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!
The Rio Mar has two courses; the Ocean Course, designed by Tom and George Fazio, tends to get more acclaim, notably its seaside 16th hole, but the River Course is also memorable: a Greg Norman design that follows the path of the Mameyes River.
The fun begins and ends at the Palmas del Mar's exquisite clubhouse, but there's plenty of great golf in between. The Rees Jones designed Flamboyan Course has been called the best in Puerto Rico, while the Palm Course is a resort course designed by Gary Player.
This par-72 course features a 200-foot elevation change over its 18 holes and a final hole that compels players to hit their shot over a waterfall. A pretty resort course with views of the El Yunque rainforest and the ocean at one of Puerto Rico's most family friendly properties.
From the sea shore to the slopes of Mount Nevis, this Robert Trend Jones Jr. course cuts through a former coconut plantation and tropical rain forest and around steep ravines. Monkeys may join your foursome as you make play your way along the side of an extinct volcano.
The Royal St. Kitts Golf Club at the St. Kitts Marriott has been called one of the most underrated golf courses in the Caribbean: its 18 holes are laid out alongside black-sand beaches and follow the natural terrain of the Kittsian coast.
The all-inclusive Sandals resorts on St. Lucia (the Sandals Halcyon and Sandals Grande) share a 9-hole course with complementary greens fees for guests. The course is set in a valley, making for a narrow, hilly and challenging course. You can watch the cruise ships out to sea as you ponder your tee shot from the elevated 4th green.
Jim Fazio designed this course to challenge even the world's best golfers: the Trump course plays across 50 acres of hills and seashore on beautiful Canouan Island.
Built in 1968, the 18-hole course at the Mount Irvine Bay Hotel provides a classic Caribbean golf experience, full of swaying palms and ocean views and aided by an attentive staff.
"Rugged" is the best word to describe this Providenciales course, which challenges golfers not only with water hazards and sand traps but also a variety of natural limestone outcroppings. Not for the faint of heart.
Billionaire Laurance Rockefeller gave golf-course design pioneer Robert Trent Jones Sr. a blank check to create the course at the Carambola Golf & Country Club, opened in 1966. Jones designed thousands of courses in his career but considered Carambola one of his best, and generations of golfers agree.
