Iberostar Bávaro

P.B. Dye was busy in the Bávaro area of Punta Cana; he refashioned Bávaro's oldest layout in 2010 – Lakes Barceló – having completed an original design a little further up the coast for the Iberostar Bávaro hotel the previous year. PB also fashioned La Cana in 2001, the first course at Punta Cana. PB has shaped the golfing scene at Punta Cana in the east almost as significantly as his late father determined the golfing landscape at La Romana in the south.

There’s a veritable plethora of golf courses from which to choose along Punta Cana's relatively short stretch of coastline. Between Punta Espada, the highly ranked Jack Nicklaus layout at Cap Cana in the southeast, to Hard Rock Cana Bay (another Nicklaus Design) to the northwest, you’ll find PB’s layout at the Iberostar Bávaro, which is set immediately adjacent to the Nick Price-designed course at Punta Blanca.

Located a little way inland from the Iberostar hotel complex, the course was cleverly shaped from a flat, rock-strewn landscape into an interesting Caribbean golfing challenge where lakes, streams and sandy waste areas combine to keep visitors and hotel guests on their toes. Golfers who want to be challenged can use the longest of the four tee boxes where the layout stretches to almost 6,800 yards.

An unusual starfish-shaped island green complex, surrounded by sand (rather than water) from tee to green, appears at the par three 8th. This hole will certainly remain etched in the memory bank and the green’s star shape (the hotel chain's logo) is a reminder, in case you needed one, that you’re playing an Iberostar resort course.