I’m truly thankful for the opportunities my hard work on this blog has produced. Case in point today is a course review I’ve been hoping to be able to do for a long, long time. Teeth of the Dog is a Pete Dye design, considered by most to be his masterpiece. That means it beats out other amazing courses Pete Dye designed like TPC Sawgrass (home of THE PLAYERS Championship), Harbour Town Golf Links, Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort, Dye Course at French Lick Resort, Straits Course at Whistling Straits, and Southern Hills Plantation Course. Let’s take a look.
Teeth of the Dog Par-3 5th Hole
Location Location Location
A masterpiece has to start with a great canvas, and boy does this one. The canvas is the southeast shores of the Dominican Republic at the Casa de Campo Resort and Villas. What a place. Casa de Campo is a tropical paradise with tremendous weather, unmatched ocean views, and stunning topography.
Getting there is fairly easy. The Punta Cana International airport is a mere 45 minute drive away. Punta Cana International is a destination most major airlines service, only a few hour flight from the east coast of the USA.
Teeth of the Dog Overview
Ranked #43 in the world and #1 in the Caribbean many times, Teeth of the Dog is 18 salivating inducing holes of great golf, with seven holes right on the water like the par-3 fifth hole pictured above. The course rating from the tips is 76.4 with a slope of 137. That rating means the course is very tough. Thus the “teeth” part. The course features six sets of men’s tees and two sets of women’s tees. Total yardage from the tips is 7,471. I didn’t play the tips. With the high humidity and sea level, that 7,471 would probably play more like 8,500 for Mr. high altitude desert golfer.
Tee
Tee shot after tee shot I found myself humbled and amazed and the scenery and course architecture. Pete doesn’t use as much deception off the tee as I thought he would. It isn’t necessary. The golfer can choose to be aggressive or take the conservative route. Executing either strategy properly produces great rewards while poor execution of either strategy comes with the proper level of punishment.
The tee shots on the first few holes aren’t tremendously difficult unless one plays particularly poor shots. Upon reaching the 5th hole that changes. On the par-3 5th there’s no bail-out. Nowhere to miss. It’s either on the green or in the bunker surrounding it and anything worse is watery Caribbean grave.
Tee shots for the next three holes run by the water. Conservative players aim well away while those who want to take a bite off can give it a shot and hope they have enough power to carry their intended line. Holes 9-14 are inland holes the golfer can play more aggressively off the tee. 15-17 require very good tee shots to avoid ocean hazards, a good example is the par-3 16th below.
Teeth of the Dog Hole 16
Fairway
I found the fairways at TOD to be less sloped and narrow than I thought they would be. If one is able to find the fairway, a good lie is highly likely with very few shots blocked by trees.
Caddies wait in the fairway
The fairways are fairly wide. Missing a fairway will often mean finding the Dye-esque super-long waste bunkers, or the Caribbean.
Green
Here I am below, happy to be on the green!
Putter? I don’t need a putter!
Having played a few of the more “extreme” Pete Dye courses like the Dye Course at French Lick, I found the greens at Teeth of the Dog to be quite manageable. Putting them was enjoyable. Breaks were as they looked like they should be. Not too extreme.
I found the green complexes to be challenging and creative. Strategic bunkering was in play on most approaches to the greens.
Par-5 3rd Green Complex
Perhaps the best part of the the greens for me as that Pete Dye gives the golfer numerous options. The golfer could choose to hit a high shot with a lofted club, or like me, play a more Scottish approach with a putter or bump-and-run type shot.
Caddies
Golf is best experienced with a great caddie who can support your golf game, gives valuable course management advice, helps with green reading, and provides friendship. I had a great caddie named Soni Pache, who came highly recommended by a friend.
Soni and I are ready to take on Teeth of the Dog!
Soni was fantastic. He helped me keep in in play, gave me great reads on the greens, and clubbed me very well. WHEN you play Teeth of the Dog, get Soni on your bag and give him a real big tip.
Amenities
The amenities available at Teeth of the Dog and Casa de Campo are endless. The course boasts a great clubhouse, restaurant, locker room, practice facilities and more for the golfer. At about 90 degrees and 90% humidity, I was so thrilled to find showers in the locker room to clean up before going on with my day.
Once the golf is over, there are so many other fantastic ways to enjoy the Caribbean like spending time at the private Casa de Campo beach area (below), exploring the resort, boating, fishing, hiking, working out, shopping and more.
Casa de Campo Private Beach
Final Thoughts
Teeth of the Dog is a golf bucket list item without a doubt. Make it a point to get to the Dominican Republic and play this stellar golf course. I suggest turning it into a golf buddy trip or a golf getaway with the significant other. The Dominican boasts a ton of great golf courses other than Teeth of the Dog, many are Dye designs.
