Nice N Easy Does It: Great Golf Feels Closer Than Ever in The Dominican Republic

For golfers who like to spend as much of their vacation time as possible on the fairways, enjoying different experiences and a variety of courses, the Caribbean’s most spectacular golf destination is easier than ever to get to and to get around.

Thanks to clear highways and the close proximity of courses in the Bávaro, Punta Cana and Cap Cana areas on the country’s east coast, golfers who are serious about their game can play a different course every day with ease. These three areas, which together offer 10 courses, are all within a half-hour’s drive of each other.

Even the Dominican Republic’s golf destinations feel much closer together than they did a few years back. Most notably, golfers staying in Punta Cana may be surprised to learn that they can reach the trio of Pete Dye courses –open to visitors – at Casa de Campo within 45 minutes, and vice versa. The scenic journey from Santo Domingo to La Romana on the aptly named Coral Highway is now a cool 90-minute drive, with Gary Player’s challenging Guavaberry Golf Club and the Los Marlins Golf Course at neighboring Metro Country Club, conveniently located at the half way point near the beach resort of Juan Dolio.

Getting to the Dominican Republic is just as easy. Served by eight international gateways, every golf course is within easy reach so golfers will have no problem getting in a round of golf both on the day they arrive and the day they leave, flight times permitting.

With Grupo Puntacana owning Punta Cana International Airport – which has direct service from over 28 countries and 96 cities around the world, including U.S. gateways such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, Washington, Dallas and Houston – and the runways just minutes from Puntacana Resort’s two courses, golfing visitors will find the process of arrivals and departures quick and painless. Golfers can be on the first tee of its La Cana or Corales courses within half an hour of landing.

Getting a round in on arrival day is just as easy for golfers staying in nearby tourist areas and playing other golf courses. The Higuey-Miches Highway runs from Punta Cana’s airport and passes right by courses including the Lakes Barceló Golf Course, Cocotal Golf & Country Club, Iberostate Bávaro Golf Club, Punta Blanca Golf Club and the Hard Rock Golf Club at Cana Bay, with their adjacent hotels, giving a journey time of less than 30 minutes from terminal to resort. Similarly, a late afternoon or evening flight home allows golfers to play 18 holes and freshen up with a shower in the clubhouse or back in their room before checking in at the airport.

La Romana has an airport with international flights just minutes from Casa de Campo and its golf courses, while Santo Domingo’s airport has several courses close by as well as a half-hour drive away from Juan Dolio. On the Atlantic coast, Puerto Plata’s airport is nearby to Playa Dorada Golf Course and just 90 minutes from the recently reopened Playa Grande Golf Course, at Rio San Juan.
Altogether, 18 of the destination’s most popular tourist-friendly golf courses are clustered together in coastal holiday resorts with hotels on site or nearby. New roads have also dramatically reduced travel times between key resorts as well as with the capital, Santo Domingo, allowing golfers to comfortably play courses in different areas without having to change hotels.

Dominican Republic presents a high-end offer for golf players, with exclusive courses of intriguing designs. The perfect scenario closes the deal by the fact that no golf destination is too far away from each other for it be enjoyed in one day, making the country in the place to be for a magical-one of kind golf experience.