Golf legend Jack Nicklaus was recently in Cap Cana, the US$3-billion, 30,000-square acre resort and residential community on the East Coast, to examine the progress being made on his first Dominican golf course, scheduled to open in April 2005. Properties there are selling from US$480,000 to US$1.2 million, and Nicklaus?s visit coincided with the closing of deals for several Puerto Rican purchasers. For the Puerto Ricans, Cap Cana is very attractive. John Collins, who writes for Caribbean Business, highlights that the Puerto Ricans value the short flight (about 20 minutes from San Juan), overall security, the improved situation in the DR with regard to property titles, and, most importantly, the involvement and endorsement of golf legend Jack Nicklaus. Commenting on Cap Cana, Nicklaus said: ?Cap Cana is a very ambitious project. I have been involved with several projects and this one is a very ambitious one and ambitious projects are good ones.? Referring to the construction of the Cap Cana course he said that he had been given assurances that the course would be ready by April or May 2005. ?My name and my credibility are involved and I want to make sure it?s done well,? he said. The highlight of Cap Cana will surely be the Golden Bear Lodge, named after Nicklaus himself. With plans for two other golf courses to follow, Nicklaus said, ?I want to make sure this course is finished before I go on to other things. This is going to be the first Golden Bear Lodge outside the US and I want to make sure everything is OK.
?What makes Cap Cana so different from the other courses I know is the ocean and the variety of things around it,? said Nicklaus. ?Of course, Pebble Beach is on the ocean as well, but what makes Cap Cana so special is [that] the climate is better.?
A frequent visitor to the DR, Nicklaus commented: ?I?ve always been fascinated with the DR, not only because its people are so friendly but because they are so athletic. Just look at all of the Dominican baseball players we have in the US. They are a very outdoor kind of people and just love sports.?
Nicklaus also says that Cap Cana will spur more development of the area and result in the emergence of new businesses. He said that people who play golf spend their money on lots of other things. ?You?ve hot a leg up here because you?ve got more than 40 flights a day coming into Punta Cana and a big variety of hotels nearby. Other golf courses nearby are an added attraction because golfers like to try other courses.?
See http://www.capcana.com