Dominican Republic
A feature from the IAGTO Directory 2016
Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic Play the Caribbean’s most spectacular golf destination – with 86 ocean view holes IAGTO Golf Destination of the Year for Latin America & the Caribbean in 2009, 2013 and 2016, the Dominican Republic has it all for golf visitors. With a wide array of inland and coastal courses for the golf traveller to enjoy, the Caribbean nation has more oceanside golf holes than any other comparable destination, their spectacular settings leaving golfers with indelible memories. There are 17 tourist-friendly golf courses offering nearly 350 holes of golf. Most courses are part of golf resorts in popular tourist areas and close to other golf resorts and hotels, allowing golfers to play a different course every day during their stay if they want while still leaving time for them to enjoy the resort’s facilities, relax on the stunning beaches or do other activities.
Cabeza de Toro Golf Club
For those who want more freedom, villas offer an excellent alternative for families, couples travelling together, or male or female groups. Some even come with their own private butler, maids and chef.
Easy access is also a key, thanks to eight international gateways, where six of them have courses close by, so golfers can get a round of golf in both on the day they arrive and the day they leave if flight times allow. New roads have dramatically reduced travel times between key resorts such as Punta Cana, Bávaro and La Romana as well as with the capital, Santo Domingo, so golfers can now comfortably combine playing courses in different areas without having to change hotels.
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Dominican Republic
Teeth of the Dog
The country’s courses carry the world-class designer labels of Pete Dye, PB Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones Sr, Tom Fazio, Gary Player and Nick Price. Six courses feature in Golfweek magazine’s top 50 courses in the Caribbean and Mexico for 2015, including three in the top 10, with Nicklaus masterpiece Punta Espada taking the number one spot – a position it has held every year since 2009, when it took over from Casa de Campo’s veteran layout, Teeth of the Dog. Perfect for serious golfers, the Dominican Republic is great for women, whether golfers or non-golfing partners, and for families. The courses are female-friendly, with clubhouses offering excellent facilities, and a number of the courses have spas offering extensive treatments and beauty therapies either within the clubhouse complex or in the adjacent hotels. In resort areas and town centres, visitors can also indulge in some Punta Espada Golf Club retail therapy and visit bars, restaurants and nightclubs, including Dom Rep’s famous car wash discos. There are plenty of options for golfers once they have finished their round. The Caribbean’s second-largest country is one of the most e c o l o g i c a l l y- d i ve r s e nations in the world, boasting stunning vistas, including waves crashing over dramatic coastlines, coconut palm groves, waterfalls, caves, forested mountains and lush, exotic nature which visitors can enjoy on excursions. There are also many other activities to take part in, quite apart from sampling the country’s famous cigars and rum and seeing how they are made. 101
Dominican Republic
Punta Espada Golf Club
East Region: Punta Cana, Cap Cana & Bávaro The glittering East Coast comprising Punta Cana, Bávaro and the Cap Cana Resort area has 189 holes of golf all easily accessible from a wide range of sumptuous beach-front resorts, enough to make the Caribbean golf enthusiast’s heart melt! La Cana Golf Club
Location: Puntacana Resort & Club, Punta Cana La Cana Golf Club was established in 2001 as an 18 hole course with a new nine-hole Holes: 27 Hacienda added in 2012. The Tortuga and Designer: PB Dye Arrecife nines capture the Caribbean’s stunning scenery thanks to 14 ocean-view holes including four remarkable holes that play right on the beach. Hacienda is both challenging and beautifully designed and takes the golfer inland through dense, colourful tropical vegetation.
Corales Golf Club
Location: Puntacana Resort & Club, Punta Cana This Tom Fazio creation, the second Holes: 18 oceanfront course at Puntacana Resort & Designer: Tom Fazio Club, was inaugurated in 2010. It features cliff-top holes along the north shore of the resort’s luxury Corales enclave. Fazio’s breathtaking, distinctive design has quickly established Corales as one of the Dominican Republic’s must-play courses, featuring six ocean-front holes set between rocky cliffs, coral reefs and the Caribbean Sea.
Punta Espada Golf Club
Location: Cap Cana Nicklaus’ first Signature Course in Holes: 18 the Dominican Republic opened in Designer: Jack Nicklaus September 2006 and continues to make top golf course lists including Golfweek magazine’s number one course in the Caribbean and Latin America in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Nicklaus’ gem boasts eight holes playing either alongside or over the Caribbean Sea and a further five with ocean views. Punta Espada also hosted the PGA Tour’s Champions Tour event, the Cap Cana Championship, in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
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Dominican Republic
Caribe Golf Club
Cabeza de Toro Golf Club
Location: Catalonia Bávaro Resort, Cabeza de Toro The 18-hole Caribe Golf Club is open from Caribe Golf Club: 18 holes November to April and Cabeza de Toro Golf Club: 9 holes features a large lake, Designer: Alberto Sola and Jack Corrie five lagoons, numerous mature shade trees and ample fairways, with a mix of uphill and downhill holes. The nine-hole Cabeza de Toro Golf Club is adjacent to the resort. This challenging executive course is surrounded by swaying palm trees and pristine waterways.
