JTOG Day 62: Playing TPC Cartagena at Karibana for the 3rd Time!

Andy's Golf & Travel Diary for Wednesday, December 11th, 2013, JTOG Day No. 62 The 100-day, 14-country, 18.471-mile Journey to Olympic Golf (JTOG) is way more than half way over. I probably knew it at the time in terms of days but not country counts. I knew it in terms of days because the plan was to return to the United States for the annual PGA Show in Orlando which starts on the 21st of January. Unexpected invitations would change the plans as they did this day. Based on Alberto Valenzuela's recommendation I added the city of Medellin, Colombia to see the golf course Camilo & Manuel Villegas grew up on and meet their father Fernando and deleted the country of Ecuador. Though I had met some great Ecuadorians in Guatemala, the timing with the holidays and logistics of getting around Quito did not seem to be working out. After Bogota and Medellin I will be flying to Lima, Peru on the 18th of December. Golf and Travel is me—I travel to golf and when I am not traveling I golf! To be at Karibana three days straight and play the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course three days straight was the best ever! I would only play one other golf course three times on the Journey to Olympic Golf—the Cordoba Golf Club in Argentina, the home club of Eduardo "El Gato" Romero and Angel "El Plato" Cabrera. Life was not any better as I walked the TPC Cartagena at Karibana Course for the third time in three days!   The first nine is spectacular by itself as you quickly find yourself amongst nature and in solitude with a well-designed golf course that presents itself to you in a beautiful yet challenging way. It is said that the proper course strategy for playing a Nicklaus Course is to simply make your way along avoiding the bunkers. The same is true at Karibana. The doglegs, the trees, six lakes, and the well bunkered fairways and greens make for a child's playground to play an ancient stick-and-ball game. The 9th brings you back to civilization with only the clubhouse and the tall luxury apartment complexes separating you from the second nine and the Caribbean Sea. If the wind hasn't already made its presence known to you it will shortly! No. 10 heads directly north towards the Caribbean but doesn't take you all the way there. Not yet, there are still more lakes and some great holes to be played before you find the sea. I did manage one birdie over the three days of play and it came on the par-3 11th hole with a hybrid to six feet and I drained the putt. Twelve is a beautiful hole with a drive to an inverted peninsula fairway and then a mid iron over water to the green. I parred it two of the three days and found water on my approach and double bogey yesterday. I did manage to shoot 80 one day the second day after getting the insider tips from Joseph Mildenberg and Head Golf Professional Mauro Gonzalez. But at TPC Cartegena at Karibana it's not the score that counts, it is the beautiful, exciting and engaging golfing experience that is remembered. Holes 13, 14, and 15 take you out to the Caribbean Sea but you are so engrossed in them you do not notice. In reality the entire second nine has that play-by-the-sea, origin of golf, Old Course at St. Andrews feel without the hillocks and gorse. The par-4 16th and the par-3 17th are right along the sea and its beach. No finer seaside, oceanside, waterside golf in the world! The 17th is my favorite, a sort of sloped, not steep 7th at Pebble Beach though the immense thatched roof beach house beyond the green confirms this is not Stillwater Cove. The par-5 18th is a birdie opportunity that tricks you back into returning to reality which at Karibana is a good reality. The atmosphere off the course, the food and drink is beyond compare. I hope you get a chance to experience Karibana and play the TPC Cartegena Course. It's a world class golfing experience not to be missed! Here is my Facebook post and three picture galleries totaling 182 pictures in reverse order of my play days at Karibana. I hope you feel like you were there with me and I hope you will consider taking me back with you when you go!       Thurs 12/12 CTG to BOG, Sun 12/15 BOG to MDE, Wed 12/18 BOG to LIM... invited to the home club of Camilo Villegas in Medellin so substituting there for Ecuador. I will be in Lima, Peru in a week! Flying is easier than driving for sure! I am meeting the nicest guys in Columbia! Loving Karibana Cartagena! Walked the seaside second nine late yesterday afternoon by my lonesome (these guys do work!) Spiritual experience for sure! Very special place here! Have a TROML day today! (-:   (Facebook Post 4 Pics, Andy Reistetter, 12/11/13) Pictures from today's third round (Wednesday, December 11th, 2013, JTOG Day No. 62): Pictures from yesterday's second round (Tuesday, December 10th, 2013, JTOG Day No. 61): Pictures from the first round with Joseph and Mauro (Monday, December 9th, 2013, JTOG Day No. 60):