The Dominican Republic is one of the best destinations for golfers you could wish for. Its courses are exceptional in terms of design, presentation and services.
Combined with the friendliness of the Dominicans, the climate, the beaches and all that the island has to offer, it is a golf trip that is guaranteed to be a success.
On this occasion, the prediction came true to perfection.
Andalucía Golf put the finishing touch to the 2024 circuit with the trip of the five winners(Domingo Gavira, Olav Maaland, José María Gil, Mayte Castro and José Labella), who were joined by other players to complete the twenty (some of them repeaters).
(PHOTO GALLERY AT THE END OF THIS REPORT)
Half of the members of the expedition left from Malaga and joined the rest who left from Madrid. We flew with Air Europa to Punta Cana. Aireuropa has regular flights to both Santo Domingo and Punta Cana, with a modern fleet and excellent service. Going to the La Romana area, just halfway between Santo Domingo and Punta Cana, either airport could be served.
We stayed at the newly renovated Hyatt chain hotel Sunscape Dominicus La Romana, located in Dominicus, one of the best beaches in the Caribbean and a stone’s throw from Casa de Campo in La Romana.
At the hotel, its director , Pablo Jaureguízar, was attentive at all times to ensure that the golf group was perfectly well looked after. As a player himself, he knows how to put himself in the golfer’s shoes. The hotel was completely refurbished last year and the result is fantastic.
The hotel, despite having more than 800 rooms, is friendly and at no time do you feel that it can be overcrowded or overflowing, although during our trip the occupancy was full.
We stayed in the adults-only area, in the Sun Club, where we enjoyed a quiet pool with no entertainment or children, private bars and restaurants, and check-in and check-out service in the private lounge area. This option is definitely the one we would recommend for those going on a golf trip or wanting more tranquility and privacy.
In the hotel we found buffet and a la carte restaurants, where reservations were not necessary.
The hotel is the last of a series that line the beachfront in Dominicus. Beyond the hotel, to the east, we find Cotubanamá National Park, facing Saona Island.
The golf itinerary began with a tee time at PGA Ocean’s 4, where Carlos de Linares, its director, proved to be the perfect host. It was the first contact with golf in the Caribbean, with holes close to the sea and a very interesting layout. The players highlighted the speed of the greens. Next year, improvements are planned for the course, some only of a technical nature, such as the improvement of drainage and bunker sand, and others of greater depth, such as the redesign of some areas of the course by Robert Trent Jones III’s team, such as the 18th fairway, which will be equipped with lakes to make the final hole even more complete and strategic.
The visit to PGA Ocean’s 4 was extended the next day by enjoying a night golf party, complete with balls that were illiminating as they were hit, live music and DJ, and many other entertainments.
After the first contact with golf in the Caribbean, the following day we enjoyed a group excursion to the historic center of Ron Barceló, the oldest rum factory in the Dominican Republic, in San Pedro de Macorís, and then to Cigar Country in Vega Fina, where we were given an overview of the tobacco industry, from planting to processing, being able to contemplate the work of cigar rollers who were making the cigars.
The next golf outing took us to Casa de Campo, undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, residential golf courses in the Caribbean.
Casa de Campo has four golf courses, designed by Pete Dye: Teeth of the Dog, Dye Fore, Links and La Romana Country Club (the latter private for members only), as well as different accommodation options, from the hotel and the rental of superb private villas to the recently inaugurated Premier Suites area. All Casa de Campo guests are provided with four-seater golf carts to get around the resort, which includes the fantastic Minitas Beach Club and La Marina, with all kinds of restaurants, supermarkets and movie theaters. The best option to stay at Casa de Campo is to do it through its representative in Spain, Monica Diaz Vecino through her website www.globalhemisphere.com.
The first course we played was the superb Dye Fore. The course has three 9-hole rounds. This time we played the Marina and Chavón combination.
The Marina course overlooks the Casa de Campo marina, while the Chavón course starts at the Altos del Chavón and has spectacular views of the river, the scene of the filming of some images from the movie Apocalipse Now. The greens at Dye Fore are of extreme perfection, to such an extent that they look artificial.
The group was received by Casa de Campo’s director of golf, Robert Birtel, who gave us a warm welcome accompanied by the director of Dye Fore, Andrea Attus.
