Executive Traveler September/October 2007
© Dale Leatherman 2007
Photos © Donnelle Oxley
The DR. The acronym is becoming as familiar to golfers as the PGA, LPGA, USGA and R&A. The DR is, of course, the Dominican Republic, which almost overnight has become the Caribbean’s premier golf destination.
I say “almost” overnight because savvy golfers have always known about Pete Dye’s spectacular Teeth of the Dog at the Casa de Campo resort. It’s the only Caribbean course ranked in the world’s top 50, a position it has held since it opened in 1971.
First, a bit of geography and history. The Dominican Republic, which is about twice the size of New Hampshire, occupies two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The western tip belongs to Haiti. Cuba and Jamaica are to the west, Puerto Rico to the east. The island’s first European visitor, Christopher Columbus, landed here in 1492 and gave it the Spanish name that you’ll find on maps. However, Dominicans often use the native Taino name, Quisqueya, which means “high land.” Indeed, the country has the highest peaks in the Caribbean, with one topping 10,000 feet above sea level.
It can also claim the figurative “high ground” for burgeoning tourism and development. The World Tourism Organization named the DR the “Caribbean’s Number One Destination” in 2006, ending Puerto Rico’s 40-year reign. More than 4.4 million people vacationed here last year, one million of them from the U.S. Most arrived at the modern Punta Cana airport, one of five international gateways.
The country has caught on not only as a vacation destination but also as a place for affluent Americans to build homes in exclusive resort/residential communities with golf. The DR has more courses (25) than any other Caribbean country. Five new tracks have opened since 2001, and at least three more will debut in 2007. A dozen layouts are in various stages of development. Major designers are represented here--Pete Dye, P.B. Dye, Tom Fazio, Jim Fazio, Nick Faldo, Gary Player, Nick Price, Robert Trent Jones—and even Jack Nicklaus, whose first Caribbean venture is a three-course deal, and a residential development bearing his name. . . .
Contact me to read the rest of the article or discuss second rights or a rewrite. daleatherman@cs.com