Golf Courses for the Dominican Masses?

[NALs]

Ever since the first golf course was created in the DR (Santo Domingo Country Club) in the 1920's, the sport has been seen as something exclusive of rich Dominicans. With the appearance of mass tourisim, golf course have also appeared in several resorts used by tourists and well off Dominicans.

In the USA most golf courses are private, but there sre many built, owned, and managed by different governments, usually municipal ones. While even there golf isn't particularly a sport popular with the poor, they are less stuffy that those in private country clubs and, as a consequence, there is a greater range of golfers. Why can the DR attempt to break the "golf is for the rich" myth?

Private golf courses can continue to limit who can play them and/or access their clubs via things like high prices (high enough to keep the low class and even much of the middle class out of reach.) The DR government should consider:

1) Creating a new institution within the Ministry of Sports and Recreation solely for the constructing, maintsining and promoting golf in public golf courses.

2) Creating at least 7 public golf courses throughout the DR. 2 in Greater SD -it would have to be somewhere in Villa Mella and another in SDE, the DN is almost all built up-, 1 in Santiago, 1 in Baní -with an emphasis on being in a semi-dry climate to include things such as cactuses in the scenery-, 1 in San Pedro de Macorís, 1 in Puerto Plata and 1 in either Jarabacoa or Constanza with an alpine theme to contrast with the more tropical ones in the vslleys snd along the coast. Maybe more created at a later time.

3) Create a government owned institution similar to FEDOGOLF, but that consist of all the public golf courses and membership fees should be very economicals.

4) Prices of everything should be subsidized to guarantee accessibility to all or most Dominicans. This also includes the rental of golf clubs and other equipment, clothing, etc.

5) Create a juvenile/teen golf team and one for adults with the corresponding tournaments competing each other during a to be defined golf season. Juveniles should be accepted on a free basis and given lessons to learn the sport. Adults could get lessons for a very affordable price. The games to be shown in RTVD 4 and a dedicated Youtube channel. Winners of the National Public Golf Tournament should get trophies, plaques, and a small monetary prize. Plus, recognition as the golfer in number one place added to a newly created Public Golfers Hall of Fame within the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame.

6) Eash public golf course should have their own shop similar to the official baseball teams and maybe a restaurant. Maybe convert some or all into a sort of public club with other offerings such as an area for events and renting for parties, weddings, etc; a couple of tennis courts to encourage that sport, in a couple of them maybe a pool to encourage, learn, and practice swimming; etc.

I see no need why golf should continue to be seen as a sport exclusively for the rich and tourists. Never know if similar to baseball in the MLB, in the future Dominican golfers turn out to be among the best in the sport and go on to international competitions. Several Dominicans Tiger Woods or Rory Mcllory.

 

[bob saunders]

While I like the idea of cheaper and easier access for golf, this would seem like a low priority in a country where most people don't even have potable water.

 

[Astucia]

4) Prices of everything should be subsidized to guarantee accessibility to all or most Dominicans. This also includes the rental of golf clubs and other equipment, clothing, etc.

Why would you suggest it would only be available to Dominicans? And why not make it affordable at the courses that are currently here, to everyone. Ordinary Dominicans could never afford to play here now. Gringos living here pay exorbitant prices to play golf. And even then are treated like second class riff-raff. And try to get a full membership at one of these elitist and snobby clubs - is almost impossible. They don't want gringo members. The course I play at - many members pay nothing, don't take or pay caddies. I highly doubt they want to be rubbing shoulders with the "ordinary" folks. Build all those suggested courses ? Cangrejo bridge comes to mind

 

[melphis]

I have to agree with Bob. I think potable water, education, safe roads, properly trained police and the list is basically endless is a much higher priority than public golf courses.
Being an avid golfer the courses here that I have played are as accessible as any in Canada. Some are ridiculously expensive but if they are getting golfers at those prices then it's just basic supply and demand economics.

 

[NALs]

While I like the idea of cheaper and easier access for golf, this would seem like a low priority in a country where most people don't even have potable water.

If that is the case, then most of everything should had never been done in the DR (and in most countries in the world for that matter.)

 

[RDKNIGHT]

Fedogolf has awesome setup for the Youth to join Federal golf it cost 6,000 pesos a year but they have many tournaments for the Youth very nice setup

 

[NALs]

Yes, but there is the belief that golf courses (and that goes with being a member of FEDOGOLF) is for rich people only. Government owned golf courses and a federation or social club will be a major contributor to eliminating that myth. At least that golf is for rich people only. Perhaps the belief will evolve to golf in private clubs and resorts are for the rich, but golf in the public courses are for everybody. There are probably many kids and teenagers that have what it takes to become great golfers, perhaps among the best in the world, and the only thing getting in the way of them taking advantage of that skill is the belief golf is for rich people and they aren't rich.

Many other sports receive much or some support from the government. Horse racing is an example where if it wasn't for the government, there wouldn't exist a horse racetrack. Tennis courts are modtly in private clubs, hotels and resort; but the government built many in places like the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. A sport for many years thought to be for the rich, but the government makes it accessible for those that aren't rich by creating the facilities open to the public, not just club members or resorts clients. The same with many other sports from swimming, bike racing, etc.

The notion of beliefs such as "the country needs to focus on other things first" I think is well intentioned, but nonsense. For one, there are specific ministries devoted to attending those issues. That they aren't doing a good job is no reason to penalize the rest. Second, there is not a single country, not even the developed ones, that refused to develop something because there were other issues still unresolved. The entire government isn't devoted to attend those issues, just a part of it ab¡bd that is the case everywhere.

