Score Fall issue "98 Costa Rica"

Sept.-98Travel:
By Hal Quinn

There is a charming native expression that visitors to Costa Rica repeatedly overhear as they first acquaint themselves with this lush and brilliantly colorful land. They catch part of it, then have it translated, and within days they use it themselves. And between visits to this enchanted and little known jewel between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, it is something that they will always associate with this land and never forget: "Pura Vida."

To the "Ticos" as Costa Ricans call themselves, the expression means, well, just about everything. It can mean a casual hello, or goodbye. It can mean "cool", "I agree" , "fantastic". In fact, "Pura Vida" means anything the Ticos -- and within days, the visitors -- want it to mean. It is pure life, pure joy. And now it is the best way to describe how golfers feel about Costa Rica.

Almost 500 years after Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, a potentially more dramatic discovery has been made. In the past decade, Baby Boomers have found that Costa Rica's stable climates -- both political and seasonal-- its three million friendly and well-educated citizens (the nation boasts a 93 per cent literacy rate), and its spectacular 51,000 sq. kms. of remarkably varied topography make it ideal for vacations, retirement and golf.

The modern day explorers to this tropical Shangri-La have names like George and Tom Fazio, and Robert Trent Jones Jr. They didn't come seeking treasures, instead they left them behind for all golfers who follow.

When Columbus arrived in 1502, the Ticos -- an amalgam of the rich and storied heritages of the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs -- were not amused. The determined resistance of the coastal tribes and the apparent lack of gold and booty to plunder encouraged the rampaging Spaniards to move on.

Costa Ricans fervently believe that the very absence of mineral wealth was their salvation then and the key to their future now. There has never been a reason for the conquerors of old or the conglomerates of today to despoil this paradise.

Their neighbors to the north, on the narrow isthmus of Central America, is the historically strife-torn Nicaragua. To the south is the perpetually contentious Panama. Spain laid claim to this spectacular land with its glacier-capped mountains, lush valleys, rolling highlands ideal for coffee growing, and 1,000 kms of breathtaking shoreline, but without enthusiasm. In fact, the Ticos only learned that Spain had given them their freedom when a rider on horseback brought the belated news from Nicaragua in 1821.

To this day, Costa Rica -- in such stark contrast to the other nations in the region -- has yet to find a need to have an army. A democracy since 1889, no civil wars or revolutions or military dictatorships have despoiled the land. It is because, as the Ticos say, they were too busy building schools.

In the past few years, and for many years to come, the Costa Ricans have been busy building golf courses.

Award-winning Canadian golf architect Les Furber has visited Costa Rica many times and is involved in developing a number of projects. Like everyone who makes the journey, he has come away impressed.

"Costa Rica is the place of the future, and they are doing it right too, said Furber, who recently restored the Banff Springs Stanley Thompson course. "Costa Ricans are very conscientious about the environment and of eco-tourism". They want to keep the green space around.

Indeed, the natural splendor that virtually overwhelms visitors is protected like no other place on earth. The parks, wildlife preserves, archaeological monuments, nine forest reserves, seven fauna sanctuaries and the National Forest total more than a million hectares and represents an astonishing 21 per cent of the country.

Costa Rica has nine active volcanoes, thousands of hectares of "cloud forest" on the upper reaches of the mountains and even vaster regions covered with unthinkably lush rainforests. Home to thousands of life forms in 12 distinct climate zones, Costa Rica has 850 species of birds alone! And now it has idyllic havens for the quixotic quests for the less colorful but equally rare birdies and eagles.

Fittingly, it all started in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose, home to more than one million Ticos. Nestled at 3,800 feet above sea level in the cradle of the central mountains, San Jose is the epitome of Central American charm and natural beauty. ( Direct flights from Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and Houston).

On the outskirts of the city, on the site of a former coffee plantation, world-renowned architect George Fazio (with considerable help from the equally respected Tom Fazio) created an 18-hole masterpiece.

In exchange for a residential lot (valued then at US $10,000) on the site of the Melia Cariari Conference Center and Golf Resort that is the centerpiece of the course, George routed a typically thoughtful and challenging Fazio layout. Mature, it opened in 1974, and elegantly traditional, the par 71 Cariari course plays longer than its 6,590 yards. Heavily treed, with amazing cacti and exotic native plants and stately palms as accents, the premium is on accuracy off the tee. The par fours are especially strong; the fives reachable only with precise shots. One of the full staff of caddies will help will all decisions, for a reasonable fee.

