The ‘D.R.’s Newest Resort is All Jacked Up, But Guess What Billionaire Will Try to Trump Him?

by Vic Williams

Five hundred and 15 years down the road, the locals don’t think about Christopher Columbus stopping by, exploring with his band of scurvy-riddled sailors, then returning to establish the first European colony. They certainly don’t ruminate on Rafael Trujillo, their last true dictator, whose death made way for a fledgling democracy. Not anymore: No “Chris was here” or “Ralph ruled here.” These days, the denizens of the Dominican Republic, at least at its remote and luminous southeastern corner, are more likely to look down at an incredible, tropical sea-meets-turf masterpiece called Punta Espada and utter, “Jack was here.”

As in Nicklaus, Columbus’ modern-day equivalent when it comes to blazing new trails (and markets) in golf’s New World Order. The reigning all-time champion in major wins and prolific player-turned-architect now leads the race to make a game invented in northern Europe — and expanded exponentially in the U.S. — a household pursuit across Latin America.

Not that the “D.R.,” as locals call it, didn’t welcome the game years ago, mostly further up the east coast and north shore. In fact, it boasts more golf holes than any other Caribbean country. But when the first of three signature Jack Nicklaus courses was christened at a big-bucks resort called Cap Cana last November, with hundreds of well-heeled and starry-eyed Dominicans in tow, this former sugar cane-growing region became a major player in the world golf destination sweepstakes.

“It’s getting rave reviews across the board from everyone who comes by,” says Sam Logan, Cap Cana’s director of golf. “I think it’s got to be one of the top Jack has ever done — the top three or top five.”

With 250 Nicklaus Design courses in operation around the world and another 120 or so in the works, that’s a bold statement. It also happens to be true. When Cap Cana developer Ricardo Hazoury pledged to give the Golden Bear nearly 6,000 acres of prime coastal real estate on which to route Punta Espada, Nicklaus had little choice but to carve a masterpiece from the clay, with eight — count ’em, eight — holes hanging so close to the Caribbean Sea that virtually every shot is a multi-sensual experience, mixing in-your-face saltspray, views and sounds of crashing surf with the ebb and flow of the round at hand.

“We were blessed that the people here at Cap Cana gave us the ocean,” Nicklaus said at November’s grand opening bash, just before playing an inaugural round in front of a crowd larger than those at many Champions Tour events (one of which, according to Logan, will be staged here as soon as 2008). “We’ll touch it a little bit on the second golf course [Las Iguanas which broke ground in May], and the third one will be back along the fault line. They are three different styles of courses, three and a half miles of oceanfront. The property gave us a lot of things — views, water, elevation change. The opportunity to do a golf course on a piece of property like this doesn’t come along very often.”

Which is one big reason Nickaus’ company jumped on board as a partner, as did other U.S.-based concerns such as Troon Golf (which will run every course with its well-established demand for great service and impeccable playing conditions), Preferred Resorts (to oversee the new hotel and bungalows, which open in August) and Stewart Title, which will handle the paperwork behind Cap Cana’s billion-dollar real estate side. And, early this year, Donald Trump signed on to build a resort, housing development and another golf course on the limestone bluffs overlooking the current carved-out-of-jungle juggernaut.

“He’s going to develop all 72 lots, basically it’s all Trump,” Logan says. “Two hotels, two condo towers, plus a golf course. The lots up there automatically doubled in price in three months.” A May 19 auction was expected to fetch up to $8 million for one slice of Hispaniola terra firma.

The best of those lots, and the sturdy, hurricane-resistant concrete mansions upon them, will boast eyefuls of turquoise water and bright green strands of golf course made even brighter through the use of a special saltwater-tolerant turf called Paspalum, which, Nicklaus says, “has really opened up the Caribbean and other areas to golf. It’s a hardy grass, it can stand up to the sea spray and water quality, it’s a great looking turf, bright green. But it’s nowhere near as good as it will be in the future. We may end up replacing the greens here at some point. It’s like Bermuda was 40 years ago; it will get better.”

Meanwhile, beyond the normal grow-in process, it’s tough to imagine this course getting better. The green, green turf, the blinding white sand, the waving palms, the impossibly blue water — the heady hues of paradise — give this island outpost a sheen that almost makes the golf itself incidental. Already Punta Espada merits comparison with (dare we say it?) Pebble Beach, Nicklaus’ favorite course, with its nine ocean holes, deep history and Old World-meets-megabucks mentality. Swap out certain latitudinal needs — layered clothing for sun screen, for instance — and Pebble’s weaker inland holes for this track’s stem-to-stern delicious ones, and you’ll get the picture.

