|
|
Eight other holes hug the shoreline, and three of them require golfers to carry their tee shots over an expanse of ocean.
Exhilarating? Yes. Terrifying? Maybe, although the wide fairways, light rough and flawless condition of the grass make it fair and
accessible enough for golfers of all skill levels.
“I’m delighted, here at Punta Espada, to be able to deliver a golf course that the [Champions] Tour would want to play on,” says
Nicklaus. “And I think the players will really enjoy the golf course.”
As would anyone else fortunate enough to set cleated shoe on the course.
Nicklaus, affectionately known as the Golden Bear, won 73 tournaments on the PGA Tour, including a record 18 majors, and is widely considered the game’s greatest player. But he hopes he’ll be remembered as much for Punta Espada and the other 250-plus courses he’s personally drafted.
“That’s maybe one of the big legacies I can leave to the game,” Nicklaus said on a recent site visit.
Punta Espada also has the potential to be a legacy to the
Dominican Republic, the developing Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. The golf course is one of the main building blocks of a new resort development and is expected to play a large role in transforming the entire surrounding eastern shore into an upscale golf destination.
The US$1.5-billion development is called Cap Cana and it’s a far cry from the kind of budget all-inclusives that put the Dominican
Republic on the tourism map a decade ago. Cap Cana’s property spans 30,000 acres (or roughly the size of metro Vancouver). Even from the air, it’s difficult to view the entire piece of land in a single glimpse.
A neighbourhood of villas, a beach club, a hotel, restaurants and a spa have sprung up around Punta Espada so far.
A 1,000-slip marina will become the biggest in the Caribbean when the project is completed, and able to accommodate yachts as long as 50 metres. Plans over the next decade include the construction of four other golf courses, a racquet sports centre, three additional high-end
hotels and several more clusters of bungalows, condos and villas. The ambitious Hazourys call it the “world’s next great destination.”
Its grandeur, by all counts, will only be matched by its exclusivity. Upon completion, Cap Cana will be a residential and vacation playground for international jet-setters who don’t blink at ponying up seven figures to buy for a villa, or $1,000 for a night.
The entire Cap Cana development is best imagined as a brand new city, shaped from a spotty jungle much the way Orlando grew out of the northern Everglades, with Cap Cana’s advantage being an eight-kilometre eastern border of uninterrupted coastline. A network of roads, water systems and other infrastructure is in place. There’s a private school for the youngest residents and guests, and housing for staff, which is expected to grow up to 25,000.
The Hazoury family put the first shovels in the ground at Cap Cana in late 2001, a delicate and risky time for global tourism. But the Hazourys are noted for being bold and forward-looking in their home country.
“This is the moment for the Dominican Republic,” family spokesman and Cap Cana president Ricardo Hazoury said in December 2001. “We’re trying to change people’s ideas about the country. We’re going for a high-class market.”
Page: 1 2 3
|
