Aruba

[freddiec]

I'm back.

Well, Aruba, where do I begin.... What a great island. Last minute decision I made was to leave the mizzies at home and not play and I'm glad i made that decision. Sometimes when you go to a place like Aruba, its best to chill on the beach, which is what we did and boy am i glad i didn't waste time fighting the winds on the course. We stayed at the Divi All Incluside and it was paradise. I wanna go back.

[MDHacker]

freddiec:

Glad to hear you had a great time in Aruba (regardless if you left the mizu's at home :-D) Aruba is a great place to just unwind and relax!

 

MDHacker

[skroll37]

Glad you had a good time. Great weather and some incredible restaurants.

 

My wife and I have gone almost every October for the past 6 years and love each and every trip. I always have to decide between bringing dive gear or clubs and have always picked the dive gear. One of these years I will bring the clubs.

 

Planning your next trip yet?

[freddiec]

I'd go back to Aruba in a heartbeat. Its totally R & R, especially over on the Divi side. We really loved the island. It was a very unique and great experience for us. Its so laid back. The weather was good, around 82-85 everyday. I'm obviously a huge golf nut, but i don't even thhk I would want to play in Aruba. For me , its a waste of time. (3 or 4 years ago, i probably would have brought my clubs, even if i was going for just a few days). LOL, maybe i'm getting older and appreciate chillin more.) I knew i was going to have a great time when i was on the shuttle bus to the resport and the driver said "In Aruba, you don't get drunk, you get happy.".

[adam10]

I am heading to Aruba on my honeymoon in a month and my future wife actually suggested we bring our clubs with us (i'm a lucky guy i know.) I've dragged my clubs around on vacations before and found it to be a big hassle. are the courses worth bringing the sticks? i was there for a day off a cruise and can only imagine the wind on the course. any suggestions?

[mickfan4]

I have also had the pleasure of being in Aruba.... Had a Fantastic time.

I played Terra del Sol and I was pleaseantly surpised. I did not bother bringing my clubs, and i would recommend NOT brining them. I think for most once your on the beach its hard to tear away but I am not all day beach person for a week.

The course rented wilson deep reds I think they were, nothing great but they worked. This was fall of 2004, when the hurricanes had gone by, they really messed up the weather patterns down there so there was almost no wind when I played, made the course real easy!

 

If your there for an extended amount of time, I would do it, it has some neat views of the island and the lighthouse.

[freddiec]

Congrats! Aruba is a great island. To tell you the truth, personally I don't think its worth dragging your clubs, unless your going to be there for more than 6 or 7 days. It is very windy. I have completely changed my tune recently about vacations and golf. for me, if I was going to Florida for 5 days, i'm definitely packing the clubs, Aruba, its not worth 4 hours on a course, when I could be enjoying the 80 degree ocean and the breezes on the beach. My wife is not a golfer and thats another reason I diidn't bring them to Aruba. I'm glad I didn't play. There are only a couple of courses and the better one (Tierra Del Sol ) is about 100 bucks. Its up to you.

[MDHacker]

adam10:

Congrats on picking Aruba as a honeymoon destination. I actually proposed to my wife on the beach there at the Bucuti Resort. Aruba is a great island to just sit and unwind. Being a golf nut, I am torn. I went once without my clubs and once with. If you only plan to play one round (there's only 1 full 18 hole golf course on the island Tierra Del Sol and a 9-hole executive at the Divi), then I'd leave the sticks home and rent. Tierra Del Sol can be a very tough course if the winds are blowing. I would probably recommend just leaving the sticks at home and spending as much time on the beach relaxing and just enjoying the day (no need to stress yourself out with a bad tee shot or missed putt ;-)

 

MDHacker

[6thFairway]

I've played Tierra Del Sol with the rental sticks they have there. I don't even remember what they were, but they were something nice-- Callaways or something like that.

 

Tierra Del Sol is a tough course, because the wind is always blowing. When we were there, it was hard to get the flagsticks to stay in the hole because the wind was knocking them out. I think I played bump and run shots with every club in the bag, around the whole course that day. There are some beautiful views of the lighthouse from the golf course-- nice place. Too bad about all of the bad publicity they've been getting over the last year. The hotel operators, golf course staff, etc., don't deserve it.

 

We stayed at the Marriott on Palm Beach.

[toddnt]

Im with you on that one, getting married on a cruise in Grand Cayman and the next stop will be Aruba. Ill have the wife play caddy for me while I beat ball around the island.

[MDHacker]

jwrogers:

I believe you are correct. I remember seeing Callaway Berthas 05's in the rental bags (I brought my own). I got luckly (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) when I went to play Tierra Del Sol last year. There was some tropical storm/depression right on the east coast of South America. Altered the weather patterns for the region so no wind when I played. Course played different without the wind. Bad part was, there was no cooling wind on the beach either so the true effects of the heat was evident...boy was it extremely hot!

 

MDHacker

[MDHacker]

toddnt:

Congratulations on getting married...and I see you've already got your wife trained...."Ill have the wife play caddy for me while I beat ball around the island." Now only if I could get my wife to do that ;-)

 

MDHacker

[JGalls]

Stayed at the Divi on my honeymoon in June and absolutely loved it...would recommend it to anyone.

[toddnt]

Now my fiance understands the Scotty C. obsession....Life is great.

[mfetterman]

Went to Aruba for my honeymoon a few years back. Absolutely the best time of my life, loved it. I didn't take my clubs. There are only a few courses that I know of and if you are looking for a golf retreat don't pick aruba. We are hoping to go back one of these years for our anniversary and I am going to take my clubs because I have wanted to play Tierra del sol since I saw the Price vs Stewart shell's wonderful world of golf match they played there in '98. Plus I have always liked RTJ courses but have never had the oppurtunity to play one yet. Other than tierra del sol, there was a nine hole course somewehere on the southern portion of the island and one of the resorts was in the process of building one on site when i was there.

[Go_Blue!]

Well gents and or ladies, i have been fortunate to have a two timeshares down there and have spent tons of time there. But out of all my years down there, i have played once at Tierra Del Sol, why? Because you are at Aruba, you really don't need to play.....you will see what i mean when you get there. Just enjoy the island and save the scratch for a fun golf getaway for when you get back home.

 

....yes the winds do blow at Tierra del Sol (pardon the pun)

[richaong]

I was there 4 years ago on my honeymoon. Played Tiera del sol 4 times and met some of the best guys while playing. It was perfect. How could you be a member of golfwrx.com and think its a hassle to bring your clubs? or its not worth it?
I thought everyone on here is crazy for golf like me.