Fort Worth Star-Telegram

By Charles Clines
July-98

The gallery continued to grow as the two golfers prepared to tee off on the par-3. It's not often a twosome of average golfers can attract an audience of 15 or so. Then again, maybe the onlookers were there just because of the nearby trees. Several were, after all, hanging by their tails from the limbs. Monkeys, you see, do that.

Even if the furry critters didn't seem particularly interested in the humans, the two golfers turned spectators for a while as the adult and baby monkeys frolicked in the trees next to the tee.

That's the way golf can be in Costa Rica, a Central American country known for its wildlife.

In fact, most tourists visit the country to see the rain forests, volcanoes, wildlife and maybe catch a wave or two surfing. But the country that never turns cold also seems on the verge of becoming the next golfing hot spot.

There are few better courses than the year-old Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed Garra de León Campo de Golf at the Meliá Playa Conchal Golf Beach & Golf Resort on the Pacific side of the country.

I was playing golf with James McAfee, former executive director of the Northern Texas PGA and now the director of golf at the Meliá Playa Conchal resort. We were playing in late June as the so-called winter (rainy season) was just beginning. At 85 degrees, the winter weather wasn't too bad and made one wonder why this is the country's off season. We practically had the course to ourselves.

Although indications are that the sport is ready to boom with at least two other 18-hole courses scheduled to be built, golf has been slow to catch on in this country that's more known for its natural attractions There are three 18-hole courses, and several 9-hole layouts. While not a lot to choose from, the 18-hole courses and the one 9-hole course I played, are excellent tests of golf and well-manicured.

If one likes to walk, the George Fazio-designed Cariari Country Club, which is part of the Meliá Cariari hotel, in San José has caddies Many of the caddies are students and get to play on Mondays and some afternoons, so they know the game. The ones we had read the greens to near perfection.

Joining us at Cariari was Landy Blank, who moved to Costa Rica two years ago to form his Costa Rica Golf Adventures company. He has several golf and sightseeing packages, and because he lives there, he knows the ins and outs of the country.

The nice thing is that Costa Rica is only 31/2 hours from Houston, where I left from on Continental Airlines. It's closer than Hawaii and cheaper, and the scenery is almost as good.

You can fly into San José and stay and play golf at the Meliá Cariari. From there, it's a 31/2-hour bus drive to the Meliá Playa Conchal resort. The Rancho Las Colinas, which features a rolling back nine, is about 20 minutes or so from there.