Caesarea Golf Club

The course at Caesarea was established as a bequest to the country by wealthy enthusiast James de Rothschild since the site, near the ruins of a Roman city, seemed to him reminiscent of Scottish links. The course, like the game, has had a hard time taking root, what with Israel being recent founded and the ongoing turmoil in the region, not to mention the arid, breezy weather. The unimpressive first course was remodeled by Henry Cotton in 1967, but his work was naturally overshadowed by the Six Day War later that year. Afterward kikuyu grass, which doesn't make for a very good playing surface, was allowed to crowd out the Bermuda grass, and the minimal upkeep did little more than hold off the encroachment of native vegetation. At last Pete Dye was commissioned to perform a thorough renovation, and his layout has earned praise for the way it blends with the landscape.