Nestled in the hilly terrain just over the bridge and 15 minutes east of Panama City in a place called Cocoli, you’ll find the Tucan Golf Club. The course is situated in the gated community of the Tucan Country Club and Resort, 180 acres of luxurious condominiums and townhomes with a spectacular view of the skyline of Panama City, Panama.
The championship 18-hole, par 72 golf course measures 6,477 yards from the tips and was built in the 1940’s and redesigned in 2005 by Jeffrey Myers, a golf course architect who has designed courses in the United States, South America, Asia and the Middle East. It has Paspalum grass on the tee decks, greens and fairways. According to the course manager, it was designed in a way that would insure the integrity of the surrounding tropical flora and fauna. 
The course was originally named Horoko, an adaptation of the names of forts Howard, Rodman and Kobbe. With the advent of the country club and housing built nearby, the name was changed to Tucan, Spanish for the colorful toucan bird native to northern South America, Central America and Mexico. The greens fees are $80 plus cart rental and tax. The Pro Shop also offers club rental of Calloway, Nike, Ping, Cobra and TaylorMade sets for $40, $60 for VIP sets. Golf carts are equipped with GPS. Tucan is a very challenging track with an abundance of sand traps, water, lateral hazards and moderately sloped greens. It aligns with its designer’s philosophy of placing hazards to punish bad shots instead of good shots. Place your tee shot in the fairway and you can’t go wrong.
The course includes four sets of tees, enabling players with different levels of skills to compete. The greens are angled to create interesting and challenging pin placements as well as playing options. Upon starting the course, a marshall instructed me to pay particular attention to the views from tee boxes on the 3rd, 6th, and 10th holes. His advice was well worth taking. Tucan is situated between the locks of the Panama Canal Zone at Miraflores, a tropical rain forest and the nation’s capital. The best view is from the 10th tee. 
The 3rd tee box, pictured left, (444 yards from the blue tees) is an elevated deck looking down a hill with the green obscured by a dog leg left.
One has to be careful when approaching the green, as it is guarded by a bunker and runs away from you. 
The 4th hole is another challenge. 173 yards in length from the blues and protected by a large pond along the fairway, keeping your ball dry is of utmost importance. The same pond looms largely on the following hole, which requires you to fly the ball to the fairway for a remote chance of reaching the elevated 5th green in two. 
To the left of the tee box on hole number 6 you’ll find a stunning view of the golf course and the country club’s upscale housing development. This position at the top of a hill leaves you a blind, downhill tee shot obscured by a left turn to the green. As this visit occurred to during the rainy season, the fairway was fairly soft due to excess rainfall, a phenomenon that must be considered when booking your trip. During the rainy season (April-December), the greens may slow a bit and the fairways may allow your ball to plug. As promised, the panoramic view of Panama City and the Canal Zone from the 10th tee was breath-taking.
If you’re visiting Panama, you won’t want to miss an opportunity for an excellent round at one of the country’s finest golf locations, Tucan Golf Club.
Vince Robinson is an avid golfer and freelance writer based in Cleveland, Ohio.
A large number of Alabama children are already in poverty. And for a child living in poverty, more than likely that child is not receiving the things needed for their development. More than likely, they are getting inadequate education, insufficient eating habits and unhealthy choices. More than likely they are not exposed to enough positive images, music, art and have no opportunity to experience America
Swing-N Clean has a unique motto: Clean Club. Clean Swing. Everytime. And, they are so right. This unique item is a revolutionary golf accessory and easily attaches to the bottom of your golf shoe—or any shoe for that matter. Once it is attached to your shoe it will assist you in removing grass, dirt, and sand from your club face. It works quickly and effectively.
June 9-16, 2014, Kasey attended The Player Advanced Academy, along with 23 other junior golfers, at the WakeForest College Academy in North Carolina. This 8-day academy experience is intended for advanced players and to provides an experience that will improve the chances to compete at a higher level. Kasey adds that it also taught her the mental aspects of the game, and how she enjoyed the opportunity of staying on the college campus for eight 8 days.
Kasey Torres concluded our talk by sharing with me that “Golf is my life”, and that naturally she wants to be a pro golfer, however she is realistic. She feels, first and far most, she needs to focus on her education. History is her favorite subject, and believe it or not she does have time for hobbies; such as reading, drawing, and wouldn’t you know, also art.
I can truly say that I am a supporter and an advocate of students that are studying the arts, and I assist in providing awards to those students who have clearly, more than once, demonstrated excellence in their creative fields.
Full of excitement from beginning to end, the ladies were greeted with a bag drop at the entrance; there was a formal welcome and demo by Ira McGraw Jr., General Manager of Cedar Crest Golf Course and Maulana Dotch, Director of Instruction at Cedar Crest Golf Course on the driving range. There was great golf on the course with lots of activities and surprises.
It was a wonderful sight to see all of the lady professional golfers, participants and sponsors. All were joined in one room for the awards and luncheon where they were welcomed by the Emcee, Donna Richardson Joyner.
brought women together from all over the country to encourage and empower the game of golf. Golf professionals Oneda Castille and Avis Brown Riley traveled to Texas to support this historic event.
Johnson’s eldest son, Van said, “The life of our father has impacted us as men in many different ways. Growing up we were fortunate enough to experience a very respectful and loving relationship between a man and a woman for 30+ years. My father is the kind of man who would speak few words, but would lead by example. He had the ability with just a simple look to convey something very meaningful. He grew up in a different time and was presented with limited opportunities. Whether it was track, wrestling, golf camps in the summer, advanced tutoring, and vacations to non-traditional places, we had more exposure than most. He and my late mother (Linda Johnson) removed many roadblocks and valued education which attributed to many of our future successes. The expectation we were presented with as children was to achieve our potential, anything less would not be acceptable. That expectation will be passed down to our families as well.”
Sons Ryan and Van Jr., present their father with a special trophy recognizing his hole-in-one that was made a few months prior to the induction ceremony.
The LED light turns on automatically when connected to devices and will stay on while charging. You’ll also not have to worry about the balance of power, as the Kodiak Power Bank’s last LED light will flash when the battery status is low. Take it anywhere.
Above L-R: Chris Fils, Lilllian Okapaleke, Bianca Berry, Belinthia Berry, Clemmie Perry, Dr. Anderson Prewitt (Event Coordinators)
In spring 2015, WOCG will launch their Girls on the Green Tee (GOTGT) program. GOTGT is designed to encourage and promote young girls and college bound students, to learn and play the sport of golf and to integrate various mentoring programs that will focus on initiatives to prepare girls to live and work in a diverse, rapidly changing world.
Clemmie Perry, Director and Founder, Women of Color Golf
