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Cariari
Country Club
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San Jose, Costa
Rica
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,590
Slope: 132
Course Rating: 71.9
Architect: George Fazio
Yardage, slope & rating from
Championship tees.
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The Cariari, long considered
to be the best course in Central America, is a natural to play when
arriving in Costa Rica. Situated on land that was once a coffee
plantation, the Cariari was designed by golf course architect George
Fazio and built by his now famous nephew, Tom Fazio. This par 71
course measures 6,590 yards from the Championship tees, but plays
much longer. The course is heavily wooded, the fairways are narrow
with few fairway bunkers, and the greens tend to be on the large
side with sand traps throughout. The greens are Bermuda and roll
fast and true. The course record is held jointly by Raymond Floyd
and Costa Ricans Álvaro Ortiz and Mario Pérez. The Cariari was the
site of the Friendship Cup in 1979 & 1980. These PGA sponsored
events were won by Larry Zeigler (2 under) and Raymond Floyd (9
under).
Rental clubs available. |
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Garra
de León Golf Course
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Playa Conchal
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,080
Slope: 134
Course Rating: 74.2
Architect: Robert Trent Jones, II
Yardage, slope & rating
from Championship tees.
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| Garra de León Golf Course
is an ocean course with a desire to replace the Cariari Country
Club as the number one golf course in Central America. No expense
was spared to create a course on par with the spectacular resort
it surrounds. Beautiful vistas, sweeping fairways, large undulating
greens, mucha agua - - simply put, a big golf course.
This Robert Trent Jones, II golf course at the Meliá Playa
Conchal Beach & Golf Resort was built over a period of four
years and was well worth the wait. What I truly admire about
this project is the attention to detail. Although newly opened,
Garra de León Golf Course feels as though it has been here for
years. When I mentioned to a friend of mine what a tremendous
course it will be once it has matured, he reminded me that in
Costa Rica’s tropical climate, things mature over a long weekend.
I had a great time playing with the course pro, James McAfee,
and playing from the tips allowed me to see the entire golf
course. Believe me, I saw the entire course! In the future,
I will be playing this course from the blues (6,593 yards) and
the whites (6,045 yards). This is what I call a BIG golf course.
It contrasts with the narrow fairways and tall trees of the
Cariari Country Club course and the rocky steep elevations of
the back nine at Rancho Las Colinas. The golfer who visits Costa
Rica now has the pleasure of playing three championship golf
courses, each with a distinct
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Marriott
Los Sueños Beach & Golf Resort
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Central Pacific
Coast
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,707
Slope: 140
Course Rating: 73.4
Architect: Ted Robinson Jr.
Yardage, slope & rating from
Championship tees.
Price
range $120
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| Costa Rica's Newest Gem
The new golf course in Costa Rica, Los Sueños, is all that
we had expected from a Ted Robinson Jr. designed course. Having
designed over a hundred courses around the world including Shiloe,
the site of the 1998 PGA Championship, Ted has given us a course
that few in the world can match for natural beauty and challenging
golf. It is not uncommon for the guests of the Los Sueños Marriott
to wrest their eyes away from the challenge of the golf course
and just gaze up at one of the most picturesque settings on
earth, a dense canopy of exotic plants, trees, and wildlife.
Bordered by the Pacific Ocean on one side and rainforest on
the other makes it a difficult task to concentrate on your golf
game. If that isn't enough to distract you then there are a
number of old magnificent trees that always seem to be between
you and the area of the golf course you'd like to get to.
"It makes you think, it makes you play, it makes you drive
the ball, it makes you position the ball. It's a shotmakers
test of golf. It's a beautiful site and the type of course I'd
enjoy experiencing every day of my life."
Philip Krick,Jr.
PGA, Director of Golf
Following is a brief Hole-By-Hole description of the course.
As a general rule the Par 5's were not reachable in two from
the tips but it may be possible from the regular tees. The challenge
wasn't so much the distance of the holes but rather the doglegs
and the position of many of the trees I mentioned earlier. The
Par 3's were all between 172 and 190 with wind being the greatest
factor.
I couldn't help but notice that the wind was either into our
face or a crosswind, not once did we hit with the wind at our
backs. One more factor to consider when playing Los Sueños is
the rough which consists mostly of Mani (peanut) ground cover.
This ground cover is about four inches high, is attractive with
it's yellow flowers, loosely packed, but, it is very difficult
to find your ball. You can play out of it if you do find your
ball.
You'll enjoy this golf course and it's definitely worth taking
more than one shot at. Los Sueños has come up with an idea that
I think works very well for all the golfers on the course. They
have what you would call a forecaddie that accompanies each
group. The term "guide" is appropriate in this case as so much
is to be seen besides the break of a putt. The charge for their
services is entirely up to you, pay them whatever you feel their
contribution to your golfing experience was worth.
Rental clubs are available.
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Parque
Valle del Sol
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Santa Ana
Par: 35
Yardage: 6,542
Slope: 128
Course Rating: 72.2
Architect: Tracy May
Yardage, slope & rating from
Championship tees.
Valle
Del Sol
single rounds $30
tee time required saturday and sunday
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| Finally, a course in San
José open to everyone! Avid golfers in San José have been eagerly
awaiting the opening of the new Parque Valle Del Sol. The course
is located fifteen minutes from San José near the town of Santa
Ana, and is part of a golf course community being developed by
the Brazilian company Habitasul. The property and golf course
were initially developed by a North American in the late seventies.
The course was never opened to the public and the owner and his
friends were the only ones to play there. (Sort of a poor man’s
Steve Wynn with his exclusive Saddle Creek course in Las Vegas.)
With this in mind, it is not difficult to understand why the gringo
ran out of money before the project was completed and returned
north a wiser but poorer individual.
In 1994, Habitasul brought in golf course architect Tracy May
to re-design and build a new course. The results achieved by
May are outstanding and we are halfway to a great 18 hole golf
course. May, with the assistance of the on-site construction
supervisor Mark Dinan, has designed the layout to be challenging
and fair under most conditions, and downright tough when the
winds come swirling down from the surrounding mountains.
These first nine holes are very diverse and require the use
of all the clubs in your bag. The many mature trees that were
part of the original course and the surrounding mountains create
a great setting for golf.
We anticipate the opening of the second nine holes in February,
2001.
Rental clubs are available.
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Royal
Pacific Golf & Country Club
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Playa Grande, Guanacaste
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,802
Slope: 122
Course Rating: 71.8
Architect: Ron Garl
Yardage, slope & rating
from Championship tees.
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| Royal Pacific Golf &
Country Club, a short drive from Conchal’s Garra de León Golf
Course, completed their 18 hole championship course in July of
1997. This Ron Garl designed course offers an interesting complement
to the wide open spaces at Conchal.
The front nine is relatively flat with many of the holes following
a river that borders the western edge of the course. Try not
to let the Howler monkeys interfere with your game! In contrast,
the back nine has steep fairways cut through rocky terrain that
demand accuracy more than length. This is not to imply that
it plays short, but rather the importance of keeping your ball
in the fairway.
The course offers a lot of variety. It is challenging, and
will reward conservative play more often than not. Carts included
with greens fees.
Rental clubs are available.
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