By Jason Bateman, founder
Here are eight golf courses in Costa Rica, and they are spread a long way apart. Four are in Guanacaste and on the Nicoya Peninsula, one is on the Central Pacific at Playa Herradura, and three are in the Central Valley around San José. The names behind them include Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones II, Ted Robinson and George Fazio.
Where you play decides where you stay, so under each course I have put the area we would base you in.
Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula (fly into Liberia)
Four Seasons Golf Club, Peninsula Papagayo
An Arnold Palmer design: 18 holes, par 72, 6,788 yards from the black tees, with five sets of tees, so a beginner and a low handicapper can play the same round. The third hole tees off from the top of a cliff with the Pacific below you.
Where to stay: Papagayo, about 45 minutes from Liberia airport. The Four Seasons Resort is on the same peninsula.
Reserva Conchal Golf Club, Playa Conchal
Robert Trent Jones II laid this one out in a valley just back from the beach, about 7,000 yards from the back tees, and used the big native trees to guard the greens. The sun comes up early in Guanacaste, so an early round is easy to fit in before breakfast.
Where to stay: Conchal, at the Westin Reserva Conchal, the all-inclusive resort the course sits inside.
Hacienda Pinilla Golf Course, near Tamarindo
A Mike Young design, par 72 and 7,299 yards from the black tees, on a 4,500-acre former cattle ranch on the north Pacific coast. The fairways are wide, the bunkers are links style, and the course is certified by the Audubon Society for the way it is run alongside the dry forest.
Where to stay: Playa Avellanas and Tamarindo. The JW Marriott Guanacaste is right next to the course.
Los Delfines Golf and Country Club, Tambor
A small course on the southern Nicoya Peninsula looking over Bahía Ballena. It opens with a 337-yard par 4 with plenty of room off the tee.
Where to stay: Tambor.
Central Pacific (fly into San José)
La Iguana Golf Course, Los Sueños, Playa Herradura
Ted Robinson designed it, it opened in 1999, and it plays par 72 and 6,698 yards from the gold tees. It is cut into rainforest, and more than 150 kinds of birds have been counted around it, so expect monkeys and toucans on some holes. Herradura is about two hours’ drive from San José.
Where to stay: Herradura, at the Los Sueños Marriott Ocean and Golf Resort, which the course belongs to.
Central Valley (fly into San José)
Cariari Country Club
George Fazio designed it and his nephew Tom Fazio built it in the early 1970s, on an old coffee plantation close to the San José airport. 18 holes, par 71, 6,590 yards, with narrow tree-lined fairways that play longer than the card says. It has hosted the Central and South American Open. It is a members’ club, so ask us before you plan a round here.
Where to stay: the DoubleTree by Hilton Cariari, next to the club and close to the airport, which makes it an easy first or last night.
Valle del Sol Golf Club
A Tracy May design, 18 holes, par 72 and 6,750 yards, with fifteen small lakes and views of the Irazú, Barva and Poás volcanoes. The fairways slope gently, so it is an easy course to walk, and there is a driving range on site.
Where to stay: the DoubleTree by Hilton Cariari is about 15 minutes away.
Monterán Golf Club, Curridabat
A private executive course in the hills east of San José, par 54 and 2,243 yards from the blue tees. The climate up there is mild, and the short holes suit families and newer golfers.
Where to stay: San José.
If golf is part of your trip, tell your Costa Rica Specialist which course you want to play when we start planning. We will put you in the right area for it and build the rest of the trip around that.