In 1971 a spectacular seaside golf course opened in the Dominican Republic. Pete and Alice Dye’s Teeth of the Dog quickly became the first (and, for many years, the only) Caribbean course in the world’s Top 50. The famous layout remains the main golf attraction at luxurious Casa de Campo Resort and Villas, now celebrating its 50th anniversary. However, over the years, the Dyes added 45 more holes of golf for resort guests, including Dye Fore, which opened its first 18 holes in 2002 and nine more in 2011.

If the 27-hole layout were the only golf at the resort, it would be enough for a great vacation, especially when combined with other attractions at the 7,000-acre enclave. Accommodations range from comfortable hotel rooms to fully staffed villas, and guests can enjoy almost 20 restaurants and bars. There are world-class facilities for polo, tennis and sporting clays and an extensive marina with its own shops and restaurants. On a cliff above the Chavon River lies Altos de Chavon, a recreation of a 16th-century Mediterranean village with more shops and restaurants.

Altos de Chavon overlooks Dye Fore’s Chavon Nine (3,790 yards), a windswept plateau that unfurls along a cliff edge dropping 300 feet to the river below. Five greens lie close to the precipice. The Marina Nine (3,877 yards) varies 150 feet in elevation, providing panoramas of the marina, the mouth of the river and the sea beyond. Aptly named, the Lagos Nine (3,763 yards) brings five lakes into play. The most challenging (and memorable) combination is Marina-Chavon, with its 76.7/138 rating/slope — and the Chavon Nine is the most dramatic. But any combo will leave you wanting a replay of all three, in any order.

CHAVON NINE
HOLE 1
616 yards, par 5
Most rounds start with Marina Nine, so this hole is usually played as the 10th. As scenic as the Marina Nine is, nothing really prepares you for the visual impact of this hole, a prelude of what is to come. Climbing stone and timber steps to one of the conical tee boxes is like ascending a Mayan pyramid, and the view is worth the climb. If you turn and look back down river, Altos de Chavon stands on the cliff like a mirage of an ancient village. In the other direction, looking toward the mountains, the course sprawls before you, with its dramatic drop on the right to the river 300 feet below. The fairway is invitingly wide off the tee, but the river gorge nips in from the right in the second landing area, and the green lies uncomfortably near the drop-off.

HOLE 3
232 yards, par 3
The river valley wraps around the right side and back of this infinity green. It’s a long hole, and drives must carry a brush-filled ravine and stick on the putting surface. Two right-side bunkers on the cliff edge offer cold comfort but do prevent a lost ball. Landing in either of the bunkers on the left sets up a tricky sand shot toward the abyss behind the green.

HOLE 6
204 yards, par 3
The green of this compelling par 3 shares the >knob of land with the third green but presents a different challenge. Three terraces cascade toward the cliff, with a modest green perched at the far end of the middle level and slanting toward the cliff. Three bunkers line the edge of the lowest tier, a last line of defense against balls bound for the river. This is a spectacular hole, one of the most memorable on Dye Fore.

MARINA NINE
HOLE 4
495 yards, par 4
Wind poses an ever-present challenge on the Marina Nine, especially this signature hole (ranked No. 1) which sweeps left along the river gorge while descending 100 feet to a green open in front but ringed by bunkers on both sides and dropping off at the back.

HOLE 5
497 yards, par 4
This fairway also doglegs left above the Chavon River, threading into a bunker-lined chute leading to a left-sloping green. The view of the marina and ocean beyond is great, but this hole will require concentration.

LAGOS NINE
HOLE 6
582 yards, par 5
Ranked second-hardest on this nine, the dogleg right runs along a waste bunker and lake. It’s tempting to cut a bit off the corner, but it’s at the risk of falling short into rocks and bouncing into the water.

HOLE 7
205 yards, par 3
The green of this par 3 lies across a lake with a shore lined by craggy boulders. Landing short is not an option unless you aim for the bail-out area to the left of the putting surface.