Aruba is part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, which also includes Curacao and St. Maarten in the Caribbean. Aruba is popular with Americans because of near-perfect beaches comprised of more than seven miles of powdery, white sand lapped by water almost too blue to believe.
Its north coast is wild and rugged, battered by the waves of the Caribbean Sea and pocked with caves and wild rock formations. It’s a wonderful area to explore on horseback or ATV. There’s not much chance of getting lost as the island is just 19.6 miles long and about six miles wide, roughly the size of Washington, D.C.
The climate is not tropical, but rather desert-like, with cactus the prevailing flora on terrain almost entirely flat. The highest elevation, so-called Mount Jamanota, is only 617 feet above sea level. Rocky expanses characterize the interior of the island, which has no natural fresh water lake. The balmy climate and remarkable landscape make Aruba an ideal environment for golf.
There are two golf courses here – Tierra Del Sol Resort & Country Club, built in 1995, and the nine-hole layout at Divi Aruba Resort, which opened in 2004. These completely different types of courses are good complements, giving golfers a bit of variety.
Tierra del Sol Golf Club
Tierra Del Sol a Lot Like Scottsdale – with the Caribbean
Tierra Del Sol is categorized as a desert-style course with an ocean view, an unlikely occurrence of the kind memorialized in the mid-1980s by country music’s George Strait in his song, “Ocean Front Property.”
Fashioned by the Robert Trent Jones II firm and overseen by then-associate Kyle Phillips, Tierra del Sol occupies the scenic northwest tip of Aruba. It’s the centerpiece of an upscale community, the island’s first fractional ownership property.
Jones Jr. and Phillips followed the site’s natural contours and embraced the resources of the island, melding manicured fairways and challenging greens with an eye toward preserving Aruba’s endemic plants and animals.
Players will likely spot plenty of wildlife, from green parakeets and egrets perched on the pipe-organ cactus, to the lizards, iguanas and salamanders basking on rocks. A saltwater salina on the 4th hole is home to several exotic birds; wild burros often graze alongside the par-5 fifth; and Aruba’s endangered burrowing owls nest along the small coral caves near the par-3 sixth.
The fairways are mostly accommodating and its putting surfaces are large, fast and true. Lakes enter play on seven holes and are visible on several more, while a handful of holes play across wastelands influenced by the tides. Tierra del Sol’s first three holes head downwind toward the island’s landmark California Lighthouse, set on Aruba’s northwest tip and named for the steamship California, which wrecked nearby on September 23, 1891.
The routing then turns into the wind and the challenge begins in earnest, with the 310-yard, par-4 fifth playing more like a mid-range two-shotter than a hole some golfers think they should try to reach from the tee.
The most talked-about hole at Tierra del Sol is the 534-yard par-5 14th, which involves carries over waste areas on both the second and third shots.
Birdies here are rare and pars are tough to achieve, so play conservatively.
Tierra del Sol is a great course with dependable tradewinds and remarkable views from nearly every hole. It annually ranks among the Caribbean’s best and has received a 4½-star rating from Golf Digest. Two Champions Tour events have been played at the course, which also hosted “Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf” with Payne Stewart versus Nick Price, and held the Johnnie Walker Pro-Am for seven years. Links magazine gave the course its “Top 100 Award.”
The golf course at Tierra del Sol is coming out of a six-month renovation to add exciting enhancements to elevate the golf experience.
Links at Divi a Nice Diversion
Routed within open spaces at the expansive Divi Village Golf & Beach Resort near Aruba’s main entertainment district, the Links at Divi is a nine-hole jewel. Playing only 2,952 yards, it’s totally flat but features plenty of bunkers and water, particularly at the 307-yard par-4 ninth hole with its island green.
Opened in 2004 as a public venue and designed by Florida-based Karl Litten, with help from Lorie Viola, the Links at Divi is good test, with water hazards and lagoons on six holes. The track is turfed throughout with Seashore Pasplaum, which thrives in this warm climate and can be irrigated with brackish saltwater.
No par-4 here is longer than 363 yards, so accuracy and course management are key to scoring well. The 486-yard par-5 fourth can be attacked from the fairway in two, but anything short and right on the approach will find water.
The 125-yard fifth is kind of like Miley Cyrus – diminutive but dangerous, as the carry to the putting surface is all over water. Just as tough is the 167-yard seventh, which plays slightly uphill and across a series of bunkers.
The Links at Divi is always in good shape with fast, receptive greens. It provides a nice counterbalance to Tierra del Sol, giving visitors a second option for quality golf on the “Happy Island.”
Lodging at Divi is first-rate and on par with some of the Caribbean’s top resorts. And it’s right across the street from one of Aruba’s best beaches.
