In the fall, I was invited on a press trip to the Dominican Republic to golf with a group of journalists and golf travel agents as part of the first ever DR Golf Travel Exchange. I was so nervous about my amateur golfing skills, that I quickly signed up for lessons at Golf Isle des Soeurs. My trainer, Patrick was awesome, he taught me at least how to look like a golfer. Armed with these new skills, I headed off to the D.R. convinced that I was going to at least not embarrass myself or my fellow golfers.
We started off with a golf clinic at Cocotal Golf Course. Our golf pro was great and I quickly learned that there is always a lot more to learn about this sport. After the clinic, we played a quick 6-hole game with the sun beating down on us.
That afternoon, we left for Casa de Campo and a whole other level of golfing. The DR Golf Travel Exchange tournament started early on the second day of our stay on the Teeth of the Dog golf course. I was nervous, to say the least, as this would be my very first golf tournament. Fortunately, my foursome put up with my very mediocre golf skills, and I didn’t feel like I was putting them out too much even though we were playing one of the most prestigious courses in the world. A factor that helped in moving us along was that we were assigned caddies (two to each foursome). We quickly relied on the two to provide us with tips on our next shot.
The next day we left for Barceló Palace Deluxe where we rendez-vous’d at The Lakes golf course across the street. Here we played a casual game without the pressure of a tournament and with a beer-filled cooler. My kind of golf. I stopped to admire the pink flamingos on hole 9 and lost a number of balls in the many lakes dotting the course.
On the final golf day, I decided to pass and hit the beach instead. I regretted it later, because when I met up with the golfers for lunch at the Punta Espada Golf Course, it looked like the most beautiful course I’d seen so far. Set on the coast, like Teeth of the Dog, it seemed somehow seemed prettier. The lunch was also the best we had on the entire trip and I made a point of checking out the women’s locker rooms and the pro shop. All top notch.
I made up for my lack of golf skills by taking home first prize (a bottle of premium Barceló rum) during a limbo contest organized by the hotel for our farewell dinner.
All in all, the Dominican is a gorgeous tropical golf destination.
Carrie was invited by Dominican Republic tourism and the DR Golf Travel Exchange.
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