You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you can give it some shiny new teeth.
After a year-long restoration and enhancement project, Teeth of the Dog is back open and taking golfers' breath away (and perhaps some of my confidence).
And it's looking better than ever.
The crown jewel of Casa de Campo resort in the Dominican Republic was completely re-grassed from tee-to-green, adding three inches of sand to every fairway before re-seeding with Dynasty Paspalum. A number of new tee boxes were added, every bunker had work done and the greens were meticulously brought back to the original size using reference photos more than a half-century old.
The vast amount of work that went into the project might not be noticed by the average visitor, but that's exactly what Jerry Pate and his design team intended when they set out to carefully steward one of Pete Dye's original masterpieces for the next half-century.
"This golf course was built by hand," Pate said. "You didn't see a lot of bulldozers in the old photographs. Pete spent a lot of time meticulously working the bunkers, the green contours, the detail in the walls on the tees, just the whole strategy here."
Pate has a long history with Pete Dye and with Casa de Campo. Before winning the first Players Championship held at Dye's TPC Sawgrass in 1982 and famously throwing the designer into the lake off the 18th green, Pate helped the American team win the 1974 World Amateur Championship at Teeth of the Dog by hitting a one-iron to six feet at the 16th hole on the final day of competition.
"I'd just turned 21 years old and that was really the highlight of my career," he said of the World Amateur. "To make a birdie down the stretch when I needed to for my team and for the United States."
Two years later in 1976, Pate would win both the U.S. Open and Canadian Open. |
I'm often asked about my favourite places in the golf world, and it's a list I usually break up into sunny destinations and, well, rainy destinations (because real golfers know rain suits and Guinness can be a quasi-religious experience).
When it comes to sunshine, Casa de Campo is at the top of my list.
As for golf, the resort has two 18-hole courses and one 27-hole course available to guests, with the private 27-hole La Romana Country Club also onsite. All 90 holes were designed by Pete Dye.
As for the resort, Casa de Campo is a stunning and sprawling 7,000-acre property with something for everyone. There is so much variety in landscape and vibe that you could make three or four visits and have completely different vacation experiences each time.
From the main resort and pool area, to the new spa, the Marina and Yacht Club, the Beach Club, to the mind-blowing recreation of a 16th century Mediterranean village Altos de Chavon, you will never lack for a destination to explore in the personal golf cart they hand you keys to at check-in.
When the invite hit my inbox to celebrate Teeth of the Dog's grand re-opening, I started packing. There are some parties you just don't turn down. Last year, I toured the site mid-project with head professional Robert Birtel, and it was amazing to see the end result.
With seven iconic holes right on the ocean, Pete Dye famously said he built 11 holes at Teeth of the Dog and God built the rest.
That sense of playing golf in a postcard has been amplified and improved in this recent renovation as virtually all the cart paths have been moved out of golfers' views from tee boxes. Like many of the other changes, it's one that quickly melts into the background but one that enhances the experience for players of all skill. |
After more than four months without hitting a golf ball, I had the honour of getting the Canadian rust off my game at Teeth of the Dog in a group that included Birtel (who shot two-under by my count) and former Princeton golfer Steve Dana, one of the key figures in Pate Design Group's restoration.
"I think that's okay," Birtel said after my opening tee shot sailed off planet earth.
"Really?" I asked.
"No," he replied, throwing me a breakfast ball.
Pate also joined us for some holes, because the watchful eye of a U.S. and Players champion was just what I needed. Luckily, I learned long ago that, much like fantasy football, nobody cares about your golf game, and the company was great.
"We should mow this grass here to fairway height all the way from the back of the green to this tee box," Dana said to Birtel at one point as they stared at the ground while I stared at the ocean.
It was one of a number of such interactions between the pair, as their curious minds continued to see this old friend of theirs in a new light and look for even more ways to improve it.
“Every great thing requires care and upkeep,” Birtel told me the first time we met.
After hearing from Pate, Birtel and Dana, and chatting with legendary Casa de Campo pro Gilles Gagnon, a Montreal native who now represents the resort as Director of Golf Emeritus, and meeting superintendent E. Nuñez Malena who is approaching 50 years at Teeth of the Dog, the success of the resort has come into focus.
Teeth of the Dog was Pete Dye's special place. It's why his ashes were spread on the 8th hole near his house. But Pete wasn't alone in feeling the magic, and the recent re-opening brought together so many people from all over who continue to play a part in the growing history and enduring legacy of the course that put Caribbean golf on the map.
If you ever get to Casa de Campo and don't want to leave, don't worry, you won't be the first. |
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