US golf media has been following the announcement of the restoration of the legendary Te4eth of the Dog 18-hole course in Casa de Campo, La Romana. The course was designed by the late Pete Dye and set the grounds in 1971 for the Dominican Republic to subsequently become a leading golf destination in the Caribbean. The restoration of the golf course would begin starting January 2025.
Jerry Pate Design is the company owned by the winner of the 1976 US Open and the 1982 Players Championship. After that latter victory, Pate threw Dye into the water on the new Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass that Dye had recently designed, as reported in Golf Week/USA Today.
Casa de Campo Resort’s Teeth of the Dog is regarded as one of the world’s 50 top golf courses. Previous facelifts were performed by the original architectural firm.
First Call had reported in August 2023 that Jerry Pate along with his senior designer Steve Dana were commissioned for the work.
Pate has dozens of course design or co-design credits to his name and has enjoyed a long association with Casa de Campo, including a role as the consultant for design changes to all of the resort’s courses. He first became acquainted with Teeth of the Dog when the course played host to the 1974 World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy. The United States won the competition and Pate led the four-man team as low scorer, earning co-medalist honors overall.
First Call reports that the tees, fairways and greens will be regrassed with Pure Dynasty paspalum, a turf product that features exceptional saltwater tolerance, and the entire course will be sand-capped to ensure enhanced drainage and soil depth. Bunkers will see drainage improvements as well. Tees will be leveled and cart paths repaired. Actual design tweaks will be minimal, other than lengthening a handful of holes.
First Call also reported that other developments in progress at Casa de Campo include adding nine holes (from neighboring La Romana Country Club) to the 27-hole Dye Fore layout; planning the creation of a par-3 layout near its Dye-designed Links course; and the addition of a Himalayas-style putting green adjacent to the Teeth of the Dog.
Read more:
First Call Golf
Golf Week/USA Today
Casa de Campo
30 April 2024