Casa de Campo Resort Review

Playing the drop dead gorgeous, ocean hugging Teeth of the Dog course...

Dining beach-front at a Le Cirque restaurant...

Dancing the salsa under the stars on an outdoor dance floor...

Sipping private cask rum and smoking a fine Dominican cigar...

Casa de Campo Resort in the Dominican Republic offers the the golf vacation good life in a variety of enticing ways.

Spread out over 7,000 acres on the country's southeast coast, Casa de Campo is a wonderland of magnificent beaches, world-class golf courses, superb restaurants and pampering amenities. The resort makes it super easy to travel the resort grounds on your own by providing each guest room and villa home a four-passenger touring cart ideal for aimless cruising and exploration.

If you're looking for a golf resort vacation that's exotic and unique, I highly suggest this impressive property. What other resort features a recreated 16th century Mediterranean village (Altos de Chavon) with cobblestone streets?

Sitting on a high plateau above the Chavon River, Altos de Chavon is a must visit while you're at Casa de Campo. The coral stone buildings lining the cobblestone streets house restaurants, artists' studios, art galleries and boutiques. If you're lucky, there will be a concert at the 5,000-seat Grecian-style amphitheater, which has hosted superstars like Frank Sinatra, Julio Iglesias, Sting and Andrea Bocelli.

Altos de Chavon

When it's time to tee up, the choices at Casa de Campo are exceptional.

The Teeth of the Dog

If you only play one course in the Caribbean, it should be the Teeth of the Dog, a Pete Dye masterpiece that rivals Pebble Beach Golf Links in setting and beauty.

Feel the ocean spray.



With seven holes playing along the brilliantly colored Caribbean Sea, the Teeth of the Dog is one of the world's great seaside golf experiences. While most of the world's great oceanside courses play along high cliffs, the Teeth of the Dog is ocean level and you'll feel the spray of the waves on a couple of holes.

Teeth of the Dog

The four par threes (5, 7, 13 and 16)-- which is the best collection of short holes I've ever played on a single course--are geniusly designed, scenic and exciting. My favorite is the 176-yard par three No. 5 hole (I played it from the 137-yard blue tees), which requires a shot over a small cove and crashing waves with a wicked sea breeze.

A Breezy Day on the Teeth of the Dog

Another memorable experience was hitting driver into a fierce wind on the par three, 204-yard, No. 16 hole. I played it from the 181-yard blue tees and hit a low screamer that rolled up on the green. It reminded me of my times in Scotland when wind and a driving rainstorm suggested driver was the correct club selection on a par three hole.

Other Golf

While the Teeth of the Dog grabs most of the headlines, the other golf offerings at the resort are exceptional golf experiences as well.

The Dye Fore, a 27-hole layout near Altos de Chavon features three distinctly different nines (Chavon, Marina and Lagos).

The Original Dye Fore (Chavon and Marina), which opened in 2003, sits on top of a 300-foot high cliff offering stunning panoramas of Altos de Chavon and the Casa de Campo marina down below. By all means, don't forget to bring your camera when you play this course. With generous landing areas, it's a great driving course, however, the sometimes wildly undulating fairways result in a variety of different lies. Wind is always a factor on the Dye Fore and the greens, while expansive, require you to hit accurate approach shots to avoid long, arduous putts.

Dye Fore Golf Course

Lagos, the newest nine that debuted in 2011, is aptly named with five holes that wrap around three gigantic lakes. Flatter than the other two nines, Lagos has numerous well placed bunkers to frustrate golfers.

Sitting adjacent to the Teeth of the Dog is the Links Course. Weaving through the interior of the resort, the course seems inappropriately named since its personality is that of a traditional, palm and lakes dotted Caribbean layout. Lakes come into play on five holes and Dye placed numerous bunkers throughout the layout to ensure golfers must think before they hit.

Links Course at Casa de Campo

10 Little Things I Like About Casa de Campo

1. The 5 inch wide shower heads allow you to take a long leisurely shower after a day at the course or the beach.

2. The amazing fresh fruit smoothies at Lago Grille prepared by Digna, a smiling, long time, popular staff member.

3. The individual 4-seater golf cart guests are given during a stay so you can ride around and explore the resort at their leisure.