Punta Espada gets a leg up on Pebble from first shot, with an elevated opening drive to a broad fairway buffered from Punta Cana’s faultline bluff (the resort’s main geographic feature, besides the ocean) by an epic waste bunker. But it’s the No. 2 hole that puts Nicklaus’ genius for mixing drama and strategy into full, stunning focus. It’s worth moving to the back tees to get the full force of the vista before you: A wide strip of sparkling Paspalum fairway surrounded by sand with a lagoon swooping in on the right, a peninsula green seemingly miles away, a picket fence of palms up the left side, the restless water beyond it all. A let-it-fly drive left of a freeform fairway bunker sets up the first of many risk-reward choices: Fly the lagoon or lay up well left, leaving an open iron to the windswept green? It’ll it all depend on what breeze is blowing — a tailer from the mountains to the West, or the more dominant gale off the sea? It’s a rousing way to start a round; some may say it’s too much, too early, threatening to overshadow the thrills to come. But it doesn’t turn out that way.

“A lot of people have commented to me that they get up on that bluff on No. 2, and say it’s the best par 5 they’ve ever seen or played,” Logan says. “They think the rest of the round will be anticlimactic, but it’s not. You finish with 16, 17 and18, which are right on the ocean, and they forget how spectacular No. 2 was because they’re blown away by the rest of the course.”

After two more ocean holes — No. 3, a short four-par, and No. 4, a lagoon-clearing three-par — the front nine moves inland for the duration in a links-like crescent along the bluffs, but the Caribbean is always there, beckoning. And the Dominican caddies are good at pointing out, in very broken English uttered through ever-present smiles, conversation pieces along the inland holes — the occasional iguana or other critter, a rock formation, a certain native tree or bush — that remind you how special this place is. Then you make the turn and the emotions get cranked up all over again, starting right off with No. 10, a hole like no other at Punta Espada, sliding downhill toward an inland pond with a different kind of island green beyond. “No. 10 was a big sinkhole, and we decided to use it, fill it in with that green,” Nicklaus said. “It came out as a very interesting hole.”

Adds Logan, “Ten is one of my favorite holes. Everyone who plays it loves it. The first time you don’t realize it’s an island surrounded by sand, until you stand over your approach shot. If you have a really good drive you’ll have a short iron in there, and the green is holding a lot better.”

So should your attention span and tactical senses, at least if you want to score well and soak up the scenery. The back nine goes seaward twice more over five of the final eight holes, starting at No. 12, an incredible five-par with surf up the entire left side and a green that seemingly floats on the coral reef below it. No. 13 was guaranteed “signature hole” status the moment Nicklaus routed its 250 yards of delicious terror across a boiling mini-bay with bailout right, watery death short and left and rocky oblivion long. Take one back to the tips, let fly and take a mental picture of that ball heading to Wherever. It’s worth the Pro-V sacrifice. Same deal at 17, a delectable short 4-par whose tee shot must negotiate the sea, and No. 18, a classic Nicklaus finisher that asks for a wind-holding power fade to the fat of the fairway, followed by a cliffhanging wedge to safety or a big number — your choice, and your ultimate joy either way. Your first trip around Punta Espada, it’s impossible to feel otherwise, and the buzz only deepens on subsequent plays.

Then you step back into Cap Cana’s multi-level, breezy clubhouse, grab lunch (seafood is always the way to go) and a cool drink, carve out an hour or two for some time by the pool or on the beach, flip-flop your way back to a thatched-roof bungalow for a nap before a sunset sailboat jaunt (the first phase of the resort’s 72-slip marina opened in April), and wonder why you hadn’t discovered this part of the Caribbean before. Probably because five years ago, there was nothin’ here but jungle, potential and Hazouri’s big dreams, which, with the right partnerships and loads of capital investment, have become reality — and made the D.R. the region’s hottest destination, especially now that a slew of major airlines now offer non-stop flights from more than a dozen U.S. cities, including Chicago, Atlanta and New York, to Punta Cana International Airport.