 

[NALs]

If you want to see an example of sports once thought only for the rich the government got involve to break that myth, visit the Olympic Center in SD. That has to be the greatest concentration of government built and owned facilities for many sports. That isn't the only place, but it must be with the greatest concentration.

In the Mirador del Sur Park there are many others all free from excercise places to skating parks (not just riding bikes along Avenida de la Salud), basketbsll courts, etc. They were all built by the government and that is the main reason they are free, unlike those founds in private clunbs, country clubs, resorts, etc. Similar things are seen in Mirador del Este Park in SDE, Central Park in Santiago, etc.

 

[bob saunders]

If you want to see an example of sports once thought only for the rich the government got involve to break that myth, visit the Olympic Center in SD. That has to be the greatest concentration of government built and owned facilities for many sports. That isn't the only place, but it must be with the greatest concentration.

In the Mirador del Sur Park there are many others all free from excercise places to skating parks (not just riding bikes along Avenida de la Salud), basketbsll courts, etc. They were all built by the government and that is the main reason they are free, unlike those founds in private clunbs, country clubs, resorts, etc. Similar things are seen in Mirador del Este Park in SDE, Central Park in Santiago, etc.

A golf course is a whole different thing, very expensive to build and very expensive to maintain. I can just imagine the trash and empty bottles.

 

[JD Jones]

A golf course is a whole different thing, very expensive to build and very expensive to maintain. I can just imagine the trash and empty bottles.

As much as I'd like to see one, I'm with you. Not only trash but lack of maintenance. I've played on some very nice courses here, and all of them were huge money magnets.

 

[keepcoming]

I have to agree with other posters, there are so many other things that are much more important than a golf course. While that's great to encourage kids to play golf, lets encourage them to get an education, and provide better education opportunities. That will take them much further in their life.

 

[melphis]

A golf course is a whole different thing, very expensive to build and very expensive to maintain. I can just imagine the trash and empty bottles.

The trash on the existing courses is not bad but it's still there. I don't understand if it's just laziness or stupidity that a person can't put thier trash in a can especially when there is one on every hole.

 

[JD Jones]

The trash on the existing courses is not bad but it's still there. I don't understand if it's just laziness or stupidity that a person can't put thier trash in a can especially when there is one on every hole.

The mentality exists that there are designated persons to do that. It applies to a lot more here than golf courses.

 

[NALs]

I have to agree with other posters, there are so many other things that are much more important than a golf course. While that's great to encourage kids to play golf, lets encourage them to get an education, and provide better education opportunities. That will take them much further in their life.

Not saying that isn't always the case, but here is the known "Camila Cienfuegos" talking about how much money she is making in Only Fans, basically paying for her life. Did I mentioned she graduated from UTESA and went to Spain on a Dominican government scholarship and returned to the DR with her master's degree in Psychology? If she got into a university in Spain, then she had to be a good students as you also need the grades not just a scholarship to get in (despite she downplays the grades part, but while you don't have to be a genius Spanish universities don't accept idiots either.) She has a better education than most Dominicans and it hasn't been much help on returning to the DR.

She also downplays such as publishing books in her specialty. There is not much economic reward for becoming an author in the DR, but that is enruching the local culture and increasing the number of Dominican authors in various fields. There are Dominicans that like to read even technical stuff, they simply aren't enough to make becoming a Dominican author a career to get monetary benefits unlike in the USA.

The point is that there is more than money. Perhaps she could had discovered if she had what it takes to be a really good golfer. She never find that out in part because that wasn't avsilable to her due to not coming from a rich family and the notion that "golf is for rich people."

Many 7 initial courses is too much, but the government could certainly create two public ones, one in Santo Domingo and another in Santigo. In a government when every year around US$2 billion disappear and no one knows whare it went (right), the amount it woukd take to keep teo public golf courses running is pennies in comparison.

 

[NALs]

Also, they don't even need to get an international reknown golf course designer to lower the cost. When Balaguer wanted to create a large park, Dominicans were used to designed it. The main engineer is from Santiago and told Balaguer that he couldn't do it because the biggest parks he knew was the Duarte in Santiago and Independencia in SD. Balaguer sent him and a small group to see Central Park in NYC and Bosque de Chapultepec in Mexico City. The result? Parque Mirador del Sur. I think they did a good enough job. The same could be done for the two golf courses.

There are also many other examples. Who do you think did the botanical gardens in SD and the new one in Santiago? The private sector? The zoo in SD. The other Mirador parks in SDE, SDN, SDO. Etc. None of that would exist if the criteria used to decide if something should be done is what has been suggested in this thread. Imagine SD without the botanical gardens or Mirador del Sur or the JPD Olympic Center. Unthinkable.

 

[johne]

Any idea what it cost to construct, maintain and operate a public golf course?? A TON of money. The issue of "other things first" is a side bar issue and has nothing to do with the facts... THE DR CANNOT AFFORD IT. Plain and simple. Public supported courses in the U.S. are a non event.
Interesting fact: When there was a golf loving president in the US you had support for the sport. When there wasn't...no support. I wonder if that would hold true here in the DR??

ETA: When you have a public course people will only pay "public rates." Those fees are VERY, VERY low or else nobody goes.

 

[keepcoming]

NAL'S....the best thing anyone can do is support a good education. That is what is needed. You are talking about one person; I am talking about 100"s of students. For every one person that "makes it" hundreds do not.

 

[RDKNIGHT]

The trash on the existing courses is not bad but it's still there. I don't understand if it's just laziness or stupidity that a person can't put thier trash in a can especially when there is one on every hole.

I say is monkey see monkey do the parents do it so the kids think its ok to do it ..shame

 

[windeguy]

Spending public money on golf courses only for Dominicans is the worst suggested use for tax money ever.

 

[william webster]

Golf is in decline... it's not a growing sport...