Looking after the up-keep and maintenance of Bermuda's three public golf courses is to be switched from the Ministry of Works and Engineering to the Tourism Ministry.

The condition of the courses had been deteriorating for years and it is time to try a new approach to revitalise the Island's public courses, Tourism Minister Ewart Brown said as he explained the reasons for the change.

With his department already responsible for marketing Bermuda's golf scene to potential visitors around the world he argued there was sense in it also assuming control of managing the public courses.

He said putting everything under the Tourism Ministry's control freed up the Ministry of W&E and Housing to concentrate on the pressing problems of housing, while tourism officers can give added focus to a section of the Island's tourism product that is forecast to bring $38 million of revenue to the Island every year between now and 2011. Dr. Brown said a "declining golf product" would not attract affluent golf visitors, adding: "I'm convinced Bermuda's best golf is yet to come and we need to be seen to be progressing."

He made his comments as he presented the Golf Courses (Consolidation) Amendment Act 2006 to Parliament.

Opposition MPs quickly seized on the perception that shifting responsibility for the golf courses solely into the Tourism portfolio was evidence the two Ministries had been unable to work together.

Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell expressed doubts, asking: "Why does this have to be done?"

He went on: "If the golf courses are deteriorating what is going to happen to correct that? How are the deficiencies going to be addressed? Why can't it stay where it is in W&E where they can focus on the physical product and Tourism can continue to focus on the marketing of golf?"

Mr. Dodwell pointed out there had been no parliamentary report on the state of the public golf courses; Port Royal, St. George's and Ocean View, since 1998. He admitted it was his own side, the United Bermuda Party, that had originally proposed the consolidating of the three golf courses into one management entity ? a move that, in his view, had the undesired effect of taking away the competitive edge that previously existed when the golf courses looked after their own affairs and worked in a spirit of independent competition to have better facilities than one another.

The UBP MP also questioned why revenue money generated by the golf courses had not been reinvested in the courses and how the Tourism Ministry with its traditionally low budgetary allowance would finance the up-keep of the courses. He was concerned that local players would be marginalised because the Tourism Ministry's primary focus is attracting visitors from overseas to play on the courses.

And he wondered if the move was a precursor for the transferring control of the St. George's golf course to the developer of the former Club Med resort.

PLP backbencher Glenn Blakeney said it made sense to put the marketing and management of the golf courses under the auspices of a single Ministry, particularly one headed by Dr. Brown who he said: "Has the art of diplomacy and making good deals since taking over that Ministry as we have seen with airlifts and hotel beds being filled."

Deputy Leader of the UBP, Michael Dunkley said: "In light of all the talk about cross-ministry initiatives why are we having to do this transfer?"

He said Bermuda was fooling itself if it believed it is regarded as one of world's top golfing destinations when up against places like Florida and California, although adding: "We have Port Royal and that should be one of the best public golf courses in the world but the conditioning there is awful now."

Mr. Dunkley said: "We need to know more about how the Minister plans to upgrade the courses. It costs a tremendous amount of money with new investment and equipment, new grass on greens and the conditioning."

And he believes Bermuda should look to add another public golf course to its stock of facilities, with the vacant Morgan's Point peninsula a favoured location.

Former UBP leader Dr. Grant Gibbons questioned the rationale behind the move, he said: "It seems to be a failure of co-ordination between Works and Engineering and the Ministry of Tourism. What we have here is W&E having failed and the Tourism Minister saying 'look, if you can't do it then give it to me and I'll do something with it'."

He said that on the last occasion of a transfer of responsibility between the two ministries the result had been: "Coco Reef, a 50 year lease and tears."

He added: "I'm concerned that we might wake up in a week or a month or a year and find out one of these golf courses has been condominiumised."

Responding to the Opposition comments, Dr. Brown said there needed to be a change in how the golf courses are managed because the present situation was not working and had led to a "steady deterioration" of the courses. He agreed there would be a need to strike a balance between visitors using the public golf courses and local players being able to book in for games, and he expressed an ambition to see the public courses improve and eventually outclass the five private courses on the Island.

Dr. Brown spoke of the desire to attract a high profile televised golf event with celebrity players such as Tiger Woods to boost Bermuda's credentials as a serious golfing destination. And he said there was no plan to transfer St. George's golf course land out of Government ownership.

The Golf Courses (Consolidation) Amendment Act 2006 was passed by MPs and will now go before the Senators.