4. Atlantico, the private cask rum made from the fermented juice of sugarcane and sugarcane molasses  that's available throughout the resort.

5. The homemade Pistachio ice cream you can get as desert at any resort restaurant. There is no way anybody makes a better version than what I enjoyed at the resort.

6. The to-die-for Chilean Sea Bass at La Cana Restaurant overlooking the beautiful swimming pool and spa complex.

7. The Presidente beer on draft served in tall mugs at the 19th hole, which is a great compliment to the giant cheeseburgers there.

8. L'Occitane body lotion in the guest room bathrooms.

9. The amazing Ceasar Salad at the resort's Beach Club Le Cirque restaurant. It has super fresh lettuce and a fried egg encircled by Italian bread.

10. The polo fields where you can watch a polo match and immerse in the Dominican Republic good life.

Accommodations 

The resort has 185 patio and balcony Elite guest rooms and 50 three-to-five bedroom "villa homes".

Amenities include 42-inch flat screen televisions, marble vanities, iPod/iPhone docking stations and an espresso coffee machine.

Each villa home has a private pool, expansive terrace, a private butler, maid, gardener and personal chef, if desired.  

Elite Patio Hotel Room

Dining

There are twenty restaurants in and around Casa de Campo. The three main dining experiences are La Cana by Il Circo (Steak, seafood and fine wine) overlooking the pool and spa area, Lago Grill, a full-service restaurant with alfresco dining where most people enjoy a giant breakfast buffet each day and Beach Club by Le Cirque, an elegant beach front dining experience featuring Le Cirque trained chefs.

Other popular restaurants include La Piazzetta, a gourmet Italian dining experience at Altos de Chavon, La Casita at the marina, where seafood and tapas are the draw and the 19th Hole at the Golf Club. 

Beach Club by Le Cirque

Spa

It has seven therapy room with their own showers, changing areas and patio meditation  gardens. Many of the treatments use Caribbean ingredients. Some of the more intriguing offerings include a Dominican Coffee exfoliation, Fruity-Herbal Body Wrap and Choco Body Mask.

 

Activities

The menu of recreation activities feature something for everybody:
 

* Sunbathing and water activities at a choice of secluded beaches.

* Tennis at La Terraza Tennis Center with 13 Har-Tru Courts.

* Jim McLean Golf School

* Bicycle rentals

* Fitness Center with Cybex equipment, treadmills, stationery bikes, free weights and an area dedicated to improving golf performance.

* Shooting Center with more than 200 stations for sporting clays as well as three trap and skeet layouts.

* Equestrian Center with trial rides, jumping and dressage.

* Polo fields where you can watch matches during the November-May season.

* Water sports such as boating, fishing river sailing, ocean sailing, kayaking, snorkeling and Scuba.

* Supervised children's programs.
 
Getting There

From the U.S., American Airlines has several flights daily from Miami. JetBlue has non-stop service twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday) from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). From Europe, you can fly Condor from France and Blue Panorama and Air Italy from Italy.

Santo Domingo (SDQ) airport is a one-hour drive from Casa de Campo. It is served by American Airlines, American Eagle, United, Delta, Spirit, US Airways, and JetBlue as well as American Eagle via Puerto Rico.

Punta Cana (PUJ) airport is about a 45-minute drive from the resort and is served by American Airlines, United, Delta Airlines, JetBlue, US Airways, LAN Airways and West Jet.

If Want to Visit

To contact Casa de Campo call 1-800-877-3643 or (305) 856-5405

www.casadecampo.com.do

Twitter: @casadecampo
Facebook: Casa de Campo Resort

Top 10 Golf Travel Trends for 2013

Gleneagles Resort Front Entrance

1. Gleneagles Resort, Site of the 2014 Ryder Cup--This legendary Scottish resort will attract its share of golf tourists in the next couple of years. The Ryder Cup's popularity has soared and golfers want to test their skills at the venue. This isn't links golf, though. Gleneagles is home to quintessential parkland golf so at least you won't lose any balls in the ocean.

