Revolution
Cuba’s very first golf course was the brainchild of the industrial heir Irenee Dupont de Nemours, who established what is now known as the Varadero Golf Course on his private estate in 1933. The former four-storey, 11-room Xanadú Mansion was converted into the current club house. Two years after the revolution, Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara battled out a legendary game on the Villareal Golf Course. “Che”, who had played golf in his youth, achieved a clear victory over the baseball aficionado Fidel Castro. Golf subsequently fell out of favour for decades and is only now starting to develop a new following.
