The Caribbean has always been a popular golf course, but today there are more choices than ever for golfers. The Dominican Republic has emerged as one of the world's best golf destinations -- Casa de Campo's Teeth of the Dog course is listed as #35 in the world by Golf Magazine, for example -- and you can even find golf in such unusual destinations as Cuba and Haiti. So pack your clubs for your next trip to the Caribbean and experience firsthand the fun of playing golf under the tropical sun!
This public 18-hole, par-71 course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and is known for its windy conditions and multiple water traps, offering a serious challenge to all who play.
Only in Haiti would a club advertise on its website with a picture of a military helicopter on one of its fairways, ringed by paramilitary police toting assault rifles. Safety is clearly at a premium at the Petionville Club, whose members include a number of foreign diplomats. The club has a 9-hole course rated a par 66 for two go-rounds.
The Tryall Club course features a tee shot through the stone pillars of a historic aqueduct -- part of a former sugar plantation -- but this 18-hole, par-72 course doesn't rely on gimmicks to challenge players. Your best shot at playing this course, which edges along the Caribbean and the Flint River, is in the summer months; winter play is limited to Tryall Club guests.
"Like [plantation mistress Annee Palmer], the legendary 'White Witch of Rose Hall,' the course is alluringly dangerous and unpredictable," says designer Robert von Hagge. "Just as her personality might shift without warning, so do the winds, turning a six-iron shot in the morning into a five-wood late in the day." The course is dotted with rock outcroppings and cut by ravines, with ocean views on almost every hole. It's a par-71, 6,859 yards long.
Montego Bay's Half Moon has been called the best golf resort in the region by Caribbean World magazine, and the golf course has been recently renovated to better suit the modern game. Also voted one of the Caribbean's most underrated golf resorts by Travel & Leisure magazine.
An all-inclusive stay at the Rose Hall Resort & Country Club includes golf at the resort's renowned Cinnamon Hill Ocean Court, which features great ocean and mountain views. Golfers can warm up on an open front nine before tacking the more challenging back nine filled with traps and dense foliage.
Guests of the Superclubs all-inclusive resorts can play on the 18-hole Ironshore Golf Course, one of three courses that make up the SuperClubs Golf Club. This par 72, 6,633-yard course is known for its tricky blind holes and traps.
The Empress Josephine Golf Course in Trois-Ilets was designed by Robert Trend Jones Sr. and makes full use of banks, trees, lakes, bunkers and obstacles to provide 18 holes of challenging golf.
Who says you have to stay at a big luxury resort to get access to the best golf courses in the Caribbean? The resort complex on the former Blaauw plantation includes a moderate Best Western hotel but still delivers world-class golf alongside beautiful Blue Bay.
Double your pleasure with a pair of Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed championship courses, laid out on the grounds of former citrus and coconut plantations.