Related
Secrets Cap Cana Resort and Spa Review
Hooked on Golf Blog Teeth of the Dog Photo Gallery
La Cana Golf Club Review
In for review are some very nice trousers from The Savile Row Company, a family run business in the heart of London’s Savile Row, where some of the world’s finest tailors are based. I’m thrilled to put the Savile Row Men’s Grey Classic Fit Chinos through the HOG test battery. Check them out.
My photo doesn’t do them justice. I’ve tried them on and they’re super comfortable and the fit is just right.
Features
- Classic fit, pleat front, zip fly
- 98% cotton; 2% elastane
- Improved fabric giving more comfort
- 2 pleats at front, fits through thigh with a slightly tapered leg
- Slanted pockets; jetted buttoned back pockets
- Machine washable at 40°C (Hey, they’re from London. That’s 104 Fahrenheit)
I’ll be testing these trousers out on and off the course and posting my full findings soon. Stay tuned.
I’m about 750 miles from the beach on the west coast. Now I have a reason to get myself there, to wear my COAST Apparel Beach Pants and French Terry Crew Neck sweater.
These threads just came in for review. I just tried them on and boy are they comfy. The sweater is going to come in handy right now, as golf rounds are a wee bit cold at the moment. Plus I like having some warmth even indoors because it can be hard to shake the chill.
The pants fit very well and they’re super soft. Can’t wait to put them through a full HOG apparel review battery.
Stay tuned for my full review of these COAST Apparel threads soon.
Recently I moved. I’m still unboxing stuff in the new home. Most would agree, moving is hell. With the move and many other things going on in the non-golf-blog areas, I’ve not played much golf. I think I’ve logged 18 holes in about the last eight weeks, until today. Amazingly, thanks to awesome global warming, there’s no snow on the ground here in northern Utah. The temperatures were in the 60’s this Thanksgiving weekend, and I finally got a game together with my long time partner, and two fairly new and fierce opponents. It was an absolute blast.
Bonneville Golf Course Aerial Photo by Tony Korologos
I thought I’d be very rusty, but somehow found a good rhythm and swing. I hit 80% of my fairways, logged a couple of birdies, and shot 74. That’s my 2nd best round of a very rough year for my game. I had no idea that was coming, and like most would say, it could have been much better.
The Match
What made today particularly fun, other than golfing in shorts when normally I’d be skiing, was the match. My partner and I had gotten our wallets cleaned out by these two a few months ago. We needed revenge. Despite my birdie on the first hole, we found ourselves down three early, and finished the first nine down three. We cranked up the heat on our games and I played very well on the back. We won the back 4up which meant we also won the totals bet. It was a huge comeback for us.
Every shot, putt, chip, was intense and pressure packed during the match and it was so fun. I’ve missed that feeling of competing most of this season. It was great to get that back in what might be my last round of 2017. Historically the last round of the year is usually around the first week of December. By then it’s either too cold, or the courses are closed due to snow.
It was quite enjoyable to find some of my lost game today and play some good golf. If the snow does fly, it’s a good round to finish on for the season.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Uber Wednesday (I just made that up)… Christmas is coming in about a month and it’s time to start thinking about getting the golfer on your gift list some cool gear. I’m here to help. I’ll post a few great suggestions which will be in a fairly broad price range. Each item will be a quick writeup and photo. The title and photo will be linkable to the HOG review where you can get more information. Also be sure to check out the HOG 2017 Christmas/Holiday Golf Apparel Gift Guide.
TecTecTec VPRO500S Laser Rangefinder – $179
This is a high performance laser with slope for a very inexpensive price, rivaling other lasers that can cost over $500.
Snell My Tour Ball – $31.99
The My Tour Ball equals the performance of the highest end balls, like the ProV1. It should. It was designed by the same person who designed it!
Emoji Poop Driver Head Cover – $20
For only $20 bucks you can remind the golfer on your gift list exactly what kind of game he/she has.
Indoor-Outdoor Golf Practice Balls – $14.95
Practice makes perfect. Get some reps in inside with these soft practice balls. They won’t break the china.
Stage V Clinger – $14.99
Stage V Clinger Cigar Holder
Looking for a cigar gift? The Stage V Clinger is a great clip which magnetically attaches to metal, or attaches to anything else via velcro.
Tornado Tee – $15
These space age tees have a micro mesh crown which gives way during the compression of the ball at impact. This helps reduce spin and increase distance.
Bushnell Golf Pro X2 Laser Rangefinder – $499
Bushnell Golf Pro X2 Laser Rangefinder
For that golfer on your holiday gift list you really, really, reeeeaallly love… get him/her the best laser rangefinder money can buy, the Bushnell Golf Pro X2.
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