Casa De Campo Resort & Villas
La Romana, Dominican Republic
A visit to Casa de Campo is the only way to comprehend its sheer size (7,000 acres), postcard beauty, and staff so friendly you’ll be snapping selfies with them the first day. This iconic Dominican Republic golf resort is approaching its 50th birthday, but it doesn’t show. Pete Dye’s famous Teeth of the Dog opened in 1971, and new ownership has invested heavily in its — and the entire property’s — longevity. What was old is new again, highlighted by the swanky new Minitas Beach Club just steps from the Caribbean. Exploring the expansive property is easy, as guests are handed the keys to their own four-seat golf cart upon check-in. The longest haul is out, and up, to Dye Fore, Dye’s 27-hole layout spread atop a bluff overlooking the Chavon River. For ease of access (and a warm-up round), the underrated Links course (renovated in 2012) winds through the interior of the resort and offers glimpses of the ocean. Casa de Campo’s crescendo is Teeth of the Dog. Seven holes play hard along the Caribbean, while the remaining 11 wind through groves of coconut palms and cashew trees. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Club Karibana Cartagena
Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia
As a major port city in Colombia, Cartagena has a lot of scenic coastal land, very little of which has been set aside for golf. A rare exception is this swish retreat, home to Colombia’s only seaside course. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the routing features a front nine that winds through lakes and mangroves-covered wetlands and a back nine that spills alongside the Caribbean, with stunning views of turquoise waters. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Dorado Beach, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico
An original Rockefeller resort when it opened in the ’50s, Dorado Beach partnered with Ritz-Carlton in 2018 to become the only Ritz-Carlton Reserve in the Western Hemisphere. The RTJ-designed tracks — Sugarcane and East — have long been the calling card for golf vacationers in Puerto Rico. The resort takes guest experiences to another level — an elite one. The food is exquisite, thanks to top chef Mario Pagan. And indicative of the resort’s one-of-a-kind offerings is the spa’s treehouse-like massage setting. Be sure to make time to see the five-bedroom Su Casa, an original, restored 1920s villa on the 50-acre property. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
If you’re drawn to the notion of sleeping in a tropical rain forest (without the bugs, snakes and heat), Papagayo is for you. On a hillside perch overlooking the dreamy blues of the Pacific, you can indulge in spectacular Four Seasons hospitality in the midst of a vibrant rain forest. Your private balcony will serve up spectacular tree-lined scenery along with views of the Blanca or Virador Beach. Many rooms have private hammocks for an upscale rain-forest sleeping adventure. A seven-minute ride away is the Arnold Palmer designed par-72 course with dramatic elevation changes and huge rolling fairways. Watch out for the cheeky monkeys who might try to snatch your ball. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Four Seasons Resort Nevis
Charlestown, Nevis, West Indies
In the 16th century, Spanish explorers named the island Nuestra Señora de Las Nieves (Our Lady of the Snow) in honor of clouds that reminded them of snow. This just in: it doesn’t snow on Nevis. The tropical climate allows for year-round golf, and this lavish resort is a fine place to play it. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the course stretches through lush terrain between the coast and the base of Nevis Peak, where billowy clouds still gather like snow drifts but the flaky stuff itself does not fall. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Llao Llao Hotel & Resort
San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
In geographic terms, Patagonia is a region at the southern tip of South America. In more colloquial lingo, it is shorthand for unspoiled natural beauty, a vast swath of virgin territory rippled with mountains and dotted with lakes, including the crystalline waters that ring this remote resort. Accommodations here are rustic-chic, the guest rooms lined with native hardwoods. And the golf course is at one with its surroundings, with sweeping views of water and snow-capped peaks. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Mukul Resort
Guacalito De La Isla, Nicaragua
If you had to distill it to a single sentence, you might note that this resort, on Nicaragua’s Emerald Coast, was built by Don Carlos Pellas, the billionaire owner of Flor de Cana rum. But that wouldn’t give the full flavor of the place. You’d also want to mention that the property spreads across 1,670 acres and provides the kind of quiet luxury that makes you feel as if you’ve got the whole place to yourself. Natural beauty extends everywhere, from the inland mountains, carpeted in forest, to the crescent curve of a white-sand coast, but also on a brilliant David McLay-Kidd course that closes with one of the world’s most photogenic holes: a par 3 with a green set directly on the beach. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Puntacana Resort & Club
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
A resort town on the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana is said to be the second-most popular tourist destination in Latin America. Though that’s hard to confirm, there’s no doubt it draws a crowd. A big part of the allure are the 45-holes of first-rate island golf that anchor this expansive resort, 27 of which were designed by P.B. Dye. The other 18 were built by Tom Fazio, whose Corales Course is the first course in the D.R. to host a PGA Tour event. A championship test for the pros, it makes an exhilarating playground for golfers of all levels, with a closing stretch known as the Devil’s Elbow that — true to its name — bends diabolically along the sea. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Rosewood Bermuda
Hamilton Parish, Bermuda
A $25 million renovation in 2018 elevated the luxuriousness of this resort on the colorful island of Bermuda. Elegant rooms with charming British touches look out onto the island’s largest private beach. The resort’s golf offering — Tucker’s Point Golf Course — was built by Charles Bank in 1932 but overhauled by Roger Rulewich in 2002. Its 1930s roots are reflected in numerous blind shots (study the GPS screen in your cart carefully!), and the fairways can get narrow, so bring an extra sleeve or two. You won’t soon forget two par 4s: the ninth, where the approach requires a carry over a huge chasm, and the 17th, with its views of both the ocean and the group of houses known as Millionaire’s Row in Tucker’s Town. Kids can learn the game via Junior Golf Academy sessions, or head out on the course in a special family cart that accommodates a foursome and four sets of clubs. There’s also a family-friendly layout near the resort’s tennis courts, with holes from 20-50 yards. [LEARN MORE HERE]
