A love for the land prompted two brothers – one with Southland ties – to build a golf course on a beautiful piece of property in Puerto Rico.
There are certain essentials when teeing it up at the Golf Links at Royal Isabela in Puerto Rico:
Clubs? Check. Caddie? Check. Balls? Check. More balls? Trust me … Check. Scorecard? Not necessarily, unless you’re a handicap stickler.
“Royal Isabela is not about the score. It’s about the encounter you have with nature,” said Miguel Suarez, the club’s head professional. “It’s doesn’t matter what you shoot. It’s about what you’re going to see and experience.”
Indeed, stimulating the senses comes easy on this piece of property on the northwest edge of Puerto Rico, where tremendous long views exist horizontally and vertically and the mogul-like fairways curl along cliffs or dart in and out of indigenous trees and island flora.
Native grasses, sand dunes and banks were preserved and are integral to the design, and several steep sod-face bunkers add a Scottish flair to what is otherwise a tropical golf layout. Together with the trade winds, a variety of elements play a role in shaping the character of the course.
“I think there’s a little bit of everything here – tropics, parkland, preserved ruins, cliffs, shots that include putting from well off the green,” said Stanley Pasarell, one of the course’s co-founders and co-designers along with his brother, Charles, and David Pfaff. “It turned out a lot better than I imagined it. We incorporated the existing terrain. We want it to feel like it’s always been here, like it belongs.”
Originally intended as a private playground, Royal Isabela is a mixture of 26 home sites in various stages of development or planning, 20 casitas for resort guests and the golf course that, for now, is playing solo. With 1,600 acres on property, there is room for growth, which is on the drawing board, Pasarell said, in the form of a 150-room beach club hotel and another golf course, or perhaps two.
That planned growth would get more eyes on Royal Isabela and bring more people to Puerto Rico, an island Pasarell said is the best in the Caribbean when it comes to activities, metropolitan options, history, beauty and culture.
“Puerto Rico, for some reason, doesn’t get the recognition as other islands but it’s incredible for so many things,” he said. “Visitors might be surprised by what we have to offer.”
With less than 5,000 rounds a year played at Royal Isabella, which opened in 2009, golfers will find a pristine course and a leisurely pace. Of particular note is the island green at the par-3 ninth hole and the double green on the edge of a cliff for holes 12 and 14. There’s an oddity as well, as the course can play to a par 72 or 73 depending on what sixth hole a group chooses – a par 5 that moves left off the tee or a par 4 that bends to the right and up a steep hill.
“Each element of Royal Isabela evolved out of the land,” Pasarell said about the two sixth holes and overall design philosophy. “Appreciation for the environment and respect for its history has been established. We want to honor the traditions of the game and respect what the land has provided.”
Its off-the-beaten path location also gives Royal Isabella a feeling of seclusion. The resort is about a 90-minute drive from the capital city of San Juan and 20 minutes from Aguadilla, a quaint town with cute sights, dining options and a small airport. Several beaches also dot the north side of the island, many with excellent surf spots.
“Our location is special,” Pasarell said. “We love it here. We’re stewards of the land and we respect our role.”
DIFFERENT STROKES
Royal Isabella co-owners Charles and Stanley Pasarell played tennis growing up in Puerto Rico, and Charles has since established a solid reputation in the sport, including the establishment of a Southland tournament considered one of the top spots on the ATP and WTA tours.
Charles, 67, attended UCLA where, in 1966, he won both the NCAA men’s singles and doubles title a year after his friend and teammate Arthur Ashe accomplished the feat. In 1967 he was the No. 1-ranked men’s singles player in the U.S., and as a four-time member of the U.S. Davis Cup team Pasarell posted a 6-1 record in the matches he played.
Pasarell, who has homes in La Quinta and Rancho Santa Fe, has been inducted into the Men’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame, the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame and the Puerto Rican Tennis Hall of Fame. His other primary Southland tie is at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, a site that was designed and built with his input. It’s the second largest tennis stadium in the world, behind Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, and the site is the home of the BNP Paribas Open, which Pasarell founded in 1981 and has shepherded into the fifth major tennis event in the world, behind only the four Grand Slams.
