very prideful in receiving it. So, similar comments.
Renaldo: Yeah, that part definitely was one of the highlights because when I came out there, everyone was waiting on the award ceremony, and people were talking about how the day went on the course, but the anticipation was building because no one was quite sure—
Georgette: Quite sure, yeah.
Renaldo: What was going to happen.
Georgette: It was a close race. You know, and although we have live leaderboards around the golf course, what we do is I guess maybe 30 minutes, you know, prior to the announcement as we’re wrapping up scoring, we, you know, change that screen, right, you know? So, now they’re all just, kind of, you know—yeah, right? So, the anticipation and build up, it’s awesome, yeah. Intentional and awesome.
Renaldo: I know it’s early. Any sneak peek on any additions that we may have for next year?
Robert: Stay tuned [laugh]. Stay tuned. Stay tuned. We’re always trying to, like I say, improve on what we’ve done, and it puts a little bit more pressure on us as the organizing committee with Dion Forbes, also [Erica 00:20:28] from the foundation, [Mel Verne 00:20:31] who assists us as well, just trying to come up, be very creative, but more importantly different so the golfers—you know, surprisingly they are so excited when they receive the different gifts that come along as part of their participation from year to year. And we have been quite unique in what we’ve done this year. This year we’ve done, for example, measuring—
Georgette: Yes the alignment sticks.
Robert: —the alignment sticks and so forth.
Georgette: Yes, alignment sticks, golf balls, caps, shoe bags, head covers, [unintelligible 00:21:08] covers—
Robert: Jewelry, valuables—
Georgette: Yes, valuables pouch.
Robert: —valuables pouch. So, quite an exciting array of add-ons and incentives that over the years that we’ve done.
Georgette: Yes, and that person expect from us because we’ve been so consistent year over year with just awesome well so, with awesome player gifts. Yes, but the pressure’s on for 2027.
Renaldo: I’m watching this episode or I’m listening to this episode; I’m a member of corporate Bahamas; I’ve never participated before. Simple question: how do I get in on this?
Robert: Well, we’re going to do our part and sending the message out there. We have developed a website, we have an email, mail out to corporate Bahamas. We normally send out to about a hundred companies plus, year over year. We’re doing it early because time is of the essence because we have limited, like I say, ability to grow it in terms of participation. It’s all about those who want to be part of the most relatable most iconic golf tournament in the country, which gives back substantial monies to the community.
Renaldo: And Georgette, in terms of the players getting ready, I guess, how does Royal Blue help you in terms of that? You know, I’m a member and I want to get ready for this. Because we talked about the competition so much, you don’t want to go in cold, you don’t want to go in blindly, how does Royal Blue help one to get ready for it?
Georgette: So, for the corporate partners, they are able to identify X amount of persons, I guess, well from their company or their team that can then come out and play at discounted rates. Well, definitely leading up to and beyond the competition, as one of our commitments to their—well, with our relationship with them. And so, they can, of course, reserve a tee time, you know, come out and play. They will definitely know the format, and that little twist maybe a month ahead, right, for sure. But yes, we remain very accessible to, A, the members of the Bahamas Golf Federation, as well as our corporate partners. Yeah, so very, very accessible, definitely fully on board with growing the game and making sure that we continue to yeah help golfers to just become better, right? As we continue to provide a great experience, of course, I would also love to see the player level increase as we move forward.
Renaldo: And what’s something you would want a player to take away after they’ve gone through this course?
Georgette: No matter what they’ve shot, you know, if they can, of course, look at, you know, how they performed from tee to [green 00:24:02], right, I think, well for any—I guess, well, like, lesson wrap-up, right, you know, for them if they think of okay after this round if I can, you know, kind of, get, like, a lesson takeaway, I want to definitely see okay how many fairways was I able to hit, maybe how many greens were they able to hit, and then based on that, you know, of course, reach out to myself or [JR 00:24:28], one of our golf professionals there the golf course, yeah, we’d be happy to, you know, give them some insight and to see how they can try to become, you know, the next champions.
Renaldo: Yeah, JR’s been working on my chip shot—
Georgette: Okay. There we go.
Renaldo: —so I think I’m going to be ready next year.
Georgette: You said you’re one lesson, right?
Renaldo: I’m one lesson in.
Georgette: One ahead of Mr. Sands, right [laugh]? So, but yeah, we’re definitely there to help to grow the game, we want players to continue to experience what we have with that event and we’re definitely more than willing to do our part.
Renaldo: I want to talk some more about impact. And I know you mentioned, you know, there’s going to be a quick turnaround; you’re going to see tangibly what this event is going to give to the community. Tell us how important it is for you to be able to show that almost immediately, like you mentioned, just less than two months after the event was hosted. But how important is it for the community and for your corporate partners to see this is exactly where this fundraising is going?
Robert: It’s credibility. It’s all about partners recognizing that their contributions are truly being manifested in the way that we articulated, and attracting them to support us. And, you know, for most of them, just like Baha Mar, when a country is good to a company, it’s also so important that company is good back to the country. And most of them see this, like we do, as an investment in strengthening stronger communities. And if we do that, we have a better Bahamas.
So, it is so, so, so important that we turn around the giving back to the community element of this tournament in the shortest period of time. And that’s why on the 26th of August is the date in which that will in fact take place.
Renaldo: Final question for you both. Whether it’s the immediate future or further down the line, where do you see this golf invitation going? How do you see that growth?
Georgette: Yeah, I think from the golf side of it, yeah, I mean, I think the trajectory that we’re seeing, of course, with the improvement with the caliber of players, adjusting the format, I think is, I guess, like, the biggest leap that we’ll see. As of now, most charity events and tournaments, and even ours, our scramble formats, right, just based on the caliber of players that typically play. But if we continue to do our part as Baha Mar with access to the game, I would love to see a more competitive format rolled out over the years, as we continue to offer, of course, live leaderboards and such on the golf course.
I mean, yeah, we’re just going to continue to be in first place with offering a celebrity-level golf tournament, which everyone’s just going to want to, you know, want to be a part of. And as Mr. Sands noted, like, our capacity for this event, to ensure that it’s like the best experience for everyone is 120 players. And we’ve maxed that out over the last few years. And so, I think persons are going to be, you know, running to register so that they can make sure they’ve got a spot so that they don’t miss out. Yeah, so I think faster registration, adjustment of formats to towards more competitive feels or geared towards more competitive feels, and just same level of fun.
Robert: So, I’m going to throw out a challenge to us as a committee. Maybe it’s time to have two events: a male invitational and a female invitational. That way we have the opportunity to expand participation and generate significant more income. That’s going to be a challenge to our committee if that can possibly work. Golfing, female golfing is all growing within the country. It may not be as large as the male invitational, but certainly a two-day event, male-female, is one way in which we also work on sustainability of this tournament, growing it in terms of participation and growing it in terms of revenue.
Georgette: We accept that challenge. It’ll definitely be a first. I mean, I love being a part of a first, and that’s also one of the really cool things of being a part of this team here at Baha Mar.
Renaldo: All right. I want to thank you so much for joining me here on Beyond the Stay. And thank you to our listeners and our viewers. I hope you learned as much about the Baha Mar Golf Invitational as I did. I hope you will be a participant next year if you haven’t been before, or even if you’re not, become a spectator because it’s an experience for us all.
This has been another episode of Beyond the Stay, the podcast where we take you behind the scenes to tell you the stories of why Baha Mar is so much more than a resort, but one of the most sought after destinations in the Caribbean. Until next time.