During the last decade, golf courses have been popping up all across the Caribbean, growing faster than the island’s lush tropical vegetation, banana trees and sugarcane
fi elds. From Barbados to the Bahamas, top-drawer courses bear the stamps of noted architects such as Robert Trent Jones, Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo and Tom Fazio. Many other designs are under development or in the pipeline.
All the key ingredients are here: golf
sunny-side up and year-round, generous helpings of sugary sand beaches, clear aquamarine waters and cheek-caressing trade winds. No two islands are alike, and neither are the golf courses. The mix of cultures and races gives the Caribbean a unique style in cuisine, music, architecture, language, dress, religion and mannerisms. You can almost choose a golf des-
tination by your cultural preferences, and with nearly 50 top-quality layouts, the Caribbean presents a delightful dilemma. Almost without exception, the courses are linked to luxury resorts where you’re guaranteed the ultimate beach vacation lifestyle with romantic sunsets, pampered service and gourmet dining. Here are fi ve of the best:
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Casa De Campo A tempting trio of Pete Dye de- signed courses await golfers staying at Casa de Campo—one of the Carib- bean’s most luxurious resorts. Dye said that he actually only created eleven holes on the Teeth of the Dog, God
created the seven skirting the Caribbean Sea. Usually appearing in the world’s top 100 courses, Pete Dye’s masterpiece skirts a jagged, rocky coastline, so close you can feel the salt spray. The fi rst of the coastal holes, the
176-yard 5th, is a par-3 to remember and one scary looking hole. The only option is to hit the green because short, left or long is defi nite shark food. The signature holes on the back nine are Nos. 15 and 16, a medium length par 4 and long par 3. In direct contrast to the front nine, these holes are lined along the entire right side by the Caribbean and are elevated above a coral cliff. Inland lies the designer’s clever, lake-studded Links Course, and his third track, Dye Fore is a 7,714-yard monster that marches along a plateau perched 492 feet above the mesmerising Chavron River.
Casa de Campo is so extensive that guests are provided with a map and golf cart to help them get around. Besides the golf, there’s tennis, clay pigeon shooting, a marina, horseback riding, charter fi shing, nine restaurants and the remarkable Altos de Chavron.
Jamaica’s Ritz-Carlton PHOTO: RITZ-CARLTON
Bajan Green Monkeys
PHOTO: DREAMSTIME
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