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The Montecristo Cup
Gordon Mott
From the Print Edition:
J.P. Morgan, Mar/Apr 00
(continued from page 1)
But the week was about more than just golf. The participants got a tour of the Consolidated Cigar factory, one of the largest in the world, with production exceeding 35 million cigars a year. The sweet aroma of good cigars permeated every event and every round of golf.
Just as importantly, Casa de Campo's location and its lush tropical greenery formed an idyllic paradise of warm breezes and soft aromas of exotic flowers and trees. The resort hugs the Dominican Republic's Caribbean coastline, with many of the villas and houses perched on sloping hillsides with panoramic ocean views.
The resort also maintains a small replica of a Mediterranean village, built entirely from stone quarried around the area. It's known as Altos de Chavon, and it is perched high above a river that winds through the Casa de Campo property. Altos de Chavon is filled with restaurants and fancy boutiques, selling everything from cigars to fine jewelry. Most of the restaurants have terraces that peer down into the river gorge, which is lined with palm trees; each night, floodlights illuminate the winding waters.
By Sunday morning, and 90 holes of golf later, I was ready to go home. But not without a bit of regret. The skies were clear, the wind had died down, and the fairways beckoned as the plane rolled down the runway. There was only one consoling thought: next year.
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