Leeward Ho!

The A of the Antilles’ ABC islands, Aruba counts top-flight golf among its paradisiacal appeals.

Ted Johnson

First impression of Aruba: the heat. I’m less than 20 miles from the Venezuelan coast, and it feels like someone forgot to shut the oven door. Second impression: the cactus. It seems there are more succulents here than in Scottsdale. It follows that the average rainfall is about 16 inches a year. When told that the Spanish failed in their attempt some 400 years ago to raise horses here, the only reply is, “Duh.” Aruba is too warm and too dry for equine husbandry. But warm and dry can make for a very appealing vacation getaway. Adapt accordingly.

The “A” of the ABC islands of the Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire and Curaçao are the others), Aruba lures thousands annually to its aquamarine waters and white-sand beaches. Aruba’s Palm Beach, with its beach shops and Vegas-sized hotel-casinos (the Hyatt Regency and Westin chief among them) that open to the sea, serves as one of the world’s foremost international playgrounds. The heavy-with-humidity trade winds are perfect for parasailing. The large, tourist-laden chutes look like pastel marshmallows floating in the azure sky.

The official language, Papiamento, mixes Spanish, Creole, Dutch, English and just about every other dialect carried by the Caribbean currents that have brought travelers and traders from around the globe for hundreds of years. It makes for a compelling mix of languages and cultures and food. In the middle of this mix is Balashi beer, light, crisp local brew that, amidst the miasma of heat, humidity and cultural diversity, takes on the role of social lubrication.

You can experience the effect at the Mumba Beach Bar at Palm Beach. This open-air meeting place on the sand allows for deep introspection on such critical issues as whether to order sizzling grouper when dining later at Papiamento, the large, family-owned restaurant in central Aruba, or is it time to walk next door to Aruhiba and select that day’s Cuban cigar.

Aruba’s standard of living ranks among the best in the Antilles. Like Curaçao to the east, its economy is based on petroleum refining, banking and tourism, with the latter being the major driver. Though the Spanish discovered Aruba, the Dutch colonized it in 1636, and 350 years later the island became an autonomous constitutional monarchy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Dutch gave Aruba its oil refining capabilities, its educational system and its infrastructure. In turn, Aruba has aggressively promoted tourism. That means some parts of the island, such as near the Divi Resort built around a nine-hole golf course, look like Time-Share Central. Baseball is the island’s unofficial national sport (journeyman pitcher Sidney Ponson is Aruban). But right now the most famous Aruban is Sarah Quita Offringa, the women’s freestyle windsurfing world champion.

It figures; water and wind are two of Aruba’s stocks in trade.

Water doesn’t play much of a factor at Tierra Del Sol, a first-rate 18-hole championship layout and Aruba’s only 18-hole course. The water hazards consist of grass-dominated wetlands at the par-5 14th and an estuary of fluctuating capacity guarding the par-3 15th.

But the wind? That’s another story.

Designed by Robert Trent Jones II about 20 years ago, Tierra Del Sol looks easy on the scorecard: only 6,800 yards from the blue tees and three of the four par-5s are less than 450 yards. Three par-4s are under 380. How tough can it be?

Its location on the island’s northwest tip, hard by the famous California Lighthouse, unveils views of the island’s rocky, barren northern shoreline. But most holes work through scrub, rocks and trees. But by the fourth time you try to muscle a 4-iron through that invisible quicksand called trade winds, you’ll see why Tierra Del Sol is anything but easy. When’s the last time a golfer who hits 150-yard 8-irons had to play a 303-yard par-4 with driver-8 iron?

Though Jones did a good job putting the shorter holes into the prevailing winds and the longer holes downwind, one must also factor in slope and the grain of the Bermuda grass on the greens, which doesn’t make the downwind shots any easier.

The course lays in an east-west direction, and the prevailing grain of all greens is to the west. It’s a formidable element to be considered in the short game. It’s not about how far downwind shots travel but how to stop the ball near the target. The grain of the grass, bending west like the fairway, acts like a slick runway. But chip shots into the grain will stop on steep slopes, the grain trumping gravity. In turn, the downwind, down-grain approach that hits once and then backs up does not exist in Aruba. Play accordingly.

Played a few times, Tierra Del Sol’s features begin to come out: How much spin on that into-the-wind approach shot will repel the ball via backspin off the green and into a bunker? Long-iron approach shots hit with slightly open clubfaces in normal conditions might induce a fade. Into the wind the sidespin gets maxed into a vicious slice. Adjust accordingly.

Driving around the island is a snap because it’s only 20 miles long and at most four miles wide. Renting a car is a good way to go, or contact the Fofoti Tours company. No matter where you stay, the centrally located capital, Oranjestad, includes a shopping center that features shops by the world’s most famous fashion designers. And not too far away is Papiamento, the restaurant. Run by the Eduardo Ellis family (Aruban by birth, Dutch in heritage), Papiamento inhabits a farmhouse-turned- central-interior-dining room dating back to the early 1800s.

Charmingly decorated in antiques, with a lush alfresco patio, Papiamento specializes in Continental fare with a distinctly Aruban touch (bouillabaisse with curry in a rich coconut broth; stonecooked mahi-mahi and shrimp with a hot green papaya sauce) and inspired renditions of uniquely regional dishes like keshi yena (minced beef and chunks of chicken with stewed prunes, raisins, olives, cashews and wine with gooey Gouda on top) and, for dessert, pan bollo (bread pudding with ice cream and rum eggnog).

Tucking into a succulent grouper cooked on a hot stone is as satisfying as swimming past them as you explore the wreck of the Antilla, a 400-foot Nazi freighter whose captain sank it in shallow water instead of surrendering it to the Allies. It’s wreck-diving site that snorkelers can enjoy too—and yet another compelling reason to set sail for this island of confluent cultures, endless activities, challenging golf and infinite charm.

Ted Johnson is a California-based CAG contributing editor. For more on Aruba, visit aruba.com. Visit ColoradoAvidGolfer.com for more stories and become a follower of us on Facebook and Twitter.