Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2021 - 13

Recovered from devastation,
the island country beacons
visitors back to its tropical paradise.
Puerto Rico's
Return
* BY JEFF BABINEAU *
io Grande, Puerto Rico-The towering, rubberlike
palm trees that dance so majestically across
Puerto Rico are far from the only living things
that sway so easily on the island. Jeff Willenberg
could attest to that.
He was a young golf professional from Texas visiting Puerto Rico
on a four-month teaching contract that began in November of
1997. He'd purchased a round-trip ticket to bounce back to Texas
the following March, but never used the return portion. Willenberg,
PGA, is the director of golf at TPC Dorado Beach, home to one of
the finest courses in the Caribbean, TPC
Dorado's decorated East Course. He loved
the island so much he never left it.
" My first night here, I had dinner
in the old (Dorado) hotel in what they
called The Surfing Room, " Willenberg
said. " I sat right in front of the ocean,
the waves are crashing ... Now, I had a
great job in Dallas, and was about to start
another as a tournament director. But
I called my mom that night and I said,
'I'm staying.' "
He just knew. This place can do that
to a person. The soothing warm tropical
winds, the azure waters, the fine-sand
beaches, the rich local cuisine, those chilled poolside rum runners,
the residents' friendliness...it forms a pretty strong package.
And oh, let's not forget the golf. As Puerto Rico celebrates a
thorough recovery from the wrath that was thrown at it over a
handful of years-Zika virus, two hurricanes (Irma and Maria),
an economic crisis, two earthquakes on the island's southern side,
and, for the last year-plus, COVID-19 to trim back operations-
golf continues to play a significant role in the island's climb back.
TPC Dorado Beach had four courses at one point in the 1970s,
and it has always been the place to be for the island's elite residents.
Dorado's East Course, one of two currently open alongside the
Sugarcane (with a third course, the West, soon to rejoin the lineup),
is all there in front of you. The East starts out on the old No. 10, and
is an incredible way to begin the round, with a long par 5 that winds
its way down the beach, next to those crashing waves that attracted
Willenberg all those years ago. Be ready. The start isn't easy.
The East's greens complexes are challenging, as are the deep
" [Puerto Rico's] soothing
warm tropical winds,
the azure waters, the
fine-sand beaches, the
rich local cuisine, those
chilled poolside rum
runners, the residents'
friendliness...it forms a
pretty strong package. "
bunkers that have been redone, making it difficult for players not
hitting greens to save their pars. As of
our visit in March, TPC Dorado Beach
was working diligently to bring back
the West Course, which will help ease
the high demand on golf rounds at the
resort. Between the pandemic that led
members to get out, inhale some fresh
air and play more golf, tax-lenient laws
(Act 20 and 22) that incentivized many
mainland U.S.
citizens to purchase
island property, and the return of travelers
in the late winter and spring, TPC
Dorado has been a busy spot. So busy,
in fact, that the club was recently only
allowing members, their guests and
hotel guests from the property's Ritz-Carlton Reserve (one of six
world-wide) on the property.
At one point earlier this year, TPC Dorado signed 90 new members
in as many days. " A lot of the members coming in are serious
golfers, and they're expecting us to deliver championship golf, and
rightfully so, " Willenberg said.
In many recognized rankings, TPC Dorado sits at the top of the
class among the 18 courses that Puerto Rico boasts. It's finely mainmngolf.org
Fall
2021 MINNESOTAGOLFER
13
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DISCOVER PUERTO RICO
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2021

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