I’ve lived in and traveled all over the Caribbean, and the best golf deal I’ve found by far is in Cozumel, in the Mexican Caribbean.

When I first heard they were offering free golf, I figured, like any reasonable traveling golfer, there was a catch. It had to be some local weed patch they threw together to suck in tourists.

Nyet. Stay at the Plaza Azul hotel and you can play golf to your heart’s content at the Cozumel Country Club.

The Playa Azul ("Blue Beach") is a cozy, little boutique hotel about five minutes from the Cozumel airport. It has that appealing Spanish architecture, an excellent restaurant, pool, and all the rooms have balconies and views of the Caribbean Sea. There is a nice beach, dive shop – the diving is world-class, you may know –thatch huts, Corona, all you would expect from a Caribbean resort.

The staff is friendly, the beer cold and – here’s the best part – the golf is free.

Naturally, if you’re staying a while and want to play free golf, you want a course worthy of repeat play. The Cozumel Country club – the only course on the island – is not the best course in the Caribbean, but it is a challenging, relatively short layout that wanders through protected wetlands with all sorts of Mexican critters lurking – including crocodiles.

The conditioning is very good throughout, the staff attentive, and there is also a good restaurant on the grounds. It’s a course management track – most regulars here only use driver three or four holes – but some of the risk/reward options are formidable. The Bermuda greens are fun, with large, closely-mown collection areas. It’s a course that you could play often and not get tired of.

The point is, even if you had to pay, it would be worth it. The fact that it’s free – well, I just can’t wrap my mind around it.

Look for the full stories, on both the course and resort, coming soon.

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