Bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south – with the Pacific Ocean on its western flank and the Caribbean Sea to the east – Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America.

Independent since 1821, the nation is still recovering from the war in the 1980s between the ruling radical left wing Sandinistas and the US-backed Contras and it’s estimated that around half of its six million population live in poverty.

Tourism is a major Nicaraguan growth industry and its increasing economic importance is having a positive effect on the nation as a whole with ecotourism and agritourism increasing at a steady annual rate. Visitors find that locals love to talk about baseball, boxing and football but golf will hardly feature at all in their sporting vocabulary, which is a great pity.

Perhaps with the construction of more courses to satisfy the leisure needs of tourists (like the impressive Guacalito de la Isla, designed by David McLay KIdd) an increasing number of Nicaraguans will find the opportunity to participate in the world’s greatest game.