Santo Domingo.– The Dominican Republic is hot, and the pace of openings seems likely to establish the country as the Caribbean’s choice golf destination.

One course that has gotten recent attention is Punta Espada, the first at Cap Cana and a Jack Nicklaus signature, which opened in 2006. The 7,382-yard route includes eight oceanside holes and others that make use of the area’s bluffs and beaches.

In Punta Cana, Nick Faldo’s Roco Ki Resort opened in 2007, as did Nick Price’s Punta Blanca near the new Majestic Colonial Beach Resort.

This year, Tom Fazio’s Corales golf course, a private membership club at Puntacana Resort & Club, and P.B. Dye’s Hacienda, for hotel guests, both open while a second Nicklaus design, Las Iguanas Golf Course, is under construction. These will bring the number of D.R. courses to 22.

If you’re more inclined to try a new course that’s had a chance to mature, visit the Guavaberry Golf & Country Club, which opened in 2002 on the south coast. The Gary Player design follows a route over coral rock formations, one of which rises on either side of a double green on the signature #13.

The only knock on the D.R. is that resorts tend to be spread out and not that accessible to one another, so the large number of courses suggests a more varied experience than most players are likely to have.

That said, Casa de Campo has three outstanding designs within its 7,000-acre complex. The most famous is Teeth of the Dog, the Pete Dye course that has consistently been rated one of the world’s best and which reopened in December 2005 after an extensive makeover.

Dye’s most recent Caribbean design is Dye Fore, whose contours follow the Chavón River, the location for parts of Apocalypse Now. If it weren’t overshadowed by Teeth, the 7,770-yard route would get more attention for its beauty and challenge. The neglected-sibling course is the Links, which is more forgiving than the other two but worthy of respect.

Source: DominicanToday.com

Santo Domingo.– Group Metro, the acclaimed real estate leader in the Dominican Republic, is pleased to announce their latest, exciting project, Costa Blanca by Metro. The residential golf & beach community will span across 270 acres of lush property including almost 3 miles of coastline overlooking the Caribbean Sea, which also includes a half mile of gorgeous beach front in the blue lagoon bay of the project.

Adorning the property will be an 18-hole signature Greg Norman Signatura Golf Course, international tennis center, beach club, 52 Founder’s Club villas, state-of-the-art condominium towers, a luxurious full-scale marina for over 100 yachts, and private golf club house featuring the Hole 19 Bar, fine dining restaurant, cigar lounge, pro shop, conference center, and more. With top-of-the-line activities and lavish sporting complexes alongside magnificent residences, owners at Costa Blanca will find not only a haven and retreat from the everyday, but also an outlet for recreation and enjoyment.

Costa Blanca has had immense success with the introduction of their Founder’s Club. This exclusive and select group of 52 individuals were the first to purchase packages of staggering value, including: a luxurious private villa with golf, bay or marina views, 2 condominiums, a private boat slip in the marina, and membership to the prestigious golf club. Members of The Founder’s Club will enjoy top VIP treatment in addition to their various properties and onsite amenities.

Residents and guests of Costa Blanca will find their every whim catered to and any accommodation imaginable right at their fingertips. Costa Blanca will house a Greg Norman Signature Golf Course, which will be a PGA quality Golf Course in the Dominican Republic. With Mr. Norman’s signature stamp of quality and expertise, residents and guests will enjoy the luxury of having this course onsite. In addition, the marina will house 150 boats with slips up to 120 feet and the Marina is planned with a Marina Village resplendent with retail and commercial space housing restaurants, boutiques, and yachting shops.

When Phase One of this billion dollar retail undertaking is complete, Costa Blanca will house multiple, opulent high rise condominium towers for residents. Residential offerings will span an assortment of styles and sizes; ensuring a perfect match for any property seeker, with all properties featuring balconies with breathtaking views of the Caribbean Sea or golf course.

