Special to The Herald

VARADERO, Cuba -- First came the flood of dollar bills, nearly forcing the peso into extinction as a national currency. Then the T-shirts, key chains and other trinkets merchandising revolutionary leader Ernesto ``Che'' Guevara, who was known as an austere Communist.

The Marxist state's most recent bow to bourgeois capitalism, however, required a long-term government investment: a $5 million seaside golf course.

``This was a logical extension of the tourist industry in Cuba,'' said Roberto Garcia, the golf course's director. ``Tourists on vacation want amenities. That's what we're providing.''

The Varadero Golf Club, which opened in April, is the first 18-hole golf course built in Cuba since the 1959 revolution. At least six others are planned throughout the island, Garcia said.

Rigoberto Montero, a 31-year-old caddy, said he winced when he heard of plans for the new golf course. Montero had spent several years in East Germany learning to manage textile factories and at one point gave tours of the Comandancia de la Plata, the revolution's headquarters in the Sierra Maestra mountains.

Then he heard about the money. While his salary as a caddy is about $8 a month, near average for Cuban workers, he says he makes between $5 and $15 in tips per 18 holes.

``Sure, this is a little different,'' said Montero, who recently took a crash course in golf and can now casually instruct tourists on everything from a V grip to the proper backswing. ``We're not used to these things. But this is an advance for the revolution. It took a lot to build this.''

The par-72 course was enlarged from a nine-hole course on the expropriated du Pont family estate. The family's former mansion now serves as the golf clubhouse, featuring a pro shop and French restaurant.

The Varadero Golf Club was designed by Golf Design Service of Toronto and is managed by Turquoise Overseas, a company based in the British Virgin Islands.

It was built, however, solely with Cuban money, Garcia said.

Cuba earned more than $1 billion from tourism last year, the government reported. At least 1.2 million tourists, mainly from Europe and Canada, visited Cuba in 1997, mostly flocking to Varadero's well-known beaches.

The course's manicured greens weave between a network of saltwater lakes, sand traps and three Spanish-built hotels.

But so far, fewer than a score of golfers have tried their luck on any given day, Garcia said.

Under the broiling sun of an early June day, most of those on the course were practicing caddies and instructors. Course officials have directed the staff to improve their game before the winter season, Montero said.

Cubans, often banned from entering hotels or nightclubs designated for tourists, are allowed to play on the course if they have the money, Montero said. An 18-hole game runs $60 per person, $10 to rent a bag of new Spalding or Tracer clubs and $10 for one of the course's 70 Yamaha golf carts.

Caddies are included. For novices, there are six newly trained Cuban instructors.

That price was right for Goddfrey Clifton, 50, visiting from England. Ripping holes in the fresh sod with three fellow Englishmen, he said it was a pleasure to play golf in one of the world's last communist countries.

``Who would have thought Cuba would have a golf course?'' Clifton said. ``Such an elitist sport in such a poor country that rebelled against this sort of thing. The world changes.''