No country in the Caribbean offers more championship golf than the Dominican Republic. The seaside courses of Casa de Campo, Punta Cana and Cap Cana carry the names of Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio, with more holes along the water than anywhere in the region. Here are the ten we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict and how to play each.
Photograph: Teeth of the Dog Golf Course, Casa de Campo Resort & Villas, Admission, via Google
Caribbean golf began here, in 1971, when Pete Dye carved Teeth of the Dog out of the coral coastline at Casa de Campo near La Romana. Fifty years on the country holds more than two dozen courses by the biggest names in design, clustered in three resorts: Casa de Campo in the south, and Punta Cana and neighbouring Cap Cana in the east. Warm, breezy and reliably sunny, it is the most complete golf destination in the Caribbean.
We weighed design quality, conditioning, the drama of the seaside holes and the strength of the resort around each course, and we noted access plainly, because most of the best are open only to guests of the resort that owns them. Every fact here, from designers and opening years to host events, was checked at the time of writing. Green fees are highest in the winter high season and are indicative only. The verdicts are ours, the order reflects our editors' view, and if you want these built into a costed trip, that is exactly what our concierge does.
The course that started Caribbean golf, Pete Dye's seaside masterpiece at Casa de Campo near La Romana, with seven holes carved along the rocks at the water's edge. Rated the number one course in the Caribbean and inside the world's top 100, recently restored to Dye's intent. Open to resort guests.
The first of the Nicklaus courses at Cap Cana, with eight holes running along the Caribbean shore, among them the much photographed par 3 thirteenth across a rocky inlet. A former Champions Tour host and one of the most scenic resort courses anywhere. Open to Cap Cana guests.
Host of the PGA Tour's Corales Puntacana Championship and one of the few Tom Fazio designs with ocean frontage, finishing along the Atlantic cliffs with the celebrated Devil's Elbow closing stretch. A genuine tour course in a resort setting. Open to Puntacana guests.
Pete Dye's clifftop epic at Casa de Campo, running hundreds of feet above the Chavon River gorge and the marina, with twenty seven holes of vertigo inducing drama. The inland counterpoint to Teeth of the Dog and just as memorable. Open to resort guests.
P.B. Dye's twenty seven hole resort course at Puntacana, with several holes along the sea, a gentler test of sun and breeze that anchors the original Punta Cana resort. The easiest of the area's top courses to enjoy at full speed. Open to resort guests.
One of Robert Trent Jones Senior's last designs, a cliff hugging course on the wild north coast with ten holes on the Atlantic, reborn after a Rees Jones restoration. Worth the drive north for the most dramatic ocean golf in the country. Open to visitors.
The second Nicklaus course at Cap Cana, an inland routing through mangrove and coral that is more strategic and less exposed than Punta Espada, a fine companion round on a Cap Cana stay. Open to resort guests.
A long, lake strewn Nicklaus course inland from Punta Cana, the venue for plenty of resort and society golf, generous off the tee and good value for a championship test. A sensible add to a Punta Cana itinerary. Open to visitors.
Pete Dye's inland links style course at Casa de Campo, rolling and firm around an inland lake, the most relaxed of the resort's three Dye layouts and the easiest to get on. A good warm up for Teeth of the Dog. Open to resort guests.
Nick Price's resort course set among villas and lagoons near Bavaro, a pleasant, walkable parkland round that rounds out the Punta Cana golf options for groups based on the beach. Open to resort and visiting golfers.
Designers, opening years and host history verified June 2026. Most of these courses are open only to guests of the resort that owns them, noted where relevant. Green fees are highest in the winter high season and are indicative only. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm resort guest requirements and fees directly before booking.
Tell us which resort or coast you want to base in, Casa de Campo, Punta Cana or Cap Cana, and roughly when. One concierge costs the whole trip to the head and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
Teeth of the Dog at Casa de Campo, Pete Dye's 1971 seaside course near La Romana with seven holes at the water's edge, is rated the number one course in the Caribbean and sits inside most lists of the world's hundred best. Punta Espada at Cap Cana and Corales at Puntacana are the other courses at the very top.
Mostly yes, but as a resort guest. Teeth of the Dog, Dye Fore and The Links are open to Casa de Campo guests; Corales and La Cana to Puntacana guests; Punta Espada and Las Iguanas to Cap Cana guests. Green fees are highest in the winter high season. Always confirm rates and resort guest requirements directly before booking.
Caribbean tee time windows, the best months to travel and the warm weather trips our concierge is quietly building. Every other week.