The Group Metro Team, the developers and visionaries of this grand-scale resort community, have over three decades of experience and expertise that they will be bringing to the project. Dr. Luis Jose Asilis, CEO of Group Metro states, “We are very pleased and excited to start construction on the 1st PGA Quality Golf Course in Juan Dolio. Costa Blanca will offer a complete luxury lifestyle only 30 minutes from Santo Domingo and the International Airport.”

Source: DominicanToday.com

Punta Cana.– For the last few years, Cap Cana has been billed as the Caribbean’s “Next Great Destination.” With each week, it is becoming clear that perhaps it is time to drop the word “Next.”

Cap Cana, which in less than two years has opened a world-ranked golf course, has set global property sales records, and this week is hosting a new addition to the Champions Tour, announced today that it has been selected by Jack Nicklaus as one of up to 25 destinations worldwide to share the unique distinction of being a Jack Nicklaus Golf Club.

The announcement during the opening round of the Cap Cana Championship was made by Jack Nicklaus and Dr. Ricardo Hazoury, President of Cap Cana’s board and Vice President of the Abrisa Group, one of the chief economic groups in the Dominican Republic.

Cap Cana becomes the 10th property to join the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, which was created as an exclusive access and reciprocity program for a limited number of elite Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses located in ideal markets around the world.

Never before has a club been branded with the Jack Nicklaus name, and as part of this unique license, the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club of Cap Cana will be able to offer up to 35 Associate Club Members reciprocity at other Jack Nicklaus Golf Clubs, as well as access to a Nicklaus Home established on each property for use by Jack Nicklaus, his family and other JNGC Members worldwide.

In addition to the reciprocity privileges and the use of the Nicklaus Home at each club, there are no membership fees or annual dues, no green fees and benefits include access to club amenities and tee times at all Jack Nicklaus Golf Club locations.

The Jack Nicklaus Golf Club of Cap Cana will be tied to Las Iguanas, the second of three Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses that will eventually play across the property’s 30,000 acres situated along more than five miles of coastline on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic.

But with the availability of the Punta Espada course, one of Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Courses Outside the United States and site of this week’s Cap Cana Championship, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club members will have immediate playing privileges. JNGC members will have complimentary access to a luxury villa at Cap Cana that will be completed in two months, and then a Nicklaus Home once Las Iguanas is completed.

In addition, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club of Cap Cana members will have access to Jack’s Florida and Ohio home courses, The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Fla., and Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

“We are delighted to have Cap Cana join the family of Jack Nicklaus Golf Clubs,” said Jack Nicklaus, who visited Cap Cana for the opening round of the Cap Cana Championship and for a site visit to work on his course design for Las Iquanas.

“The addition of Cap Cana gives us an existing facility with a tremendous worldwide reputation as we expand the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club. To have immediate access to courses like Punta Espada, The Bear’s Club, Muirfield Village, and Kinloch in New Zealand, gives us a wonderful start and foundation for our initial Club members. Cap Cana is a terrific destination, and I think our other Jack Nicklaus Golf Club members will find that out soon.”

Locations for future Jack Nicklaus Golf Clubs will encompass some of the world’s most sought-after markets and destinations. Current JNGC sites include Tuscany; Scotland; New Zealand; Royal Island (Bahamas); St. Lucia and Anguilla in the Eastern Caribbean; the Patagonia region of Argentina; Vancouver Island in Canada; and Mount Holly, a private ski destination in Utah.

Cap Cana (www.capcana.com) is considered one of the most important tourism and real-estate projects in the Caribbean, with a master plan investment projected at $1.5 billion. The phase of the project will be developed over the next 12 to 15 years, and will comprise 8,680 of the 30,000 available acres and 3.5 miles of beachfront. The initial phase will have three 5-star hotels and five golf courses, three of them being Jack Nicklaus Signature Courses.

Anchoring one end of the property is arguably the Caribbean’s largest, most complete and state-of-the-art marinas, and it is surrounded by shopping, residential, as well as fine and casual dining. Cap Cana’s initial phase will include a total of 5,000 residential units and 500 hotel rooms.

Source: DominicanToday.com