Top 10 Golf Courses of Colombia 2017
Top 10 Golf Courses of Colombia 2017
We double our coverage of Colombian courses during the re-ranking process for this country
We first introduced a Top 5 chart for Colombia in 2013 which we then revised a couple of years ago. Drawing on additional sources of data during the latest reappraisal process for this South American country, we’re now able to extend the national listings to a new Top 10. Reviews for these courses are very thin on the ground so we’d be grateful to receive a few more on the back of this article.
Golf in Colombia is still largely the preserve of a wealthy elite, with most courses forming just one of the many sporting facilities on offer at large, exclusive country clubs. Lobbying by both the Federacion Colombiana de Golf and the national tourism authority has gone some way to help visiting golfers gain better access so all the top tracks can be played with a little careful planning in advance.
And so to our updated Colombian standings, where the course at Club El Rincón de Cajicá in Bogotá retains its status as the undisputed number 1. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Snr and opened for play in 1962, this delightful parkland course – site of the World Cup of Golf in 1980 – lies less than an hour’s drive north of the capital, with tree-lined fairways weaving their way around several small water hazards on the floodplain of the Bogotá River.
Rocketing straight into the chart at number 2, our highest new entry is TPC Cartagena at Karibana, designed by Chet Williams when he was a lead architect with Nicklaus Design in 2012. Located close to the old walled city of Cartagena in the Caribbean region of Colombia, this layout relies on water for much of its strategic challenge, especially on the coastal back nine where the wind also conspires to protect par on this more exposed part of the course.
Further down the chart, another Nicklaus Design course arrives at number 7 and it’s Ruitoque Golf & Country Club, where Chet Williams and shaper Jerry Pierman designed and built the Golden Bear’s first Colombian 18-hole layout in 1997. Seventeen years later, Ruitoque became the proud host club for the 67th edition of the Colombian Open in 2014, an event won by David Vanegas from Medellín.
The remaining chart newcomers are all exacting 18-hole layouts at multi-course golf complexes: the David Gutierrez course at Los Lagartos (new at 8) is a 2012 redesign by Scott Miller (yet another former Nicklaus Design lead architect working in Colombia), the Llanogrande course at Club Campestre Medellín (new at 9) is where Camilo Villegas first played the game, and the Founders course at the Country Club of Bogotá (new at 10) is an engaging John Van Kleek track that has held many prestigious tournaments since opening in the early 1950s.
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To view further details of our newly extended Colombian Top 10 rankingsclick the link.
If you think we might not have got the ranking order of our Colombian chart in the correct sequence then please let us know via the “Respond to this article” link at the top or at the bottom of this page. We’re always happy to listen to your opinion following the production of updated national listings so feel free to contact us if you feel strongly about what’s just been published for this South American country.
Jim McCann
Editor
Top 100 Golf Courses