Country Club Golf

Here is my take on the golf course at Cielo Paraiso, a private country club, (Heavenly Paradise would be one translation) that we got to play a couple of times with the promise that I would write about it. If they use this for promotional purposes, - which is the plan - we hope to play there again. (If you are not a golfer this may put you to sleep.)


Cielo Paraiso
Beauty and Challenge Defined
By Doc Walton

There is a hint of something mystical about Cielo Paraiso’s golf course. Tucked in mountain and valley a short drive from downtown Boquete, it is as if the rolling fairways that meander from every tee to sculpted green were not carved from the landscape, but rather, had been there all along. Leprechauns and fairies, or Panama’s version of same, have surely been playing this wilderness track eons before mankind began recording his birdies and bogeys. Here there is a seamless flow to the course design that suggests nature should be awarded the same kudos as course architect J.Michael Poellot.

Walk with me now, golfers, and imagine playing this manicured nine.

We exit the clubhouse and wend pleasantly along a wide concrete drive enjoying the look of long vistas and elegant home sites until we arrive at the first set of tee boxes. There are four of these, ranging in length from 361 to 442 yards, allowing us to select a distance to match our skill level. Standing on the tee and looking around we can see for the first time why Cielo Paraiso’s developers, The Warner Group, are so proud of their creation. The course lies within the density of Panamanian flora and appears at once breathtaking and daunting. The “breathtaking” is the mountainous wonder of Chiriqui Province. The “daunting” is Hole Number 1. Here there is a fairway that wanders irregularly down from the tee and then rises gradually to the green. At roughly a well-hit-driver distance there grows, on the fairway, a tree to menace shots pulled left. Play too far right, though, and there are bunkers to gather your wayward ball. Should you avoid these calamities with a straight strike, a second shot to a large green will seem welcoming and do-able. Beware, additionally, of sand traps hard left and close right as well as pin placements that often require wide breaking putts.

From there we will take a short, woodsy trip to Hole Number 2. This Par 4 offers no let-up in beauty and no respite from challenge. The tees here range from 375 to 465 yards, and all are elevated. An accurate first shot to an undulating slice of green is demanded as the right side of the fairway falls steeply off, and there are bunkers lining the left to collect errant drives in that direction. Having hit down to the fairway from the elevated tee, golfers will now work their way gradually uphill to a green which is, of course, protected by sand traps and surrounded by nature. It is suggested that you avoid the first and take a moment to enjoy the second. Doing so will make the quick trip to the next hole a more pleasant experience.

When we leave the green at Number 2, our cart – did I mention we were riding an almost noiseless electric cart – will follow a winding path uphill a bit and then quite suddenly deliver the dramatic sight of Hole Number 3. What fun this is! There is a tee box here etched into the hillside overlooking a green far below. A Par 3, this hole plays from 152 to 179 yards, but it will seem longer as you watch your ball arc gracefully (we hope) down to the deceptively smooth looking green surface. There are woods beyond and to the left, sand traps both left and right, and nasty looking rough all about. Best to select the proper club for this shot, and by all or any means swing it well. Before you do, though, as you stand on the tee, look to your right. You can see forever.

It is a long drive to the tee at Number 4, which gives us time to savor our success at Number 3 or to rebound from our failure. Whatever the golfing case may be, this is the moment to push aside thoughts of pars and bogeys and concentrate fully on your surroundings. We are deep into the course now, away from human hubbub and distraction. There is the sound of a river running somewhere beyond the trees, and birds are chirping and chattering happily in abundance. There is natural beauty in every direction and a long blue sky above. Take a minute, take two or three in fact, to appreciate where you are. Then, if you are a serious golfer and aren’t we all, re-direct your focus, pull the head cover from your Big Dog, and stride to the tee. Hole Number 4 is a dogleg left that can play to 501 yards, and most of it is up there around the corner.
Making it to the dogleg with your drive is critical. Once there, the hole is a straightaway target, albeit a faraway straightaway target. There is tangled and difficult rough bordering the fairway edges. While leprechauns and fairies play here out of sight of man, gremlins await his arrival. How else to explain that terrible shot? The green, like all those here at Cielo Paraiso, is large and well tended. But don’t be fooled. There are subtle breaks lurking in the short grass. Read them carefully before rolling your ball to the hole. You may be surprised where it ends up.

