Whenever the weather allows it and the vacation is at least a week and if the rest of the family doesn't mind too much, I try to get in a little golf. It usually requires a fair amount of planning and research to identify proximity from our holiday accommodation, costs of club rentals and green fees (and they have left-handed clubs for rental) and if they are public courses or private courses that allow non-members to play.
More than the relaxation that 3-4 hours on the course provides, it is also a way to experience the differences in culture and agriculture from one country to another. As much as possible, I also try and play with another group - which allows for conversation and a few laughs around 18 holes.
Fort Buchanan is a golf course set inside a US Army Base in Guaynabo in Puerto Rico. There are far larger and more glamorous courses out there on the island but in terms of proximity to Isla Verde (our location for the week) and costs, it couldn't be beat.
A 9-hole layout built in 1949 they offer different tee positions to allow playing it twice-over for a full round.
Inquiries for tee times were made by email before arriving in Puerto Rico and a reservation made for a day where bad weather was expect from the late morning and so an early tee time was picked where, if I played alright, I might get close to 18 holes in.
Driving in through army-gated security, I was asked to show ID, provide proof of a tee-time reservation (which I didn't have having reserved on the phone), wait at the visitor gate and call for them to come get me. About 5-10 minutes later, someone from the pro-shop drove by in a golf cart and had me follow her in, under the eagle eyes of men in uniform.
Once at the course itself, everyone was super friendly.
The signing in, club rental etc. took no time at all and I joined 2 others, Manolo and Chi-Chi, local residents and course experts who showed me the lay of the land and the way around the course. While the course was not immaculate, it was lush and green and well maintained with open fairways, zero water hazards and tricky hard-to-read greens.
Despite the zero water hazards, I still found plenty of thick vegetation into which to lose a ball. A search for said ball was quickly abandoned when Chi-Chi regaled us with a hopefully coincidental story about snakes. We all laughed. I laughed nervously.
Manolo and Chi-Chi stuck around for 9 holes (they were playing their 2nd 9) and I wandered onwards on my own for a few more holes before the heavy rain finally caught me out after 14 holes.
However, more pleasures of the golf club lie in wait. A heavily subsidized army canteen meant that I had coffee, eggs, a grilled cheese sandwich and a green for almost nothing.
It was immensely satisfying.
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