The Best Golf in the Dominican Republic

Teeth of the Dog, © Casa de Campo

Golf in the Dominican Republic has received a fair amount of attention lately: the PGA now holds an annual Champions Tour event at Cap Cana every spring and the Golf Channel's popular "Big Break" series is set in the D.R. this fall. The country's most famous course is the Pete Dye-designed Teeth of the Dog at Casa de Campo on the southeast coast, which Golf Magazine ranks the best in the Caribbean, and 42nd in the world. Referring to its magnificent coastal location, its designer is said to have claimed, "I created eleven holes, and God created seven." Now almost 40 years old, the course was informally named by the men who built it; thousands of pieces of jagged coral had to be cleared with pickaxes before its topsoil could be planted. Doglegs, boulders, railroad ties and pot bunkers create havoc amid spectacular tropical surroundings. Needless to say, advance reservations are recommended for the 6,888-yard, par-72 course; every day it attracts dozens of malingerers hoping to play. Most players prefer afternoon tee times, as mornings are particularly hot and sticky owing to a lack of breeze. If you are playing the morning, however, consider playing the back nine first, as the first four holes play directly into the east.

Perhaps the most widely lauded course in recent years has been The Faldo Legacy Course at Roco Ki on Macao Beach, which opened in 2008. A 7,075-yard par-72 spread (one of the longest layouts in the Caribbean) starts on magnificent coastal headlands, then moves through dense mangrove forests and saw grass meadows before returning to the Caribbean Sea with a windblown 17th that recalls the seventh at Pebble Beach. The final par-5 is dubbed “Dos Rezos” (“Two Prayers”), owing to two dizzying ocean inlets that have to be crossed on the way to a dramatic clifftop green. Fred Couples won the third annual PGA Champions Tour event on the Punta Espada course in Cap Cana last March, breaking the one-day course record with an 11-birdie, one-bogey 62 in the process. Featuring eight holes along the sea, the par-72 Punta Espada is widely considered to be one of Jack Nicklaus' finest; Golfweek ranks it the best in the Caribbean and Mexico. As with many of his courses, drives here are forgiving (the first cut of rough is mostly playable), but approaches can prove perilous, particularly on the 17th, which features spectacular ocean sprays from vented coral reefs.

And finally, La Cana at Puntacana Resort & Club, where we had the opportunity to leave some divots, features 14 oceanview holes, with four along the water. The course is mostly forgiving, with five sets of tees and not much change in elevation, though the back nine is more difficult. A Tom Fazio-designed course (Corales) sits farther down the coast, and La Cana designer P.B. Dye, Pete Dye's son, is at work on a third course (Hacienda) opening this spring. We can also confidently report that the golf club also features an excellent practice facility staffed with extremely patient professionals.