Belmont Golf Club Celebrates 100 Years
Belmont Golf Club celebrated its 100-year milestone, a location “steeped in history and intricately connected with the development of golf in Bermuda.”
Kim Swan said, “The Belmont Hills Golf Club is celebrating a major 100 year milestone; in 1924, a 9-hole golf course was developed to compliment the new hotel property established a few years prior. It was undoubtedly a boom period for Bermuda as a tourism destination.
“The Roaring Twenties is a celebrated historic period that symbolized unprecedented global economic growth. Wikipedia describes the period as follows:
“The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring ’20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the United States and Europe, particularly in major cities such as Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York City, Paris, and Sydney. In France, the decade was known as the années folles [crazy years], emphasizing the era’s social, artistic, and cultural dynamism. Jazz blossomed, the flapper redefined the modern look for British and American women, and Art Deco peaked.”
“The emergence of Belmont Golf Course in 1924 came during an era when tourism was blossoming and Bermuda sports tourism, especially golf, burst on the global scene.
“Imagine this for a moment:
- No air services in the 1920s
- Bermuda is a winter destination
“This global renaissance period in Bermuda also encapsulated the mantra from the movie Field of Dreams: ‘if you build it, they will come.’
“Bermuda became a global golf destination in the 1920s with the development of major golf courses on our 22-square-mile archipelago in the middle of the North Atlantic. With the St. George’s Hotel using the nearby Garrison [Million Dollar] Golf Links in St. George’s, the stage was set for unprecedented golf in Bermuda. Let’s fast forward to 1933, when Bermuda had several golf courses strategically located around established and emerging hotels:
- Mid Ocean Club [18 holes/1922], Tucker’s Town
- Castle Harbour [9 holes], Tucker’s Town
- Franscati Golf Resort [9 holes], Flatts
- Devonshire Golf Links [9 holes], Devonshire
- Bermuda Golf Club, Spanish Point
- Fairylands & Grassmere Golf, Pembroke
- Riddell’s Bay Golf [18 holes/1922]
- Shore Hills Golf Resort [9 holes/1927], St. George’s
- St. George Hotel & Garrison Golf [9 holes]
“Ironically, 100 years later in 2020, because of Bermuda’s globally recognized regulatory regime, during the pandemic Bermuda even became a transient stopover for travelers to the United States, attracted the upscale Viking Cruise Line as a homeport destination, was the base for digital nomads from overseas, and saw the locally based insurance and reinsurance industry enjoy success during challenging times.
“Belmont Manor Hotel and Golf has stood the test of time and for 100 years captivated people of means in the USA, Canada, and the UK when the only means of transportation were regularly scheduled cruise lines.
““My mentor Herman Bascome told me stories in the 1970s about the celebrated Canadian Nichol Thompson, Belmont’s first Golf Professional at Belmont Manor Hotel & Golf Club. I’m eternally grateful for the relationships I developed at Belmont Hotel & Golf Club. Even the Belmont legacy of Belmont Manor Hotel Executive Chef Leo Betschart lives on through his grandson [Oliver Betschart], my former student, who I proudly introduced to his current mentor David Ogrin, former PGA Tour winner.
“Fifty years ago when I worked at Belmont, I remember Belmont Groundsman Logan Mathias coming to Bermuda, and today he remains an integral part of the golf operation.
“Belmont is steeped in history and intricately connected with the development of golf in Bermuda, with a plethora of stories worth telling. It is my hope to unearth the contributions of Muriel Parker, Eric Parker, Alex Madeiros, Ian Crowe, Hubert Smith, Louis Moniz, George Sousa, Al Simons, JJ Madeiros, David Ferreira, Sam Murray, Norm Smith, Peter Rosorea, Earl Anderson, Herman Bascome, AE ‘Dolly’ Smatt, Hav Trott, Harold Dunstan, Alex Crofton, John Jeffries, Earl Bailey, DeVoy Augustus Robbie Rowling, and many others.
“Congratulations on 100 years, Belmont.”
Newstead Belmont Resort General Manager Mr. Bushara Bushara said, “The history of Belmont Manor Hotel when added to Newstead Hotel are not only steeped in history but are examples of authentic experiences that can resonate for centuries.”
The Original Belmont Manor Hotel.
In Bermuda there were significant developments as well including the Belmont Manor Hotel & Golf Club that remains an important part of Bermuda’s tourism landscape.
The 1920′s saw Belmont actively practicing sports tourism and advertising golf tournaments with sponsorship with Goslings’ which continues to this day.
Kim Swan, who represented Bermuda in the 1974 Orange Bowl Junior Championship while working at Belmont Manor Hotel & Golf Club.
Kim Swan and David Ogrin played together in the 1974 Orange Bowl Junior Championship, Miami, Florida.
