Today the golf world lost perhaps the most famous and well known golf course architect in history, Pete Dye. Pete Dye is famous for his, shall we say, “creative” architectural ideas like the island green 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass (photo below of me teeing off about to lose 3 balls and shoot a 9), or his “volcano bunkers” at the Dye Course at French Lick Resort (other photo below of me standing atop a volcano bunker). Most famously Dye loved to use railroad ties to border terrain features and create more intimidation for the player. It worked.
Dye has produced many proteges who in their own right are very successful course architects.
I’ve had the pleasure (and pain) of playing a few Dye designs including TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, French Lick Resort’s Dye Course, and my favorite: Teeth of the Dog in the Dominican Republic (photo below). There’s even a Dye course here in northern Utah, about 30 minutes east. That one has a hole that’s 805 yards. Driver mid-iron… Right.
It’s surely a sad day for the golf world, but the good news is these memorable courses will live on, and continue to remind us about how unique, creative, and innovative Pete Dye was.
Sad to say I never had the opportunity to meet the man. Wish I had.
RIP
I’m truly thankful for the opportunities my hard work on this blog has produced. Case in point today is a course review I’ve been hoping to be able to do for a long, long time. Teeth of the Dog is a Pete Dye design, considered by most to be his masterpiece. That means it beats out other amazing courses Pete Dye designed like TPC Sawgrass (home of THE PLAYERS Championship), Harbour Town Golf Links, Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort, Dye Course at French Lick Resort, Straits Course at Whistling Straits, and Southern Hills Plantation Course. Let’s take a look.
Teeth of the Dog Par-3 5th Hole
Location Location Location
A masterpiece has to start with a great canvas, and boy does this one. The canvas is the southeast shores of the Dominican Republic at the Casa de Campo Resort and Villas. What a place. Casa de Campo is a tropical paradise with tremendous weather, unmatched ocean views, and stunning topography.
Getting there is fairly easy. The Punta Cana International airport is a mere 45 minute drive away. Punta Cana International is a destination most major airlines service, only a few hour flight from the east coast of the USA.
Teeth of the Dog Overview
Ranked #43 in the world and #1 in the Caribbean many times, Teeth of the Dog is 18 salivating inducing holes of great golf, with seven holes right on the water like the par-3 fifth hole pictured above. The course rating from the tips is 76.4 with a slope of 137. That rating means the course is very tough. Thus the “teeth” part. The course features six sets of men’s tees and two sets of women’s tees. Total yardage from the tips is 7,471. I didn’t play the tips. With the high humidity and sea level, that 7,471 would probably play more like 8,500 for Mr. high altitude desert golfer.
Tee
Tee shot after tee shot I found myself humbled and amazed and the scenery and course architecture. Pete doesn’t use as much deception off the tee as I thought he would. It isn’t necessary. The golfer can choose to be aggressive or take the conservative route. Executing either strategy properly produces great rewards while poor execution of either strategy comes with the proper level of punishment.
The tee shots on the first few holes aren’t tremendously difficult unless one plays particularly poor shots. Upon reaching the 5th hole that changes. On the par-3 5th there’s no bail-out. Nowhere to miss. It’s either on the green or in the bunker surrounding it and anything worse is watery Caribbean grave.
Tee shots for the next three holes run by the water. Conservative players aim well away while those who want to take a bite off can give it a shot and hope they have enough power to carry their intended line. Holes 9-14 are inland holes the golfer can play more aggressively off the tee. 15-17 require very good tee shots to avoid ocean hazards, a good example is the par-3 16th below.
Teeth of the Dog Hole 16
Fairway
I found the fairways at TOD to be less sloped and narrow than I thought they would be. If one is able to find the fairway, a good lie is highly likely with very few shots blocked by trees.
Caddies wait in the fairway
The fairways are fairly wide. Missing a fairway will often mean finding the Dye-esque super-long waste bunkers, or the Caribbean.
Green
Here I am below, happy to be on the green!
Putter? I don’t need a putter!
Having played a few of the more “extreme” Pete Dye courses like the Dye Course at French Lick, I found the greens at Teeth of the Dog to be quite manageable. Putting them was enjoyable. Breaks were as they looked like they should be. Not too extreme.
I found the green complexes to be challenging and creative. Strategic bunkering was in play on most approaches to the greens.
Par-5 3rd Green Complex
Perhaps the best part of the the greens for me as that Pete Dye gives the golfer numerous options. The golfer could choose to hit a high shot with a lofted club, or like me, play a more Scottish approach with a putter or bump-and-run type shot.
Caddies
Golf is best experienced with a great caddie who can support your golf game, gives valuable course management advice, helps with green reading, and provides friendship. I had a great caddie named Soni Pache, who came highly recommended by a friend.
Soni and I are ready to take on Teeth of the Dog!
Soni was fantastic. He helped me keep in in play, gave me great reads on the greens, and clubbed me very well. WHEN you play Teeth of the Dog, get Soni on your bag and give him a real big tip.
Amenities
The amenities available at Teeth of the Dog and Casa de Campo are endless. The course boasts a great clubhouse, restaurant, locker room, practice facilities and more for the golfer. At about 90 degrees and 90% humidity, I was so thrilled to find showers in the locker room to clean up before going on with my day.
Once the golf is over, there are so many other fantastic ways to enjoy the Caribbean like spending time at the private Casa de Campo beach area (below), exploring the resort, boating, fishing, hiking, working out, shopping and more.
Casa de Campo Private Beach
Final Thoughts
Teeth of the Dog is a golf bucket list item without a doubt. Make it a point to get to the Dominican Republic and play this stellar golf course. I suggest turning it into a golf buddy trip or a golf getaway with the significant other. The Dominican boasts a ton of great golf courses other than Teeth of the Dog, many are Dye designs.
