Bermuda needs a new public golf course, and other courses need to be urgently improved if the Island is to attract more players, a consultant?s study has found.

IMG consultant Roddy Carr, who wrote the report, is in talks to bring the World Cup of Golf to Bermuda, but he said it was pointless trying to do so unless the product is improved.

Golf is the most profitable niche tourism product ? earning $19 million each year ? but this could be doubled in the five years, he wrote in his report.

?Bermuda has all the ingredients, location to the US, beauty, safety, charm and weather to become one of the premier golf destinations in the world,? said Mr. Carr.

His 64-page report found: ?Golf tourism in Bermuda has been successful in spite of itself but as competition increases market share will decline unless the product is improved, made trouble free to purchase and promoted heavily.?

Mr. Carr said the Government courses, particularly Port Royal, have to be ?urgently upgraded? and an extra public trophy championship course should ideally be opened on the Island.

Tourism Minister Renee Webb said Works and Engineering has been informed the courses need to be upgraded in the next 18 months. ?When this is done we will have a completely renovated golf product in Bermuda and we will then be in a position to explore bringing a major international tournament to Bermuda to launch the product,? she said.

Mr. Carr has been instructed to try to bring the World Cup of Golf to the Island. Previous winners have included Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer, Severiano Ballesteros and Tiger Woods.

?It would be an ideal event for Bermuda as it is steeped in history and tradition and is part of the prestigious World Golf Championships (WGC) Series, which carries enormous international television coverage, 240 million households in 140 countries, including network coverage in the USA,? said Mr. Carr.

?It is however pointless to bring this event to Bermuda until the upgrade of the product has been completed.?

The report found the biggest hurdle to growth of golf tourism was the inability to book tees in advance.

Golfers are well travelled and will pay big bucks for their vacations as long as the quality is there, he added.

Ms Webb said: ?The report confirms that one of the best assets Bermuda has to promote tourism is golf.

?We now have a detailed roadmap on how to attack this lucrative niche and we will focus on the goals that have been set.

?We are extremely pleased with the way the private sector stakeholders are coming on board thus far.

?The Bermuda golfing public and our visitors can look for to a significant improvement in our golf product.?

Improving golf facilities is also one of the top priorities of the public-private sector Bermuda Alliance for Tourism.