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T he Mid Ocean story began in 1913 when the Furness Withy Steamship Company took an interest in developing Bermuda and invited Charles Blair Macdonald, a leading golf architect who was regard- ed as the father of American golf to examine the possibility of building a course as an inducement to tourism. Sir Frederic Lewis diverted one of his ships, the Moorish Prince, to the Island. Also in the official party was noted architect Charles Wetmore as consideration was also being given to the building of a hotel. Macdonald and Wetmore scoured the Island and identified 500 acres at Tucker's Town as being ideal for the project. It was estimated that the land could be purchased for between $150,000 and $200,000. However, it proved to be far from a simple process. As Macdonald wrote later: "Practically every one of the owners who had given an option on his property went back on his contract but finally it resulted in securing about 600 acres at a cost of about $600,000." Design and construction was not easy, for only in the val- leys was the coral rock covered with a six inch layer of soil. The area had been used for growing onions, potatoes and Easter lilies. Another difficulty was to avoid a number of steep climbs, and in the completed course only the 16th hole has a gradient to negotiate. Charles Blair Macdonald was never, in a long successful life, accused of being shy and retiring, yet it is hard to ar- gue with the self-triumphant tone of his own assessment of Mid Ocean when the course was completed on December 15, 1921. The following is a description he wrote to Furness Withy: "To begin with, I doubt if there is an eighteen hole golf course which will equal, certainly not surpass from a golfer's standpoint, this links in any semi-tropical clime, not at any health resort in any zone, for the following reasons: The contours of the property are unsurpassed, delightful valleys winding through coral hills from twenty to seventy five feet in height, along the line of play; well wooded with cedars, oleanders, bougainvillea and hibiscus, lending the most fascinating color scheme to the whole. The contours are inviting to the golf architect to construct unique and scientific putting greens consistent with the length of hole demanded." Despite the fact that the Mid Ocean was a highly regarded element of Furness Withy's world-wide develop- ments, the downturn in the global economy in the aftermath of the Second World War convinced the compa- ny that there was no future in either tourism or the cruise ship business. Faced with massive refurbishment costs, it started to divest itself of various properties, and Mid Ocean was high on the list. By an odd turn of fate, Ber- mudian golfers were first alerted to this development through an unguarded after dinner conversation in Lon- don. MID OCEAN CLUB