golf
A GOLF LOVE STORY Teeth of the Dog is Pete Dye’s love letter to the country and people of the Dominican Republic. BY DALE LEATHERMAN
TRICKY GREEN:
Hole 5
PHOTO: © DONNELLE OXLEY
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IN THEORY, IT’S IMPOSSIBLE for any resort to make everyone happy. In reality, Casa de Campo, a 7,000-acre enclave on the southeastern tip of the Dominican Republic, comes close. Owned by the sugar-producing Fanjul family, the resort has had almost 50 years to develop great hospitality and world-class facilities for tennis, polo, sporting clays and, of course, golf. There are beaches, pools, a spa, a fitness center and more than a dozen restaurants and bars. The resort is home to Altos de Chavon, a Mediterranean-style village of shops and restaurants, and a huge marina with international stores and eateries. Resort lodging ranges from airy casitas to villas with cooks and butlers. Each room/villa comes with a four-passenger golf cart. Golf at the resort spans almost five decades, too. It’s a love story of sorts, representing Pete Dye’s family’s enduring affection for the Dominican Republic and its people. In the early 1970s, Pete, Alice and their son P.B. worked with locals wielding pickaxes and driving oxen to shape the country’s first golf course. They called it Teeth
globaltravelerusa.com
MAY 2019
of the Dog for the coral “jaws” on the signature 16th green, one of seven holes on the ocean. Pete and Alice went on to design the inland Links, a daunting track threaded among lakes. In 2000, the first nine of Dye Fore opened on cliffs 300 feet above the Chavon River. Today it’s a 27-hole complex with spectacular views of the river (Chavon Nine), the marina (Marina Nine) and a network of lakes (Lagos Nine). Teeth of the Dog is one of those courses you must play before you die. It’s ranked 27th in the world by Golf Digest and remains the standard by which all other courses built in the Caribbean have been judged. You’ll want to play all 63 holes at Casa de Campo — but play TOD first. The wind makes it different every day, and varying aspects of sand and ocean come into play. It’s 7,263 yards from the back tees, but most resort golfers find the 6,969-yard (74.4/134) tees sufficiently challenging. The inland holes offer a feast for the senses, lined with mature palm, bitter orange, almond and teak trees, along with flowering bougainvillea and hibiscus. Fairways are decep-
