The pink-sand paradise of Bermuda will face a stern test next month at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. (Comstock Complete)

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A bold proclamation made by Andrew Brooks earlier this year in the pink-sand paradise of Bermuda will face a stern test next month at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

Brooks, the director of golf at Port Royal Golf Course, said the 16th hole at the host course for the Oct. 20-21 event, is the best hole in the world for several reasons.

"Visually is the main answer I would give you," he said of the crashing Atlantic waves and steep cliffs that dominate the scenery to the left. "Secondly, it's a most challenging hole from the back tees at 238 yards."

"When you're standing there on the back tee and you're looking into a green and you've got the ocean on your left, not a lot of room on your right, the ocean between you and the hole, I don't think there's a better hole," he added. "What really plays a massive part in it is the conditions."

Ocean breezes were strong the day I took my shot, or at least that's a convenient excuse for my ball bouncing down the cliff to the left and into the drink.

"The thing I've always said to people is that you can come around to 16, you might be three-over, you might be 10-over, you could be 20 over par and you stand on that tee and, for a moment, every single thought in your mind is transfixed by the visual situation that's in front of you," Brooks said.

Whether the four major champions of 2009 will be intimidated might be a different story because each of them fought some tough battles just to get here and square off against one another.

Y.E. Yang, for example, did what few can do and fought off Tiger Woods to win the PGA Championship, while Stewart Cink beat the iconic Tom Watson, with his legions of sentimental supporters, to take the British Open. Masters champion Angel Cabrera and U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover will also play.

Whether they can slay the 16th remains to be seen, but Port Royal, which is hosting the event will provide a scenic backdrop. The Robert Trent Jones Sr. design underwent several recent changes over a year-and-a-half and just recently reopened.

Numerous trees have been removed to offer more ocean views, while fairways, rough and tee boxes have been re-grassed and a new irrigation system was put in for better conditions. Bunkers have been redesigned, tees rebuilt, new greens put in and the course has been lengthened.

Fairmont Hotels offers golf/accommodation packages at its Princess and Southampton locations. See fairmont.com. For more information on Bermuda, see bermudatourism.com.