The course is open to members and guests at the Melia Cariari Resort, and guests at area hotels with playing arrangements. But a stay at the enchanting Cariari resort -- with open-air entrances to the rooms and vibrantly-colored parrots greeting guests each morning -- is worth the trip itself.
The same is true of the Melia Cariari's sister resort, the Melia Playa Conchal Beach and Golf Resort -- a four- hour drive from San Jose, or less than an hour's flight.

Surveying his truly remarkable creation, the championship course at the Resort on the Pacific coast in the northern province of Guanacaste, it is obvious that a year after its opening, Trent Jones Jr. still holds the land in a special type of reverence.

The resort itself is as unique and memorable as the Conchal Campo de Golf course. Set amid manicured grounds -- the enormous swimming pool, with its simulated bays, beaches, islands and swim-up bar is an architectural marvel itself -- the guest quarters are four-plex bungalows with individual entrances. From the balconies, the views include the palms and massive trees that are home to howler monkeys, the five-star open-air restaurant, the cafes, the beach and the crashing surf beyond. And, naturally, the golf course.

"I am very much an aesthetic person, I like things that are wonderfully beautiful, said Jones Jr., whose resume of award winning courses around the world includes the Chateau Whistler Golf Club in Whistler, B.C. "Nature provides the bounty. All we do is lightly work with nature and reveal her secrets."

From the first hole on this remarkably beautiful par 72 course, Jones Jr. design is 7,030 yards of nature stunningly unadorned. But as the golf purist in Jones Jr. reveals: "This course is relentless, you have to play good golf. If you are a good player, you are not going to record a par, or sub-par, round without really working at it"

Typical of his courses, Jones Jr. creates a pleasant rhythm with dramatic crescendos. The opening hole is the 17 handicap hole, expansive and the perfect warm up. The second, the 11 handicap hole, is another par four but narrower and with a deceptive elevated green. With a clash of cymbals, the par 4 third hole -- uphill and 467 yards -- demands two superbly placed long shot to reach a sloping, well-guarded green. It easily earns its number one handicap ranking.

And so it continues around this superb layout, that -- because of the almost year-round growing season -- belies its age. At a year old, it plays as a mature, championship course.
Also in the "Gold Coast" region about an hour's journey from the Conchal resort, is the Ranchos Las Colinas Golf and Country Club designed by Ron Garl. A gently rolling, relatively open and inviting front nine contrasts with the back nine carved from steep, rugged land. The river running through it, and the rock outcroppings, call for accuracy. And the calls from the howler monkeys and tropical birds -- and the views of one of Costa Rica's premier surfing beaches, Playa Grande -- ease the pain of errant shots.

Four more courses on the Gold Coast -- soon to be known by players as the "golf coast"-- will open soon. Besides the new Los Altos de Cacique del Mar, Resort Rancho Mary, Vistas del Flamingo and Monte del Barco courses, two more are in the planning stages.

And back where it all started, in the heart of the Central Valley in San Jose, two nine-hole courses followed the Melia Cariari example. Opened in the mid-1970s, Los Reyes Country Club and the Tango Mar Beach Resort and Country Club have nine-hole courses. And this year, the front nine of the Parque Valle del Sol of the 18-hole course is open for play.

Under construction along the Pacific Coast west of San Jose are La Roca Country Club, the Marriott"s Los Suenos at Playa Herradura. And the Tulin Resort is building an 18 course south of Jaco Beach. The rates are reasonable. For instance, at the Playa Conchal in high season ( Dec 15 to Apr 1) golf is US$100 for registered guests at the resort, $120 for visitors. Low season the fess are $80 and $90 and year round they include power cart, range balls, yardage book, bag tag and bottled water.

Not far from the first tee, from the terrace of the marble-floored and tiled roof open-air reception building at the Playa Conchal, with its view of the ocean, the guest bungalows and his beautiful course, Trent Jones Jr. mused: "You know, people really should come here now before the word gets out."

Indeed, everyone will soon hear about this unique and wonderful bit of paradise. And the words they'll hear will be; "Pura Vida."