Good question!
In most cases, there is not a clear line between public and private courses as a vacationer. The "private" clubs are parts of property developments and hotels, so they have a lot of guests playing and they encourage players to visit, so that they will eventually buy property. This is true of Hacienda Pinilla and Los Sueños.
First you will have to decide if you want to stay in San José or at the beach. In San José, the public course is Valle del Sol which charge $70 and you can play all day. Cariari is another course, which is semi private and charges $60 which includes the caddy. You'll have to find out about how to get into the club, but I believe that by renting the right condo you can obtain the right to play on the course. Hacienda Los Reyes in Alajuela, is allowing non members to play on weekdays.
If you want to stay in San José, you might look at some golf tours, and there is good information about the courses in Costa Rica here:
Golf Tour Operator in Costa RicaOn the beaches the courses are more expensive, you could stay in Tamarindo or Jacó and play the courses nearby. You can contact these realtors in our group for vacation rentals on the beach:
Gerald at ABC Real Estate Tamarindo
abctam@racsa.co.crRonald at Go Dutch Jacó
ronald@godutchrealty.comIf you eventually move here, the membership prices vary. The private Country Club in Escazú has memberships from $16000 to $20000, I understand. The Cariari is much less expensive and Valle del Sol is public. They may have an annual fee available. Los Reyes includes a free membership when you purchase a home and I'm sure most of the other developments have similar deals.