The Lakes Barceló Golf Course Location: Barceló Bávaro Beach Resort, Bávaro The Lakes Barceló Golf Course, which Holes: 18 Designers: Juan Manuel Gordillo/PB Dye opened in 1991, was redesigned by PB Dye in 2009 and is a beautiful and well-maintained golf course, within walking distance from the hotel itself. The inland course is set alongside the Bávaro lagoon with some holes bordered by lush vegetation and others completely open. Cocotal Golf & Country Club Location: Meliá Hotels & Resorts, Bávaro Opened in 2000, Cocotal Holes: 27 Golf & Country Club’s three Designer: José “Pepe” Gancedo nine-hole courses – Hibiscus, Bouganvillea and Benjamina – each possess memorable routings designed by José “Pepe” Gancedo. The six-time Spanish champion utilises the natural terrain of an old coconut plantation for all 27 holes, including serene lakes and swaying palm trees, with strategically-placed trees, bunkers, mounds and gently rolling terrain, as well as generous fairways.
Caribe Golf Club
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Dominican Republic
Iberostate Bávaro Golf Club Location: Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, Bávaro Golfers of all levels will delight at PB Dye’s Holes: 18 Iberostate Bávaro Golf Club. The inland Designer: PB Dye course is within the 1,800-room, familyfriendly Iberostar complex which includes the 276-room Grand Hotel for adults, popular with golfers. The course itself is well known for its excellent greens and is set in naturally-lush surroundings and dramatically-undulating elevated terrain. Location: Macao Inaugurated in May 2007 and the first Holes: 18 design in the Caribbean by three-time Designer: Nick Price Major championship winner Nick Price, the fairly-open, inland course is built around natural wetlands within Macao’s Punta Blanca residential development and features wide fairways with large bunkers and lakes.
Punta Blanca Golf Club
Hard Rock Golf Club at Cana Bay Location: Hard Rock Hotel, Macao The first golf course to carry the iconic Holes: 18 Hard Rock brand, this NicklausDesigner: Jack Nicklaus designed golf course, which opened in March 2010, is challenging, memorable and enjoyable, located just inland from the beach-front Hard Rock Hotel. Flamingos add colour to the 18th hole.
Cayo Arena (Paraíso)
Cayos Siete Hermanos
Montecristi
Bahía de Manzanillo
Osvaldo Virgil
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GOLF MAP
Maimón (Amber Cove)
Los Mangos (9) Luperón Costambar Gregorio Luperón Sosúa (POP) Puerto Playa Cabarete Plata Dorada (18)
Playa Grande (18)
NICAN REPUBLIC GOLF MAP Santiago
Cabrera
Río San Juan
Cibao (STI)
Las Aromas (18)
San José de las Matas
Pico Duarte
Jarabacoa
Las Terrenas
San Francisco de Macorís
La Vega
Haiti
Atlantic Ocean
Nagua
El Catey (AZS)
Samaná
Arroyo Barril
Bahía de Samaná
Jarabacoa (9)
Constanza
El Portillo
Bonao Bella Vista (9)
Cayo Levantado
Miches
Monte Plata
Hato Mayor
La Isabela (JBQ)
Lago Enriquillo
Laguna Rincón de Cabral
Isabel Villas (9) Cayacoa (18) Guavaberry (18)
Santo Domingo Country Club (27) San Cristóbal
Azua
La Romana Juan SANTO Boca Dolio Los DOMINGO Las Américas Chica Marlins (18)
Cabo Rojo Oviedo Laguna de Oviedo
Caribbean Sea
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Haiti
Caribbean Sea
Jamaica
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KEY
Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Mexico
Cuba
Isla Beata
Bayahibe
Teeth of the Dog (18) Isla Saona The Links (18) Dye Fore (27) La Romana Country Club (27)
United States
Mexico
Hard Rock (18) Punta Blanca (18) Iberostate Bávaro (18) Cocotal (27) The Lakes Barceló (18) Catalonia Cabeza de Toro (9) Punta Cana Catalonia Caribe (18) Higüey (PUJ) Punta Cana Corales (18) Boca Cap Cana La Cana (27) de Yuma Punta Espada (18)
Isla Playa Nueva Catalina Romana (9)
Baní
María Montez (BRX)
Pedernales
El Seibo
San Pedro de Campo de Macorís Casa(LRM)
(SDQ)
Salinas
Barahona
Las Galeras
Puerto Rico
Golf Course (# holes)
Domestic Airport
City or Town
Cruise Port
BeachesInterest
Marina or Port
International Airport
Highest Peak
@2015 Dolores Vicioso [2] Email: doloresvicioso@gmail.com
Dominican Republic
The Links, Casa de Campo
South-East Region: La Romana The South-East Coast lays claim to a combination of picturesque beaches, chic accommodation and a variety of exciting attractions in addition to its famous golf courses. Golfers can play at some of the world’s best courses designed by the Dye family dynasty’s Pete Dye. Three courses are open for public play at Casa de Campo Resort. Once a sugar-producing region, La Romana area charms with azure Caribbean seas, exotic islands, the Chavón River valley and palm-tree covered national parks. Teeth of the Dog
Location: Casa de Campo Resort, La Romana Pete Dye’s first Casa de Campo creation, in 1971, was the course that initially put Holes: 18 the Dominican Republic on the world’s golf Designer: Pete Dye stage. Over 40 years later, Teeth of the Dog consistently ranks among the world’s best courses. There are seven ocean-front holes. Dye sharpened its teeth in 2005 by lengthening some holes and upgrading greens and bunkers.
