PGA Ocean's 4 Golf

I'd certainly have given this course four stars had all the holes been in good shape and the the grow-in complete. Still, the round there was most enjoyable, if not for the ocean views alone, which is a common theme in the Dominican Republic. Overall, there 's plenty to keep your interest. There's an island green par 3 and even a double green shared between the eight hole and 17th, right on the ocean. Unfortunately, the par-5 eighth might be a little too clever with some sort of natural area right in the middle of the fairway, pinching the landing area severely against the ocean. Our group thought that natural area should be severely reduced or eliminated entirely; the hole is hard enough as is, especially if the wind is up. Still, you can't help but love the atmosphere. All-in-all, La Romona is a worthy play in the Dominican and costs about half as much as the more expensive courses in the area.

After a morning round at Teeth of Dog at Casa De Campo, we thought we'd head down the road about 30 mins to check out the mysterious new course at the Bahia Principe.

First, the good: it's a brand new tournament-length course with four ocean holes. It's generally forgiving and pretty interesting. The second half of the back nine is especially interesting.

The course is still growing in and some greens, particularly those by the coastline, are basically all sand. So I'd give them a little time to let it grow in.

One of the four ocean holes, the par-5 8th, is a pretty brutal design. It's a split fairway and partially blind off the tee thanks to some shrubbery. The second shot from the fairway is blind too. I'm trying to comprehend how you'd botch the hole on the course with the most ocean frontage. Maybe one day they'll fix it.

Anyways, La Romana Golf Club (not to be confused with La Romana CC at Casa De Campo) has some good things going for it (we didn't have time to see the 9-hole short course, but that's really the only short course I know of in DR) and it should be a nice amenity for the emerging residential and resort community and provide coastal golf at a bargain compared to Teeth, Punta Espada and La Cana. Would I stray from Casa De Campo to play it? Probably not.

The island's newest course has real potential. It had been open less than a week when we played it. It was in good shape for a new course with the exception of the greens on the ocean - no. 7 and 16 and the double green on no. 8/17. They were sand-capped and unplayable. Hopefully they mature quickly.

The routing is solid with a nice island green par 3 at no. 3 and a really good short par 4 along the sea at no. 17. The par 5 at No. 8 is a real head-scratcher, though. Both sides of its split fairway are way too narrow. Players can aim at the fairway straight ahead along the sea, or attempt a blind shot over a stake up the left side. I'm guessing some changes will have to be made at some point to make it more fair for resort players. All in all, a nice addition to a destination loaded with seaside golf.