Related
Secrets Cap Cana Resort and Spa Review
Hooked on Golf Blog Teeth of the Dog Photo Gallery
La Cana Golf Club Review
The Dominican Republic is the golf capitol of the Caribbean with roughly 30 courses, fantastic weather all year (barring a few hurricanes), and great resorts. The Dominican Republic is a perfect recipe for a golf buddy trip or golf stay and play vacation.
La Cana Golf Club
Location
La Cana Golf Club is located on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, a short drive from the Punta Cana International Airport. La Cana is a P.B Dye design, the son of famed architect Pete Dye. There is a heavy Pete Dye influence of course, with some unique architectural twists. With several other Pete Dye courses on the Dominican, the island could be called “Dye Island.”
Overview
La Cana Golf Club is a 27-hole facility. The three 9-hole courses are named “Tortuga,” “Hacienda,” and “Arrecife.” I was able to play 18 when I was there, the Hacienda being my front nine and Tortuga the back nine. There are five sets of tees at La Cana, with the longest tee (black) tipping out at 3483 yards for Tortuga, 3768 yards for Hacienda, and 3676 yards for Arricife. This is not a short course from the tips, especially at sea level. Course ratings and slopes will vary depending on which nines are combined for the 18.
Tee
There’s quite a variance in tee shots at La Cana. Some are quite basic, what you see is what you get. Some have some deceiving hills and mounds which can hide the fairway or landing areas, making things seem different or tighter than they really are when you arrive to the landing area. Below is one of the more basic tee looks.
And below one of the more deceiving views, a short par-4 with huge dunes/mounds which hide a sharp dogleg left and wide open approach look at the green, from the right. That approach is much easier than if the golfer were to take a line at the green off the tee, as it takes the water out of play. Also notice the small bunker at the bottom of one of the mounds. It has the look of a Pete Dye “volcano bunker,” as I’ve found on the Pete Dye course at French Lick Resort.
Overall, driving on the Tortuga/Hacienda 18 is not overly difficult unless the shot is so errant that it finds waste or native areas.
Fairway
The fairways at La Cana are fairly forgiving. There are many of the typical Dye waste bunkers that run the length of a few holes as seen below.
In some cases the sand is so hard in the waste areas one could use that to a strategic advantage. One time I intentionally drove my ball down the waste bunker on a short par-4 and nearly ended up pin high after a long amount of roll.
As mentioned in the tee commentary, most fairways are straight forward with a little movement, but there are a couple of very “quirky” or experimental ones as well. This is very “Dye-like,” on the Dye courses I’ve played, whether they be P.B Dye or Pete Dye.
Below is another “experimental” section, a large area of mini-dunes. Somehow I ended up in here. The lies and stances are quite funky.
If the area above was shaved more like a putting green and not the rough, it would be a carbon copy of the Himalayas putting course in St Andrews.
Green
The green complexes at La Cana present a wide variance of design styles, from the Donald Ross upside down soup bowl type to islands in the sand/water. The bunkering around the greens flows nicely and provides for some challenging mid-range bunker shots if the green is missed. Below is a combination of both the wrap-around and soup bowl.
I do like how there are areas around the greens which provide the golfer different and creative ways of getting up and down. While the shot above may call for a lob wedge, there are run-up areas and collection areas which give the golfer other options, like the Texas wedge (putting off the green) or hitting lower, bump and run type shots.
Above, the obligatory “beautiful green with palm trees and the Caribbean in the background” shot. There are plenty of great views like this.
The most notable and photo-worthy hole of my round was definitely the par-3 5th hole on the Tortuga nine. The entire hole runs along the blue Caribbean waters and the green juts out a bit. I found this hole design very similar to the 17th at Edgewood Tahoe and the 15th at Scotland’s Kingsbarns Golf Links. Those are two of the best par-3’s one might ever play.
Final Thoughts
There are some very strong holes at the P.B. Dye designed La Cana Golf Club in the Dominican Republic. The course flows well and has a very nice feel to it. The ocean views are great and the inland holes are all interesting, with a wee bit of that quirky “Dye” experimental flavor.
Next time you are planning a golf stay and play or a golf buddy trip, consider the Dominican Republic and be sure to put La Cana on the docket. When you are looking for a place to stay nearby, consider the all-inclusive Secrets Cap Cana Resort and Spa.
The day I could write this post has been on my golf blog bucket list for a long, long time. I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to play Pete Dye’s “masterpiece,” Teeth of the Dog in the Dominican Republic. Pete Dye is one of the most famous and respected golf architects in history. You may have heard of some of his other courses like TPC Sawgrass or Harbour Town Golf Links. I could go on.
Teeth of the Dog is located at the resort and beach club Casa de Campo.
Above is the par-3 5th hole, one of three par-3 holes which are by the water. Not sure I can think of a course which has three such stunning par-3’s.
I’m still on location in the Dominican Republic. I leave for the now cold HOG World Headquarters tomorrow with tanned skin, lots of photos, and memories for a lifetime.
Stay tuned for my full Teeth of the Dog review soon.
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, so here is 4,000 words describing my round of golf today at La Cana Golf Club in the Dominican Republic. La Cana is a P.B Dye design, the son of architect Pete Dye.
The last two are the 5th hole on the “Tortuga (turtle)” nine. This hole has shades of #17 at Edgewood Tahoe and the 15th at Kingsbarns Golf Links. The Tortuga nine gets its name from the “turtle cave,” found by one of the greens.
Stay tuned for my full review over the next few months, when I’m back home and there’s snow on the ground.
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