One of the most acclaimed golfing resorts in the Caribbean is celebrating a milestone in 2024.
Casa de Campo Resort & Villas along the southern coast of the Dominican Republic in La Romana turns 50-years-old this year.
The 7,000-acre gated resort community is the home to the No. 1 golf course in the Caribbean — the Pete Dye-designed Teeth of the Dog, which features seven dramatic holes hugging the coral formations rising out of the Caribbean Sea.
“We’ve been compared to a lot of things over the years — the Hamptons of the Caribbean or the Pebble Beach of the Caribbean or the Monaco of the Caribbean,” says Jason Kycek, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Casa de Campo. “But what amazes me is how many people still have not been there or discovered it, especially golfers.”
Kycek says the first few months of the resort’s year of celebration is a perfect time to visit, with a Winter Special starting at $325 per night and good through March 21.
The resort is also home to three other Dye-designed golf layouts, a world-renowned trap and shooting center, a 200-horse equestrian center, the Caribbean’s largest racquet sports facility and its own private airport.
“Over the years it has evolved into really just a special, unique city of its own and its own destination,” Kycek says. “Sure, we’re a golfer’s paradise, but even if you don’t play golf there are plenty of things to do at Casa de Campo.”
One of the unique features of Casa de Campo is that guests are assigned a golf cart to explore the resort at their leisure. “That’s one of the things a lot of adults have particularly enjoyed, just driving in their golf cart and looking at all the different homes and neighborhoods,” says Kycek, who notes that a lot of guests visit the resort’s replicated 16th century Mediterranean village with its cobblestone streets. “It’s a one of a kind. You feel like you’re in Italy.”
HALL OF FAME ADVENTURES
Fantasy baseball camps with former MLB players or cruises with ex-NFL stars have become popular avenues for fans to rub shoulders with their heroes of the past.
If golf is your sport, then consider a trip with Nancy Lopez Golf Adventures. The Hall of Famer, who won 48 LPGA tournaments, including three major championships, is celebrating the travel company’s 10th anniversary in 2024 as she shares her love of golf with players of all ages and skill levels.
Nancy Lopez Golf Adventures normally schedules about a half dozen trips a year. Lopez, 67, is along for each journey and offers a golf tips she learned during a career that made her one of the greatest female golfers of all time.
“I love it because I love people,” Lopez says. “So, it is fun to do stuff like play golf, teach and go to dinner. If I can get those attending to elevate one good shot, it’s exciting for me.”
PGA teaching professionals Sue Powers and Teresa Zamboni accompany Lopez on the trips.
The first trip of 2024 was to Pebble Beach with about 30 attending. The rest of this year’s schedule includes trips to the Dominican Republic in February, followed by Port Orange, Florida; Turning Stone Resort in New York; Solheim Cup week in September in Virginia and the finale at Kiawah Island Resort.
Male and female golfers are welcome, with many couples making the travel trips together, Lopez said. “I can tell you we always have a lot of fun,” she says.
ADDING TO THE IRISH LINKS
Ireland claims to be home to one-third of the world’s links courses.
That figure is about to rise as another offering is on the way. Curracloe Links will be built adjacent to the white sands of Curracloe Beach, the southeast Ireland filming location of the epic movie “Saving Private Ryan.”
Golf architect Jason Straka of Fry / Straka Global Golf Course Design in Ohio will lead the new project, which breaks ground in February and has a completion date set for early 2026.
“There are all these layers of charm to links golf in Ireland, and those are the things that you really want to bring forth in a new golf course,” says Straka, who traveled around Ireland on numerous occasions and has a “feel” for the type of experience golfers expect. “Curracloe Links will be more modern, but I understand there is an expectation and a sense of place with links golf in Ireland. Part of our ambiance on this site is there are literally thousands of sheep that border the property, there are views of the sea and rock walls.”
Alison Metcalfe, executive vice president for the United State and Canada at Tourism Ireland, says there has been “explosive demand” for golf in Ireland following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions a few years ago.
“Everybody in Ireland wants to rally around and support golf, and they want to make sure that everybody who comes from overseas has a great time,” she says. “There is a sense of wanting people to feel welcome, wanting them to have a great experience. It’s in our DNA. We just don’t want people to be disappointed. But I also think golf is just so ingrained in our sporting culture, too.”
Straka is humbled to soon be a part of Ireland links lore.
“The golf courses themselves are obviously wonderful, I mean world class, the best in the world in my opinion,” Straka says. “But it’s the people who make Ireland golf truly unique.”
TIDBITS
A new coffee table book from award-winning golf writer Taba Dale is scheduled for release this spring. “Terroir of Golf: A Golf Book for Wine Lovers” is a 300-plus-page book for golfers who travel the world and enjoy wine. Readers will find out which professional golfers have their own wine labels, and what clubs and courses encourage golf and wine enthusiasts to indulge in their dual passions. Dale is also the author of “A Summer in Ireland” and “Golfers, Scotland is Calling.” … It is hard to fathom that one of the best golf destinations in the United States has never hosted a PGA Tour event. That will all change in May when the Myrtle Beach Classic will be staged at the historic Dunes Golf and Beach Club. VIP tickets to a new experience called Club 17 went on sale this week. The elevated outdoor seating deck will provide a view of the 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes. … Trolf founder Bill Phillips has a goal to make golf travel easier and more relaxing with his company’s Trolf Journey, a golf bag and travel case in one piece of equipment. Phillips says his prototype will be finalized within the next six months and will cost $750. You can join the waitlist to purchase your Trolf Journey on the firm’s website.
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