2. New World U.S. Golf Destinations--Golfers seeking exceptional designs and golf in its purest form are flocking to innovative destinations that aren't located near major urban centers. Among the more popular are Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast, The Prairie Club in Valentine, Nebraska and the newly opened Streamsong Resort, which is situated in rural Polk County, Florida between Orlando and Tampa.

3. Golf Travel Specialists--Tired of sitting in front of a computer screen trying to piece together a golf trip? It's tedious and frustrating and many golfers are realizing the experts can do it quicker, more efficiently and probably save you a few bucks and lots of headaches in the process. Remember, these guys drink a few pints and single malts with the honchos at the best resorts and courses and are well connected to negotiate great deals and develop itineraries you can only dream about as you point and click your way on the Internet.

4. Dominican Republic-- Selected as the Golf Destination of the Year 2013 for Latin America/Caribbean by the International Association of Golf Travel Operators (IAGTO), the D.R. is on a roll. Expansive, luxury resort complexes like Casa de Campo, Puntacana and Cap Cana feature courses by the biggest names in design, Pete Dye, Tom Fazio and Jack Nicklaus. Besides the adroitly designed layouts, stunning picturesque golf course views and fantastic weather, an added bonus is you can enjoy a fine Dominican cigar during or after a round.

5. Nova Scotia, Canada--It's the biggest thing to originate from Canada since Wayne Gretsky, Michael J. Fox and LaBatts Blue beer. Cabot Links is Canada's answer to Pebble Beach. This phenomenal links layout on the western side of Cape Breton Island in the town of Inverness in Nova Scotia is a wonderland of stunning ocean views, deep pot bunkers and swales. Opened in June, Cabot Links was developed by Mike Keiser, who created Bandon Dunes in Oregon. A second course, Cabot Cliffs, designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, is scheduled to open in mid-2014.

6. South America--The announcement of the 2016 Olympic Games to be staged in Rio de Janiero with golf to be included as a sport has put the focus on Brazil as well as other countries appealing to golfers like Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Golf course architect Gil Hanse was chosen over design teams headed by Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and others to fashion the Olympic golf course. As the course begins to take shape, the excitement will increase and more golfers will consider South America a viable golf vacation destination.

7. Off-the-Beaten Path U.S. Value Destinations--If you've already played Myrtle Beach and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama, you're probably looking for some new budget-happy golf frontiers. The value menu, please.  Among the destinations promising affordable golf and well-designed courses are Crossville, Tennessee, Brainerd, Minnesota, Branson, Missouri, Gulf Shores, Alabama, Mesquite, Nevada, St. George, Utah, Brooksville, Florida, Flathead Valley in Montana, Santee, South Carolina and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

8. Ireland--The number one player in the world, Rory McIlroy, hails from Northern Ireland and golfers are increasingly considering Ireland as a golf vacation destination. Ya gotta think, everytime McIlroy hoists a trophy (and that's a lot these days) Northern Ireland gets a public relations boost. Top courses in that part of the country include Royal County Down and Royal Portrush. Other Irish gems favored by visitors include Ballybunion, Lahinch, Portmarnock, Waterville and Doonbeg.

9. Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen, Scotland--I've read reviews and heard reports about this course that are all over the map. The environmentalists keep railing against it for a variety of reasons and some critics claim the fairways are too tight and the frequent high winds will make it extremely penal for the average bogey players. Moreover, the course has more than 100 different tee boxes, which makes for some long walks and long rounds. That said, the setting is stunning and Donald Trump has spent millions on making it a course golfers will travel long distances to play. Check out this video of Trump International Golf Links and I guarantee, whether you're a Trump fan or not, you'll want to play this course.

10. Experiential Golf Travel on Social Media--More golf travel companies are using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to post information and images of trips around the world. If you don't have the time or money to travel to say, Scotland, New Zealand or South Africa, you can experience vicariously the exploits of others enjoying an adventurous golf excursion in different parts of the world.