CaribbeanTravel.com Directory - (Page X) GOLF HOTSPOTS At left: Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. Below, left: Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic. Below, right: Hyatt Dorado Beach Country Club, Puerto Rico. impressive caribbean courses CHALLENGE GOLFERS f you’ve got golfers among your clients, you’ll have a multitude of championship courses by big-name designers to recommend to them in the Caribbean. Devilish bunkers, unpredictable winds and holes that play over the sea add to the challenge. Be sure to reserve prime tee times in advance and look for value-added golf resort packages. Sandy Lane Resort & Country Club in Barbados tops the list in popularity since it hosted the 2006 World Golf Championships — Barbados World Cup. The Green Monkey and the Country Club Course were both designed by Tom Fazio. Another hotspot is El Camaleón, a Greg Norman-designed course at Mayakoba on the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Last year it hosted the first-ever PGA Tour I event in Mexico, the Mayakoba Classic. Also, check out the golf packages at The Royal in Cancun and Playa del Carmen. The gold standard in the Caribbean is still the trio of Pete Dye courses at Casa de Campo Resort & Country Club in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Teeth of the Dog has seven holes skirting the ocean; The Links creates a Scottish feel; and Dye Fore features a 300-foot-deep river gorge. The Dominican Republic has more golf courses—30—than any other Caribbean destination, with another 12 under development. This winter saw the opening of La Estancia Golf Resort with links designed by P.B. Dye, and the oceanfront Corales Golf Course designed by Tom Fazio at Punta Cana Resort & Club. The Faldo Legacy Course designed by Nick Faldo will open this fall at Roco Ki Golf Club. Note there is inclusive/unlimited golf at Paradisus Punta Cana and Palma Real. Puerto Rico has 23 golf courses, and hosted its first PGA tournament in March at the 36-hole Coco Beach Golf & Country Club designed by Tom Kite. The new Robert Trent Jones, Jr. course at Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club will launch in summer 2008. Blue Shark Golf Club on New Providence Island, Bahamas will PREFACE I open this summer on a former plantation. Designed by Greg Norman, it will feature a trio of treacherous holes called the Sharks Teeth. They will rival another trio of holes called the Devil’s Triangle, set along dramatic sea cliffs at Mahogany Run Golf Course on St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. George and Tom Fazio were the designers. There are more golf courses per square mile in Bermuda than any other country in the world – eight courses on the 21-squaremile island. Port Royal Golf Course designed by Robert Trent Jones is the most challenging; the photogenic 15th and 16th holes ring the cliffs of Whale Bay. Temenos Golf Club in Anguilla designed by Greg Norman offers views of St. Maarten across the sea, dramatic elevation changes and water features. Norman also designed the nine-hole course at the RitzCarlton, Grand Cayman. The island is also home to three 18-hole courses: the North Sound Club, the Links at Safe Haven, and the Jack Nicklaus-designed Britannia at the Hyatt Regency. Not only does Jamaica feature a number of top-tier golf courses, it offers play-and- stay packages that will appeal to your golf clients. Tryall Club is the most prestigious course here as a former host of the Johnnie Walker World Championship. There is a “Golf Around” package for Jamaica’s White Witch Golf Course, Cinnamon Hill Golf Club and Half Moon Golf Course, with discounted greens fees for guests of the Ritz-Carlton, Rose Hall; Half Moon; and The Palmyra. Also look at inclusive/unlimited golf options at Sandals Resorts, Couples Resorts, Rose Hall Resort, Breezes Runaway Bay and Montego Bay, and Grand Lido Braco Resort. I —Kathleen M. Mangan X
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