Golf at Rio Mar Beach Golf Resort & Spa
Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa is blessed with two championship golf courses. One, the Ocean Course, was designed by the Tom and George Fazio team; the second, the River Course, was designed by the inimitable Greg Norman.
Team Fazio presents the more forgiving of the two courses. Its main feature is its Oceanside layout. The breezes that blow almost constantly in from the Atlantic Ocean range from the balmy to the decidedly blustery and can provide a real test of skill. The landing areas are wide and forgiving and populated by iguanas that range in size from quite small to veritable dragons. The course plays 6,782 yards and features four sets of tees along with numerous bunkers and elevated greens. The signature 16th hole, an Oceanside par 3, 238 yards, is rated by many to be among the Caribbean's best.
The River Course is Greg Norman's first contribution to golf in the Caribbean. The layout meanders some 6,945 yards along the Mameyes River against a spectacular backdrop of cloud-topped mountains and the El Yunque rainforest. As always, Norman has designed his layout with the preservation of the environment - the natural wetlands and native foliage - very much in mind, letting let the natural terrain determine placement of the holes. Norman’s course is somewhat tighter than the Fazio design, but the fairways are wide – somewhat of a departure for Greg – and the greens are open with shallow bunkers and light rough. It’s an ideal course for players of all levels of skill. Signature hole? One through 18, I think.No golf resort would be complete without a clubhouse. Rio Mar’s is one of the best I’ve seen anywhere in the Caribbean: the 35,000-square-foot facility provides just about every amenity and service you’d expect to find at a world-class resort, including a fully-staffed tennis center.
