If you love golf, you’re going to love Puerto Rico, the golf capital of the Caribbean. There are currently 23 spectacular golf courses on the island and six more are underway. Golf is such a passion locally that the island’s 10,000 active golfers are anxiously awaiting the World Amateur Team Championships to be held here in the fall of 2004. This international event will be the crowning moment of the Puerto Rico Golf Association’s 50th anniversary celebration.

You don’t need to be a world champ to appreciate the beauty and variety of our courses. Most have been designed by golf luminaries such as Robert Trent Jones, his son Rees Jones, Greg Norman, George and Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Arthur Hills, and Puerto Rico’s own Chi Chi Rodríguez. The courses are feats of landscape architecture that impress golfers and non-players alike.

All of Puerto Rico’s courses share the island’s year-round summer weather, tempered by the cool, gentle breezes of the trade winds. You are almost guaranteed a brilliant tropical sky and glimpses of sparkling white sand beaches backed by the blue Atlantic or the turquoise Caribbean. The greens are truly green, planted with strains of Bermuda grass adapted for our climate, including Tiff Dwarf and GN1, a new hybrid, developed in Florida by Greg Norman.

Many of our golf courses are part of world-class resorts, so after you have played to your heart’s content, you can relax in the pool and recharge your batteries in the spa before getting back to breaking par. You don’t have to be a hotel guest, however. All courses – except those on military installations, which are limited to authorized personnel – are open to the general public.

Whether you are a first timer or a seasoned pro, Puerto Rico has the perfect course for you.

Westin Rio Mar Golf Course (Palmer; ): A 45-minute drive from San Juan on the northeast coast, the 6,145-yard (5,618m) Rio Mar Golf Course is shorter than those at both Palmas del Mar and Dorado East. One avid golfer recommended it to “those whose games and egos have been bruised by the other two courses.� Wind here can seriously influence the outcome of your game. The greens fees are a lot lower than those of its two major competitors.

Hyatt Resort at Dorado (Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort & Country Club; ): With 72 holes, Dorado has the highest concentration of golf on the island. Two courses-east and west-belong to the Hyatt. Dorado East is our favorite. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., it was the site of the Senior PGA Tournament of Champions throughout the 1990s.

True tennis buffs head here, too. The Dorado courts are the best on the island, and both hotels sponsor tennis weeks and offer special tennis packages. The Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort & Country Club weighs in with seven Laykold courts, two of them lighted.

Wyndham El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa (Las Croabas; )This sprawling resort east of San Juan is one of the island’s finest tennis retreats, with seven Har-Tru courts and a pro on hand to offer guidance and advice. If you don’t have a partner, the hotel will find one for you. Only guests of the hotel are allowed to play here.

Palmas del Mar Country Club (Humacao; ): Lying on the southeast coast on the grounds of a former coconut plantation, the Palmas del Mar resort boasts the second-leading course in Puerto Rico-a par-72, 6,803-yard (6,220m) layout designed by Gary Player. Crack golfers consider holes 11 through 15 the toughest 5 successive holes in the Caribbean.