Punta Cana Resort: Golf in Paradise

In early 2001, after creating courses around the world, P.B. Dye returned to the Dominican Republic invited by Frank Rainieri, owner of the PUNTACANA RESORT & CLUB. Rainieri and partners, labor mediator Ted Kheel, famed couturier Oscar de la Renta and singer Julio Iglesias wanted Mr. Dye to design a world-class beachfront golf course.

The result of P. B. Dye's first solo effort in the Dominican Republic La Cana Golf Course at PUNTACANA RESORT & CLUB definitely belongs on your “must play ” list. Getting here is a snap! American Airlines, US Airways and Air France, who recently, began direct non-stop service into Punta Cana International Airport from New York (JFK), Philadelphia, Charlotte, Miami and Paris.

PUNTACANA Golf Club course is innovative, challenging, beautiful and fun. It's long playing to 7,152 yards from the tournament tees but the rewards include four superb holes playing directly along the Caribbean Sea and 12 holes with magnificent sea views.

The Dye pot bunker is ever present. As noted earlier, hole seven boasts a cluster of 21. P.B. jokingly refers to this area as “Hecklebirnie” a type of golfer's purgatory according to Scottish lore.

To help you master this course and put all the odds on your side, it might be wise to take a lesson with Kim Jensen, the golf pro of the "PuntaCana Golf Academy. " Or, if you have some time left, sign up to one of the 5-day clinics available every week.

And there's much more to PUNTACANA RESORT & CLUB. The resort features 420 newly decorated beachfront hotel accommodations, including the elegant TORTUGA BAY, with interiors designed by Oscar de la Renta himself. Add to that, three miles of white-sand beach, the longest in the Caribbean, a beachfront clubhouse overlooking the 18th green, water sports, horseback riding, tennis, nature reserve, children's activities and evening entertainment. A full-service health spa will open later this year in the clubhouse. Meetings and banquet facilities are also available.

You simply must dine at "Cocoloba" restaurant a new gourmet restaurant serving Caribbean nouvelle Cuisine and "La Yola" a romantic site overlooking the marina, specializing in seafood and pasta.