Golf (Competitions, Tee Times, Formats & Courses) 2027

COURSES

 

Cocotal Golf and Country Club

 

Created by six-time Spanish champion Pepe Gancedo, renowned for designing more than 18 courses across Spain, several ranked among the country’s top 100, this layout reflects his distinctive vision and experience.

Often called the “Picasso of golf course design,” Gancedo shaped Cocotal Country Club into three separate nine-hole courses, placing special emphasis on preserving and showcasing the natural landscape, particularly its abundant trees.

Taking its name from the countless coconut palms that dot the grounds, Cocotal also features a variety of lakes that attract diverse birdlife, making it an appealing spot not only for golfers but also for nature enthusiasts.

Punta Cana Resort – La Cana Course (No 6 in Dom Rep & No 26 in Caribbean)

Thirty years after Pete Dye’s classic Teeth of the Dog course debuted in 1971, his youngest son Paul Burke completed the construction of La Cana, Punta Cana’s first 18-hole layout.

The fairways twist through pockets of real estate, past expansive waste areas and small lakes, visiting the Caribbean coastline on several occasions.
 
The four shoreline holes are the obvious highlights here. The first of these is the 154-yard 5th, played to a rock-walled green that protrudes out into the sea. Soon after, the beach is reached again when the short par four 7th hole doglegs sharply across a nest of bunkers to the green.
 
Ponds come into play further inland at holes 11 and 12; the former is a 456-yard, right doglegged par four, the latter a short par three played to a stone-lined island green.
 
The final visit to the shore at the closing two holes is a masterful exhibition of routing a course to end on a high. Anything hit too far left at either hole will be lost to the waves whilst overly conservative shots to the right are bound to find sand.
 
The 574-yard 18th features a split fairway that leads to a green measuring all of 72 yards from front to back – what price a five on the scorecard here if the wind is up?PB Dye later returned to Punta Cana to add a third nine called Hacienda, and this circuit is located inland to the original course which forms the Tortuga and Arrecife loops.

Punta Cana Resort – Corales Course (No 3 in Dom Rep & No 4 in Caribbean)

The Tom Fazio-designed Corales Golf Course opened for play in April 2010. With six Oceanside holes and a dramatic 18th, it’s a high flyer in the Caribbean rankings.


Set out on cliff tops next to Punta Cana airport, a mile to the north east of the Punta Cana (La Cana) course, the Corales layout is a private layout that permits a certain amount of play by resort guests.

Most of the fairways are routed around a residential development that sits a little way back from the coastline with the final couple of holes on each nine cleverly positioned adjacent to the deep blue waters of the Caribbean.

Water only comes into play once on the front nine at the 390-yard 3rd but there are plenty of other hazards in the shape of huge waste bunkers to keep concentration levels high. The outward half concludes with a stunning 173-yard par three, where the green sits in a rather exposed position atop a rocky headland.

The back nine ends in similar dramatic fashion as the 214-yard 17th plays along the edge of the cliffs before the breath taking 448-yard 18th then dog legs sharply right around the Bay of Corales to the home green – all in all, a totally exhilarating way to end a round on a truly remarkable course.

The resort has hosted the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship since 2016 when it was an event on the WEB.com Tour – in 2018 the tournament transitioned to the main PGA Tour.

Punta Espada Golf – Corales Course (No 2 in Dom Rep & No 3 in Caribbean)

Punta Espada is the first of three Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses to be developed at Cap Cana. Opened in November 2006 it is already listed among the world’s finest, with the renowned GolfWeek publication ranking it as the “#1 Best Golf Course in the Caribbean and Mexico” and Golf Digest as the #35 in the World.


The Punta Espada 18-hole layout at Cap Cana is the first of three intended Jack Nicklaus courses at this resort. It can be played at the moment for a hefty green fee but, once the Golden Bear’s $26 million Las Iguanas course opens next door, it may become a private facility.

Punta Espada debuted in 2007 and Nicklaus incorporated the natural coastal topography of cliffs, beach and lagoons into the design, routing almost half the holes on the layout along the shoreline.

The par five 2nd is regarded as the toughest hole on the course and this 611-yard monster is played from one of the highest points on the property, doglegging right past a tidal lake and beach bunker.

A strong set of holes around the turn starts with the shortest par four on the card at the 8th and ends with the longest par four at the 11th. A birdie might be possible at the former if the long sandy waste area adjacent to the fairway can be avoided but the chances of posting a three at the difficult 497-yard latter are very slim, even if there’s a helping wind.

The 250-yard 13th is considered to be the signature hole on this Signature course and it calls for a heroic, all-carry tee shot out over the Caribbean Sea to a green that clings to the edge of the island.