After the game we ate at one of the several restaurants in Altos del Chavón and had the opportunity to get to know this unique medieval style village created to host artists and where there is an amphitheater that has hosted major musical events.
At lunch appeared the great ambassador of Casa de Campo Miguel Angel Jimenez, who had just come from playing with his wife, Susan, and was enjoying a week of rest before facing the final phase of the Champion Tour with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in which only the best 36 players of the senior circuit participate.
Miguel and Susan live in Los Atos del Chavón and enjoy the residential and its magnificent courses between each competition of the Malagueño.
The next day we moved to Cap Cana, in Punta Cana, to enjoy one of the most spectacular courses in the Caribbean: Punta Espada. Nothing less than a Jack Nicklaus Signature course that the golf legend himself has said is one of the courses he is most satisfied with.
We were welcomed by its director, Alexis Santana, who had everything masterfully arranged for the group.
Construction is currently underway on a second Nicklaus-designed course, Las Iguanas, which will undoubtedly be on a par with its big brother.
Punta Espada is a course that impresses on every hole, of extreme beauty, asking to take pictures at every step. The holes overlooking the sea are especially impressive, although the first two are already a landmark for the player. Between holes 1 and 2, the new complex is built. St. Louis Regiswhere Miguel Angel Jimenez himself has purchased. Once inaugurated, it will be a reference of quality in the area, both in the hotel and residential areas.
Sunday was a free day of relaxation. Some of the players took a trip to the nearby
La Estancia golf course, located 15 minutes from the hotel, while others enjoyed the Dominicus beach, one of the best in the Caribbean.
The last scheduled day of the golf trip corresponded to one of the highlights of the series, none other than Teeth of the Dog, Casa de Campo’s flagship course and Pete Dye’s masterpiece, although he said at the time that he had only designed seven of the holes and that the other eleven holes had been designed by God. The result is truly a religious experience.
In 2025 the course will be completely renovated, although the design will not be changed. The topsoil, drainage, bunkers and greens will be improved, establishing a new paspalum grass on the entire playing surface. The renovation will take a whole year and the result will undoubtedly be another step towards the excellence that is breathed throughout the Casa de Campo complex.
In addition to greeting Robert Birtel again, we had the opportunity to exchange impressions with Juan José Guerra, the best player in the Dominican Republic and PGA Tour player, who collaborates with Casa de Campo when he is not competing as a touring pro.
After the game we visited Minitas Beach and La Marina, which impressed those who did not know it.
On Wednesday, the return day, half of the group stayed to enjoy the hospitality of the Sunscape Dominicus La Romana hotel, and the other half, still hungry for golf, opted to go back to the Punta Cana and Bávaro area to enjoy another great course: Iberostar. Its director, Yannick Groer, offered us the last tee times of the day, of this splendid P. B. Dye course, so after playing, the group headed to the Punta Cana airport, which is twenty minutes away from the course.
Seven nights of a fantastic hotel, four excellent courses (for some even six), camaraderie and great moments that will remain in the memories of those of us who shared this experience.
The countdown to next year’s experience begins.
The XIV SAN MIGUEL ANDALUCÍA ANDALUCÍA GOLF CHALLENGE ‘Destino República Dominicana by Globalia’ is an open amateur circuit organized by the magazine Andalucía Golf / España Golf. The circuit runs through all the Andalusian provinces, as well as Madrid and Mallorca, with most of the rounds being played on the Costa del Sol, on top level courses.
The fourteenth edition of the Circuit was sponsored by CERVEZAS SAN MIGUEL, SOLÁN DE CABRAS, GLOBALIA, AIR EUROPA, COSTA DEL SOL TOURISM and GRUPO 1941. The Final was sponsored by the BENAHAVIS TOWNHALL.
The main collaborators were Casa de Campo Resort & Villas, Alanda Marbella Hotel, Sunscape Dominicus La Romana, Bodegas Marqués de Terán, inversionesparavagos.com, Fairway+blue and Holiday Golf Estates. Andalucía Golf/España Golf magazine is the official media of the Tour.
{gallery}2024 Tournaments/Travel RD 2024{/gallery}
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