The Links
Location: Casa de Campo Resort, La Romana The second Dye course at Casa de Campo opened in 1975 and has drawn comparisons Holes: 18 to traditional British and Scottish links Designer: Pete Dye courses thanks to firm fairways and open putting surfaces that invite golfers to play shots along the ground. The moderately-hilly course features several lagoons and lakes, dense bahia and guinea jungle-grass rough and numerous bunkers.
Dye Fore
Location: Casa de Campo Resort, La Romana Pete Dye’s third masterpiece at the luxurious Holes: 27 Casa de Campo Resort, built in 2005, will Designer: Pete Dye take your breath away with the dramatic Chavón River valley – where scenes from Apocalypse Now were filmed – as a backdrop. The course boasts seven cliff-side holes dropping 300 feet to the Chavón River below, the replica Mediterranean village of Altos de Chavón, the Dominican mountains (the Caribbean’s highest) and amazing views. 105
Dominican Republic
South Region: Santo Domingo & Juan Dolio Home to the capital city of Santo Domingo, the South Coast offers golfers rounds of world-class courses within a thriving metropolis that overflows with vivacious culture. The beach town of Juan Dolio is only 30 minutes from Las Américas International Airport (Santo Domingo’s airport) and a bit further from the city itself, and now less than an hour’s drive from Casa de Campo thanks to a fast, new highway. Cayacoa Country Club
Location: Santo Domingo Located 25 minutes from Holes: 18 Santo Domingo, Cayacoa Designer: Pete Dye and Jack Corrie Country Club was built in 1989 but remains a wellkept secret that golfers will find a joy to discover. The course is spread over hilly terrain with many lakes amid lush vegetation providing a great challenge, including long water carries and some terrific par 3s.
Los Marlins Golf Course
Location: Metro Country Club, Juan Dolio Located about 25 minutes east Holes: 18 of Santo Domingo’s airport, at Designer: Charles F Ankrom the Metro Country Club, the well-maintained Los Marlins Golf Course features numerous artistic bunkers, lakes and mounds. Golfers can take advantage of the private Beach Club just five minutes’ drive away or relax in the clubhouse after their round.
Guavaberry Golf & Country Club Location: Juan Dolio This Gary Player design is located 30 minutes east of Santo Domingo’s airport Holes: 18 near the resort town of Juan Dolio and Designer: Gary Player borders a tropical forest and nature preserve. Opened in 2002, Player included some unique features into the design, such as a 15-foot waterfall cascading into a quarry pond (on the par-3 13th signature hole, where two separate greens are rotated daily), and indigenous coral rock formations on holes 9 and 18.
For more information, visit www.GoDominicanRepublic.com By Peter Ellegard. Additional material by the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism
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Dominican Republic
North Region: Puerto Plata & Río San Juan The North Coast beckons not only with sunshine, eco-adventures and miles of water sport beaches, but also two Robert Trent Jones Sr masterpieces – Playa Dorada Golf Course and the newly-reopened Playa Grande Golf Course. The forest-clad hills provide a stunning backdrop for Puerto Plata’s collection of all-inclusive resorts. While not golfing, visitors will find plenty of cultural influences including the rhythms of spicy merengue, prehistoric amber, exotic waterfalls and more. Playa Dorada Golf Course
Location: Playa Dorada, Puerto Plata Opened in 1976, this beautiful creation by legendary architect Holes: 18 Robert Trent Jones Sr is Designer: Robert Trent Jones Sr located in the popular Playa Dorada resort complex in Puerto Plata, providing easy accessibility and numerous accommodation and package options. The relatively-flat course is known for its outstanding conditioning and exceptional greens.
Location: Playa Grande, Río San Juan Playa Grande G o l f C o u r s e, Holes: 18 which opened in Designer: Robert Trent Jones Sr/Rees Jones 1997, is the last golf course Trent Jones Sr designed. Fittingly, it’s also considered among his best. The course is set on high cliffs overlooking the ocean and 10 of its holes play along the Atlantic Ocean, hence why it is often referred to as the “Pebble Beach of the Caribbean”. The course reopened at the end of 2015 after a complete revamp of its back nine holes by Rees Jones to create space for the new Amanera resort with 36 luxury villas, adjacent to the golf course clubhouse. Playa Grande Golf Course
Playa Grande Golf Course
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Cover Photo: Lumine Golf & Beach Club • www.lumine.com • © Kevin Murray Golf Photography
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