Review: Casa de Campo Resort, Dominican Republic

It just gets better with age

Casa de Campo is like a fine wine: it just keeps getting better with age. If you are looking for a well developed, classy, have-it-all golf resort, you will be hard pressed to find anything better than Casa de Campo. It is not the newest resort on the block, actually one of the oldest and most established resorts, but you wouldn’t know it by all their recent activity and additions. While some resorts don’t age well, Casa de Campo is just getting better with age. Their amenities are some of finest in the Caribbean and they are certainly keeping up the the newest and flashiest resorts.

The lodging options are endless. This gigantic resort has so many different options. There are “hotel” rooms, condos, and full houses available to rent. We stayed at a hotel room. It is more like a mini condo than a typical hotel room. There are room pods that consist of 8 rooms total. Each room is very spacious. They have a giant living space, a large bath area, a walk in closet and a small foyer/mini bar area. They each have a patio for enjoying the Caribbean breeze or a good cigar. The finishing touches are all very modern and sleek. Flat screen TV, modern furniture and rich luxurious touches. Included with your room is a golf cart and a room attendant. The room attendant is there to take care of your room throughout the day. They get your slippers ready while you are eating supper, they get the bed ready to go and make sure the lights are just right for your nighttime comfort. The golf cart is really nice for getting around the resort, especially for getting to the beach. As I said above, this place is huge and you couldn’t walk to even a small percentage of what the resort offers. But hop in your cart and off you go exploring.

The beach drive is a bit adventurous. You feel like you need to drive on a main road to get there, our first drive we needed to be redirected 4 or 5 times by security guards, which are everywhere, to get onto the right road. It is an easy drive once you get your bearings. The beach itself offers many amenities like a full bar and restaurant   There are many chairs and umbrellas to lounge on at the beach. They do offer a number of non-motorized water sports too. But if you are looking to take a long walk on the beach, it is not going to happen, it is about the size of a good par 5. Enough space for the resort, but not endless sand to spread out or walk. The sand is very clean and the water is beautiful aqua color. There is a break wall a couple hundred yards out so that it is calm enough for even young kids to play in the ocean. If you are looking for surf, this isn’t the place.

The restaurants are scattered all throughout the resort as well. The aforementioned beach house restaurant is very fine dining. There is a classy restaurant at the main lodge, another fine Italian eatery is in Altos de Chavon, which is a recreation of an old world Italian village set high in the hills, there is another restaurant at the Marina and there is a more casual dining by the golf clubhouse. If you don’t know what to order; the churrasco is excellent!!

Beyond the basic resort amenities, the extras that Casa de Campo offers are what sets it apart from other Caribbean resorts. They have a giant Polo complex, horse back riding, skeet shooting, shopping, an amphitheater for concerts, a huge marina, and more. If there is something that you enjoy and want to do on vacation, they probably have it on site. Another nice little touch with this resort is their exceptional English skills. I’ve traveled to many Caribbean islands, many of which do not have English as their first language and sometimes it shows. But at Casa de Campo you will feel right at home speaking English.

They offer many different packages to come and enjoy all the Casa de Campo offers, but understand that the all-inclusive package doesn’t include everything. There are a number of meals that are a surcharge, some beverages are extra and tipping is additional. Just because you paid upfront, don’t be surprised by an additional bill when you check out.   The only other slight draw back is going to be the foreign travel. You need passports and patience to deal with the slightly interesting entrance arrangements and you need to be able to let your cab driver do his job. The roads are modern between the main airports and Casa de Campo, but the driving style is more NASCAR than US highways. How we were not in an accident seemed unbelievable but that is just their style of close calls and tight squeezes everyday.

The crown jewel of Casa de Campo is the golf. The resort operates 81 holes of golf. They are distributed between 4 distinct areas: The Teeth of the Dog, the Links, the Private Club and the Dye Fore.   The rest of the review will focus on the golf.

For more information: www.casadecampo.com.do

Quick Hits
+Teeth of the Dog’s Ocean holes
+81 Holes of golf with varied topography
+Fine dining and activities
+Luxurious lodging and amenities
+All-inclusive packages

–Traveling to and within the Dominican Republic
–Not everything is included in the all-inclusive package

Teeth of the Dog Course

This is the course of the Caribbean

If you were going to pick one course that would be considered the most well known, most picturesque, and simply the best course in the Caribbean Teeth of the Dog has to be it. The name alone is recognizable and many have probably seen a picture or two of the holes along the ocean. The course is named for the jagged rocks along the ocean that you guessed it look like dogs teeth. There are 7 holes that boarder the Ocean and each one is distinct and awesome. The other 11 holes that make up the rest of the course are excellent holes by themselves, even if you were to put them on a less spectacular piece of land. Together the 18 holes are one of the best courses in the world. The annual course rankings reflect that year after year.

