Premier Ewart Brown will give 36 golfers a first look at the new Port Royal Golf course later this morning.

Dr Brown will be part of a small group of golfers who will play several holes on the new course today, which has undergone a $14 million re-design since it closed.

The 'first look' will enable the Premier to reveal the changes that have been made to the course, which has been lengthened by 281 yards and comprehensively redesigned, and will give the players a chance to see how it is bedding in.

"I'm going to update what's been happening at Port Royal over the past year to transform it into a course worthy of international acclaim and professional competition," the Premier said. "There is a lot of news to share on that front."

"Secondly, the objective is to allow a small collection of players to get out on the course and hit the ball around a little bit – to see how the course is taking shape and to test how it feels under a pair of golf shoes."

When completed it is expected that Port Royal will be the jewel in the Island's golfing crown, and is this year's venue for the PGA Grand Slam.

To ensure the course meets the high standards expected, the Trustees of Governemt Golf Courses, which has overall responsibility for Port Royal, has hired Steve Johnson to be Directory of Agronomy.

Mr Johnson is heading up the grass growing, landscaping and land cultivation efforts at the Port Royal Golf Course now that the redesign project is complete and the grass is filling in.

Premier Brown, who is also Minister of Tourism and Transport, said: "Port Royal is an important part of the overall Tourism product in Bermuda so Mr. Johnson's role is critical.

"Based on his wealth of experience I have no doubt he will help us deliver a world class golf course that is commensurate with our international high regard as a vacation destination."

Before joining the team at Port Royal Mr Johnson was growing at the Taghazout South Course near Agadir, Morocco.

Previous to that he was Superintendent of the Green Monkey Course at Sandy Lane Resort, Barbados for three-and-a-half years which included overseeing the preparation of the Country Club Course for the 2006 World Cup of Golf.

Mr Johnson also has Superintendent experience on courses in Bahrain and Hawaii. He was trained at Gleneagles in Scotland.

"Port Royal Golf Course has come a long way in the past 12 months and with the current team of highly skilled and dedicated greenkeepers we are working together to complete the grow-in to have the golf course ready for the PGA Grand Slam of Golf," Mr Johnson said.

"These are very exciting times here at Port Royal Golf Club and I am honoured to be part of the team."

Before Mr. Johnson's arrival, a fulltime staff of about 25 worked throughout 2008 to rebuild Port Royal into the course it will soon become.

General Manager Bill Pitt said: "I have pulled the staff together and told them that without their hard work this ambitious project would not have been possible.

"They have worked extremely hard. They deserve to be publicly commended."