The Montevideo Golf Review

Situated in the center of Montevideo, the Club de Golf de Uruguay (commonly known as the Punta Carretas Golf Course) has a superb clubhouse with a gym, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, and two excellent restaurants. Apart from being a popular venue for hosting events and parties, this club is a social center for the higher echelons of Uruguayan society. It takes a little determination and a few thousand dollars to push your way in as an expatriate, but the facilities are outstanding. On Mondays, non-members are allowed to use the golf course free of charge. Tel: + (598) 2 710 1721.

But this is not your only option as a golfer in Montevide About 15 miles to the east of the city, not far from the International Airport and the residential suburb of Carrasco, lies La Tahona Golf Club, the newest in the city. It's an attractive course, long and fairly difficult, winding through a maze of new houses. There is a more democratic feel in this club, which attracts young, unpretentious Uruguayan players. La Tahona has an open-air pool, tennis courts, gym facilities, and a restaurant. Tel: + (598) 2 6840004.

The oldest golf club in Uruguay is El Cerro, a forgotten jewel sweeping down to a small cove on the Rio de la Plata about 10 miles west of the city center. Lying just below the Cerro fortress, this spectacularly beautiful course was designed by Alister McKenzie, and has views over Montevideo and the Rio. The course runs through established parkland, and the colors are sensational in the fall. The wooden clubhouse was brought over from Chicago in the early 20th century, and has not been changed since. It has an old worlde feel to it, with open log fires and ancient rules posted on the walls. Tel: + (598) 2 3111305.

This friendly club has a restaurant but no other facilities. With no entrance fee, it is by far the best value of the three golf clubs I've mentioned--it has fewer members, and its only drawback is that to access it you have to drive through one of the poorest areas of the city. Many diplomats and British expats play here.

I am reliably informed that every hole at El Cerro is a challenge, and my pundit tells me that the secret is to lay up between the bunkers every time--if you force it and try to go for the pin you may find it hard to break 100.

El Cerro has a partnership deal with La Tahona. For a small additional fee, members of one can play at the other. So, my recommendation is to join El Cerro, get the partnership deal for La Tahona, and play free at the Club de Golf de Uruguay on Mondays.

Paola Fornari
For International Living

Editor's note: Paola will speak at Live and Prosper in Uruguay, Nov. 28. For more details (and to get a special discount) contact events@internationalliving.com