Hole Number 5 is a Par 4 dogleg right spanning 413 yards from its furthest tee. There are mountains in the foreground as we stand on the tee box and an excellent view of Cielo Paraiso’s first homes rising from the hillside to our far left. The real wonder of this hole begins when we navigate the dogleg and the green comes into view. As you near, it will appear suspended and unending like an infinity pool. It floats there seemingly at the edge of the world. When at last you arrive at the green, the feeling changes little for you find yourself agape at mountainous horizons in all directions. Make your putts and spend a moment more on this fantasy green in the sky. You are in a truly unique place.

After Number 5, the sixth hole seems almost ordinary. Yet, if we take a moment to consider, there is a uniqueness to each hole at Cielo Paraiso that is seldom achieved on so many other courses, where you are likely to say, “Well now, doesn’t this look familiar?” The sixth hole here gives us another elevated tee (surely the most fun kind) from where you can see to the green some 310 to 435 yards distant, neatly nestled in front of a stand of tall trees. Beyond and above the trees, a direct view of Cielo Paraiso’s homes is afforded. A critical eye suggests their placement above the course is a natural occurrence. The incline from tee to fairway is gradual, and a wider landing area awaits a good drive. There is a sense of openness here, perhaps because of the broader fairway dimension, but do not be taken in and spray your shot left. A center or right-of-center shot will make the Sixth play easier as the fairway narrows to that side nearing the hole. The green is strategically guarded by bunkers, rough, and foliage. Whether gremlin, goblin, and ball thieving troll also reside there is a matter for conjecture, but I wouldn’t bet against it.

And then we are on to Number 7, the shortest hole on the course, a mere 150 yards from its furthest tee. You can see it there through the opening between those trees. It looks inviting if you ignore the many bunkers surrounding it, the tangled forest left and beyond, and you certainly don’t want to find yourself to the right where patches of gnarly rough could make a decent recovery shot unlikely. Just ignore what sounds like an avian chorus at the tee chirping “I dare you, I dare you” from the overhanging trees and hit your shot straight and true to the putting surface. Do that and I promise you will be lying no more than two more strokes from the hole. Whoops, didn’t read that break? Faster than you thought? Okay, make that promise three strokes.

When we stand on the tee at Number 8, I think you will agree that here is a hole that presents challenges to both the courageous and the cautious. There is a lake to the left where water witches surely dwell and thick woods close on the right. Shots sliced or hooked are more than strokes lost; they are balls lost as well. Not far to the fore there is a creek positioned by nature to drown topped shots, and there is a further rill intersecting the fairway at long drive distance. (Yardage to this creek would be useful here). The courageous may want to put his drive beyond the two hundred yard marker to shorten his next shot to this Par 4, 403 yard hole, but he best remember the fairway slopes to the water. Too far is “too bad.” The cautious will consider a safer lay-up, but that strategy entails its own risks. The shot must be positioned well left to bring the hole into view, and, of course, his next shot will be long and difficult. The sand traps short and left of
the green are easier targets to find from there than is the green itself. Long hitters of the golf ball may want to “tee it high and let it fly” in hopes of clearing all obstacles. For those bold lads I should mention that the fairway beyond the intersecting creek offers a much narrower landing area. If still they persist, I can only add, “Hit away Big Fella. This will be fun to watch!”

We turn now onto the tees at the Ninth hole, which loops back and puts the lake between the eighth and ninth fairways. This is a long Par 4, originally intended to be a 5 but shortened due to erosion problems at the hole’s termination. Either that or our mythical friends, fairies and gremlins and such, couldn’t reach the green in three, so they arranged to have the course altered to suit them. No matter. It plays from 357 yards at its shortest to 427 from the championship tee and you will find challenges aplenty from whichever of the four tees you choose. Be sure to take in the wide vistas available here as you work your way to the green, avoiding bunkers and rough. There is more than enough to tempt the eye and stir one’s imagination. When at last your approach shot lands softly on the green, card an automatic two putt and call it a round. The green here is the newest and is perhaps a season away from joining the others as pro play worthy.

If now, at the end of these spectacular and challenging nine holes, we are finished for the day, we will wend our way (regretfully) back to the clubhouse. If, however, another round is in the offing, I suggest a cold beverage, a short rest, and a bee-line back to the tee at Number 1. Bring on this course with its beauty and challenges both real and mystical. If you’re ready, I’m ready, and right now is not soon enough!


Copyright Doc Walton June 2009