“I read that last year, we passed Puerto Rico [which is a half-hour flight due east] for the No. 1 island in the Caribbean for tourism,” Logan says. “You can fly three and a half hours nonstop from New York City. It gets here at 11 a.m. You could leave New York on Friday morning and be on the golf course by 1 o’clock the same day.”

“It’s all here, just waiting to be discovered,” said P.B. Dye, Pete’s son, who works out of Indiana but probably spends half his time at Punta Cana, the well-established resort just north of Cap Cana where he designed a quirky-but-engaging seaside course for owner Frank Rainieri. “I’ve been coming down here for more than 20 years, and I’ve never seen anyplace else like it. The weather is perfect, the golf is incredible, the access is there, it’s ready to explode. I find it hard to leave.”

Nicklaus is right there with him. “Certainly here at Cap Cana, with three courses, an awful lot of people coming here to live or stay in the hotels — and my son is doing a course on the other side of the island — there are people coming to play golf. Your weather’s great, the food is good, the hospitality is good, what more do you want?”

What, indeed? It’s a no-brainer. So now, as activity really cranks up, it’s all about getting even more golfing tourists to move the D.R. up in their must-visit rotas — way up, above such warm weather stalwarts as Hawaii and the Mexican Riviera.

��I’ve been fortunate in my career — with Four Seasons and Troon Golf, I’ve worked at some of Mexico’s best resorts,” Logan says. “But there’s no comparison. The level of service we can deliver here because of the friendliness of the Dominicans, just blows away the service you get in Mexico. It’s a completely different here. They promote it as the world’s next great destination. I think it’s already there. I can’t think of anything that rivals it.”

Again, Nicklaus — respected as a designer, revered as a golfer, all but worshipped in these parts as a man who has helped the D.R. clear the hurdle from Third World afterthought to top-tier travel titan — couldn’t agree more. “There’s a lot of places you go where you don’t want to come back, because of the way people treat you. I think a lot of people will want to come back here.”

Well said, Jack. We’re in. FG

CAP CANA RESORT
800.785.2198
www.capcana.com

GETTING THERE

Direct flights from several U.S. cities through US Airways (Philadelphia and Charlotte, NC), Continental (Neward), United (Chicago) and American airlines (New York, Miami). Many more connecting flights through San Juan, Puerto Rico. From the West Coast, connecting flights from all major cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and Phoenix. From the airport it’s approximately a 10-minute drive to Cap Cana.

THE GOLF

Three Jack Nicklaus Signature course are planned. The first, Punta Espada, opened in July 2006. Now under construction is Las Iguanas, followed by third inland course in 2009-2010. Also slated for future construction is Trump at Cap Cana, a $2 billion development including a golf course, luxury condo hotel, golf villas and golf course estate lots.

Punta Espada Golf Club

Par 72, 7396-5052 yards

Key Holes: No. 2, par 5, 611 yards; No. 12, par 5, 540 yards; No. 13, par 3, 250 yards; No. 18, par 4, 457 yards. Course includes full-service clubhouse with restaurant, locker rooms and pro shop and arge practice range with target greens. Swimming pool and spa also onsite. Forecaddies available.

THE ACCOMMODATIONS

The first Altabella Hotel, the Sanctuary Cap Cana Golf & Spa, opened in August 2007 with 176 suites ranging from 807 to 3,767 sq. ft., 40% with seaside entrance. Hotel will offer an indoor swimming pool, eight restaurants and bars and a 500-person convention space. The Altabella Fishing Lodge at the Cap Cana marina, with 120 suites, a 290-unit deluxe apartment complex, 11 restaurants and more than 10,000 sq. ft. of retail space, is now open. Cost for both projects: $180 million.

THE REAL ESTATE

Golden Bear Lodge: Located between Punta Espada and Las Iguanas golf courses, consisting of 14 one-bedroom apartments and 14 studios with private swimming pools and Caribbean views. They’ll conncet to the club’s main central building.

Aguamarina Condos: Located around the Grand Canal, with one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

Punta Palmera: A private residential complex on one of Cap Cana’s beaches, with access to the marina. Owners will enjoy a private gym, concierge service, two private swimming pools and a gourmet restaurant.

Punta Cayuco: An exclusive residential development between Punta Espada and Las Iguanas

Villas Las Lagunas: Residential complex located within Punta Espada, with six villas designed by renowned architectural and design firms.