Golf on the north coast

The north coast has two courses worth planning a morning around. Playa Dorada Golf Club sits in the middle of the resort complex, a Robert Trent Jones design from the 1970s with mature trees, water hazards and easy access from every hotel in the area. It is forgiving enough for a holiday round. Playa Grande, an hour east near Río San Juan, is the serious one. Also a Trent Jones design, it runs along clifftops above the Atlantic with ten holes on the ocean, and it is regularly ranked among the best in the Caribbean. Tee times are easiest in the morning, before the wind and the heat. Clubs can be rented at both courses, caddies are customary and green fees are lower in summer. We arrange private transfers to both courses with space for bags, which avoids the guagua with a golf trolley problem entirely.