FROM the time drastic changes were made to four of its holes in the 1990s, Port Royal has never been quite the same.

Those design alterations to holes six, 11, 12 and 13 did little or nothing to rekindle the magic that architect Robert Trent Jones sprinkled over Southampton when he first opened this gem of a course in the early 1970s.

Through insufficient investment and poor maintenance ? and no blame should be attached to those who work at the Government-owned lay-out ? it?s somehow been allowed to shrink into a shadow of its former self.

Thus news this week that the course is about to be closed for up to a year for extensive renovation should be welcomed by its members and everybody else who?s witnessed its decline.

Belmont Hills and Tucker?s Point, through the investment of millions of dollars, have done their part to promote the Island as a viable golf destination.

But Government, who make an awful lot of noise about promoting sports tourism, have up to now hardly played their part.

Of the three public courses, Ocean View has seen significant improvement, attempts ? not all together successful ? have been made to revitalise St. George?s, but strangely little has been done to turn around the fortunes of Port Royal, which was once, and maybe still is, the main attraction for any visiting golfer.

While its closure might frustrate members and prove costly in the short-term ? it is after all the biggest revenue-earner of any Government sports facility ? any effort to restore the course to its former glory has to be applauded.

Its potential to host a bigger and better Bermuda Open, the 2006 edition of which takes place next week, or even some sort of pro Tour event, is enormous.

At its best, in the same kind of pristine condition it enjoyed during the ?70s and ?80s, it?s a Trent Jones masterpiece equal to anything the famed architect has created across the globe.

Hopefully, whoever takes on the responsibility of orchestrating the facelift will get it right and golfers, both here and from abroad, will get to enjoy the Port Royal of old.

BERMUDA?S victories last week in the first round of soccer?s Digicel Cup, beating both US Virgin Islands and Dominican Republic, might not have stretched the players to any great extent, but they were significant in more ways than one.

As coaches Kyle Lightbourne and Paul Scope both pointed out, those wins ensure some kind of continuity for the national programme ? something we haven?t seen for a long time.

Both the players and the coaches can work towards the second round of the competition in November, and with a favourable draw against Barbados, St. Vincent and Bahamas, there?s no reason why they can?t cautiously look beyond that to the following stage in Trinidad in January.

With the domestic season having just kicked off, with encouragingly large crowds turning out for the opening games ? what would our other national sport give for similar support! ? the future of the game?s looking decidedly bright.

On top of what potentially could be a busy international programme, there?s the prospect of David Bascome?s Island Soccer League, the beneficiary of a $100,000 sponsorship boost this week, kicking off next year, followed by an unofficial national team?s involvement in the United Soccer League in America.

If our young players needed any kind of incentive to fulfil their potential, they?ve certainly got it.