The front nine starts just a few yards from the clubhouse, putting green and driving range. You can get ready for you round and then head right out. The first couple holes ease you into your round. The are not too difficult. They both offer decent sized fairways and moderate lengths. Starting par, par shouldn’t be a problem. The next 2 holes are I think 2 of the tougher inland holes on the whole course. The 3rd hole is a par 5 that isn’t too long, but the green is very penal if you miss it on your approach. It has a narrow front that can’t be missed right or left, otherwise you may go back and forth a couple of times like my playing partners. The 4th hole isn’t too bad from the middle tees, but the back tee is way back and set at a tough angle, making the landing area much tougher to hit, which also makes the approach longer and more difficult. The real joy and teeth of this course starts on hole 5. It is a short par 3, with a giant water hazard on the left. But going right isn’t really a bail out either with hills and trees chipping onto the green will still be tough. The 6th hole is a long par 4 with ocean all to the left. Unless you really pull one, there is no reason to find the ocean, there is so much room to the right even if you get wild. But the second shot is going to long, but accessible to the green because shots tend to bounce up onto the green. It plays best like a small dogleg left, even though it is a fairly straight hole as the crow flies. The 7th hole is the most difficult on the course I thought. It plays 230 yards from the back tee and is almost all carry with no bail short, left or right. Depending on the wind swirls, you could need a different club each time you play this hole. The last ocean hole on the front 9 is the 8th which still has water on the left. It is a shorter par 4, but the crashing waves and even spraying water can be beautifully distracting. The green is semi blind on the approach, and best to stay right because the hill will funnel balls onto the green nicely. The 9th hole brings you back to the clubhouse is a par 5 that should be a birdie hole. We had 3 birdies in our group.

The back nine starts much the same way the front 9 does, with a couple of moderate holes. The 10th hole plays along the backside of the hotel rooms. The 11th is a solid par 5, probably a 3-shot hole for most so again par should be had. The 12th hole is a tougher par 4. The fairway slightly doglegs to the left, but the green is well guarded by sand and trees. The 13th hole is the only inland par 3 on the course. It plays just under 200 yards and is an island green of sorts. The entire green is surrounded by sand. The 14th hole was my nemesis. It has inland water, that only comes into play on your second and third shots. This green is reachable in 2, but that means a risky bomb over water. For whatever reason I hit great drives on this hole and that was about it, the approach shots were all terrible each time I played it. It shouldn’t have been as hard as I made it. But after those fiascoes the Ocean is back in play this time on the right side. The 15th hole is a great par 4. It is an incredibly beautiful short par 4, not drivable, but you should only need a wedge in on this one. The 16th is another great ocean par 3. Playing around the 185 yardage depending on the tee and pin, this hole again needs a solid strike, although there is some bail out left and short on this hole. The 17th is a tough long par 4 that hugs the ocean again on the right side. The water is in play on the approach if your second shot challenges the right side. The 18th hole isn’t a great finishing hole, but it does have some unique qualities as you hit over a former runway and then navigate an irrigation pond up near the green and finish right by the club house.

Teeth of the Dog is truly spectacular, it is worth going to the resort just to play this course. It is as beautiful as anything I have ever played. The holes along the ocean are what really make it special, but the other holes are no slouches either. Don’t expect to shoot your personal best at this course, but that doesn’t mean you can’t score well either, I shot my typical 80 on my second round at Teeth of the Dog from the tips. They do require caddies on this course, but they are excellent and really know the course well. Have fun with them and it will make you experience at Teeth of the Dog even better.

Dye Fore - Marina/Chavon Course

A totally different experience.

After playing Teeth of the Dog, my second round took me into the hills of the river valley and cliffs overlooking the marina. There are 3 different 9 holes completed with a 4th layout not yet completed. Thus Dye Fore is really a Dye three. I only played 18 holes of the 27. I started on the Marina 9 and finished with the Chavon 9. They are very different 9, but play together nicely. After the fairly flat Teeth of the Dog the marina 9 starts the ball rolling with ample elevation changes. This 9 plays through the large homes scattered throughout the hill side. The starting par 5 is an up and down ride that isn’t as difficult as I made it. The next couple holes wind around through some more hills until you reach the 4th hole and you can really get a glimpse of why this 9 is called the marina. It offers spectacular views of the ocean and marina.

The holes are pretty cool too. A big sweeping dogleg left downhill with serious danger left. The 5th hole is another downhill hole that offers great views again. The 6th hole is a cool little par 3. It plays away from the great views, but plays over a valley to a small green. The 6th and 7th holes are 2 really solid holes, a snaking par 5 and a short par 4. Both with multiple bunkers and moguls to navigate. The big sweeping dogleg right par 4 finisher plays mostly uphill. This course you can score on from the appropriate tees. I didn’t play the tips here because they played to 7700 total yards, which was just plain too much for me that day. I played the more moderate 7,000 yard tees. The length isn’t as bad as it sounds because of the number of downhill holes that play shorter than their length.

The Chavon 9 is a real roller coaster of holes. You tee off just under the clubhouse and Altos de Chavon shopping area. You can get a pretty good sense of what you are in for just standing on that tee. It is cut into the hillside and plays over a gorge with river to your right and 18 on your left. While it felt like I hit poor drives to start this 9 holes, both of them were in play and fairly long, the fairways are forgiving and bouncy. There is no easing into this 9 though, the first few holes hug the cliff overlooking the river. You then cut a little more inland for a couple of holes until you head back to the cliff side. The 5th hole is the furthest point from the club house when you make the turn around. The river gorge is now on the left on this short par 4. We even has some iguanas join us on this hole. The 6th hole is a great long par 3 with gorge on the left. For someone who rarely hooks the ball, this was not the hole to have it happen. The 7th and 8th holes were a couple of solid par 4s. but the 9th hole of this 9 or our 18th hole for our round was a bit over the top. You can bomb away with your driver on this par 5, but your second shot needs to stay right and by right I mean way right. My caddie point out a cart path on the right side and said that was the line, it almost looked like I was aiming OB right, but I listened. My playing partners go the same advice, but they hit excellent shots just left of that line, assuming they would be right in the middle of the fairway, but after we crested the hill to start looking for balls, the extremely sloped fairway took their perfectly struck balls and kicked them into the junk left never to be found again. It was most disappointing some really well struck balls aimed at the middle of the fairway.
But overall this 9 is an extremely fun up and down and around with beautiful view of the river gorge.

Dye Links Course

A nice resort course with some bite.

While you are not going to fly to Casa de Campo just to play the Links course, it is a very solid track with some really challenging holes on the back 9. The front 9 is fairly tame, but I would call it more of a parkland course than a links course. It winds into the heart of the resort. The first couple holes meander up slightly. The 3rd hole is a really beautiful hole with a large tree up near the green and this slight dogleg left plays all uphill. The 4th hole is really cool short par 4 that doglegs right. No need for driver off this tee. From the 5th hole and in, you start to play back down hill. The 7th hole is a really great par 5 with lots of Dye bunkering and plenty of rolling moguls to navigate. The 8th hole is one of my favorites on the course. A slightly downhill punch-bowl like green playing around 200 is a solid par 3. The 9th hole has really cool tee-boxes as they are little rock walled towers to tee off from creating a really cool look.

The back 9 starts also near the 1st tee and heads out toward a really cool collection of 5 holes that wind around and over and next to water. Starting with the 12th hole a strong par 4 with a giant pond on the right side. Then the 13th is mid range par 3 which again has water on the right side, it is at the end of the pond from hole 12. Then a crisscross and you tee off on hole 14 which has water on the left separating this hole from 15. It plays fairly long, but just requires you to stay right. The returning hole 15 has water on the left too but is shorter, leaving just a wedge in if you hit driver or maybe a short iron if you choose 3-wood. The 16th is a fantastic short par 3 with water on the right (the same pond that borders 12 and 13). After a birdie on the 17th par 5, you close with a long par 4 18th that has good amount of mounding and bunkering.

Final Thoughts
I would go back to Casa de Campo in a heartbeat. It is a resort with many golf courses that has aged very well. The ownership’s dedication to keeping this a premier destination in the Caribbean is obvious. If you go be prepared to enjoy great food, many different activities and great golf. The crown jewel, Teeth of the Dog should be played more than one time to truly enjoy all that it offers. I wouldn’t pass on the other courses, but any bonus time should be spent at the Teeth. It just keeps getting better with time.

For more information: www.casadecampo.com.do

Quick Hits
+Teeth of the Dog’s Ocean holes
+81 Holes of golf with varied topography
+Fine dining and activities
+Luxurious lodging and amenities
+All-inclusive packages

–Traveling to and within the Dominican Republic
–Not everything is included in the All-inclusive package