If you have been waiting to play Teeth of the Dog® — or if you played it years ago and have been meaning to return — 2026 is the year to book the tee time.
On March 13, 2026, Casa de Campo ®Resort & Villas officially reopened the Caribbean’s most famous golf course following an 11-month, $15 million restoration. The ceremony was attended by Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, Tourism Minister David Collado, and top executives from Central Romana Corporation, the ownership group behind Casa de Campo. Jerry Pate — the designer who led the restoration — was also present, alongside international golf figures, members of the press, and guests who had been eagerly waiting for news of the course’s return.
It was not a quiet ribbon cutting. It was a national moment. And the course it unveiled is, by every account from those who have played it since reopening, the best version of Teeth of the Dog in its 54-year history.
A Brief History of “The Dog”
To understand why the reopening matters, you need to understand what Teeth of the Dog is and what it means — not just to Casa de Campo®, but to Caribbean golf as a whole.
In 1969, Pete Dye was commissioned to build a golf course on a raw stretch of coral coastline near La Romana. The land was barren — too dry for sugarcane, too sparse for cattle. A crew of 300 Dominican laborers spent two years breaking through the coral by hand, using sledgehammers, pickaxes, and chisels, with almost no heavy machinery. When the coral cut through their hands and feet, they had a name for it already: diente del perro — teeth of the dog. Dye kept it.
The course opened in August 1971. Seven of its 18 holes ran directly along the Caribbean Sea — not near it, not overlooking it, but essentially built into it, with waves breaking against the coral a few yards from the fairway edge. Dye called it his personal favourite course and was famously self-deprecating about his own contribution: “I created eleven holes and God made seven.”
He was not just being modest about the ocean holes. He meant it. The seven holes along the water are unlike anything else in Caribbean golf — raw, exposed, wind-governed, and completely resistant to routine.
Dye’s connection to the course was personal as well as professional. He built a home beside the 7th fairway and spent winters in La Romana for decades, regularly walking the course and tweaking the design. When he passed in 2020 at age 94, his ashes were scattered behind the 8th green, next to a memorial plaque set into the coral. He is, in the most literal sense, part of the course he loved most.
Why the Course Closed — and What Was Done
In January 2025, Teeth of the Dog closed for the most comprehensive restoration in its history. The course had not undergone significant work in 15 years, and more than five decades of exposure to the Caribbean marine environment had taken their toll. The coral coastline, the salt air, the humidity, and periodic hurricane damage had degraded surfaces and infrastructure throughout.
Casa de Campo appointed Jerry Pate Design to lead the project — a meaningful choice. Jerry Pate, the 1976 US Open champion and respected course designer, was part of the original 1974 World Amateur Team Championship played at Teeth of the Dog® as a player. He knows the course. His brief was restoration, not reinvention: preserve Pete Dye’s original vision completely while giving the course the infrastructure it needs to last another half-century.
The scope of the restoration was significant:
Complete re-grassing with Dynasty Paspalum. The entire course — greens, fairways, and tee boxes — was re-grassed with Dynasty Paspalum, a high-performance grass engineered specifically for coastal, salt-air environments. Three inches of sand were added to the fairways before reseeding to improve playability, drainage, and irrigation. The result is a firmer, faster surface across all 18 holes that handles the Caribbean’s humidity and sea spray far better than the previous turf.
Rebuilt bunkers. Every bunker on the course was reconstructed. The characteristic Pete Dye aesthetic — sharp edges, steep faces, clean white sand — was preserved and in many places sharpened. New driftwood bunkering on the 2nd hole is a particular highlight. Drainage within bunkers has been significantly improved.
Restored green contours. The surrounding edges of all greens were returned to their original size as first designed by Dye, with some slight recontouring to restore the original strategic intent. The green complexes — already among the most demanding features of any Dye course — now play more consistently with truer roll and predictable ball behavior.
Widened and reinforced tee boxes. Tees across the course were widened, flattened, and reinforced with natural rock. A new back tee on the par-4 17th hole adds challenge for scratch players while the forward tee options remain generous.
Coastal engineering and drainage. Advanced techniques were applied to reinforce the shoreline along the seven ocean holes, protecting the course’s most exposed sections against long-term environmental damage. New drainage systems and irrigation were installed throughout. New cart paths with concrete curbing were built across the full 18 holes.
What the restoration did not change: the routing, the character, the strategic demands, or the ocean holes themselves. Pate’s approach, in his own words, was to “faithfully rebuild using modern techniques so the original design can live on for many decades to come.”
The Reopening Ceremony
The course reopened for resort play on December 7, 2025 — quietly at first, allowing early guests to experience the restored layout before the formal celebrations. The grand reopening ceremony was held March 8–11, 2026, with the official national ceremony on March 13, 2026.
President Luis Abinader cut the ribbon alongside David Collado (Minister of Tourism), Eduardo Sanz Lovatón (Minister of Industry and Commerce), José “Pepe” Fanjul Jr. (President of Central Romana Corporation), and Andrés Pichardo Rosenberg (President of Casa de Campo® Resort & Villas). The ceremony was blessed by Reverend Father Jorge Dionel Hernández of Santa Rosa de Lima Parish in La Romana.
Pichardo Rosenberg’s remarks at the ceremony set the tone for what the restoration represents: “Today we celebrate the preservation of a legend. This restoration had the vision and purpose of preserving the integrity of one of the most emblematic golf courses globally.”
Jason Kycek, Chief Marketing Officer at Casa de Campo®, put it plainly: “By preserving and elevating an iconic course like Teeth of the Dog®, we have ensured that Pete Dye’s genius and artistry remain intact while reaffirming our resort’s position in the highest echelons of world-class golf.”
The reopening also represents a broader moment for Dominican Republic tourism. Government officials framed the $15 million investment as part of the country’s strategy to position the DR as a leading luxury travel destination — not just the all-inclusive beach market dominated by Punta Cana, but the high-end golf and villa market where Casa de Campo® has always led.
What Players Are Saying
The verdict from golfers who have played the restored course since December is consistent: the course is in the best condition of its life.
GolfPass reviewer Tim Gavrich, writing in late March 2026, described it as “back and better than ever” — noting that the Dynasty Paspalum surfaces are noticeably firmer and truer than the previous turf, that the bunkers have a sharper, more demanding character in line with Dye’s original intent, and that the overall presentation of the course is crisper and more refined than before the closure.
The ocean holes — still exactly as Dye designed them — retain every element that made them famous. The wind still shifts. The coral is still there. The 5th tee still demands that you carry your shot over the Caribbean to a green that appears to float in the sea. The 16th still presents seven bunkers around a shallow green with the ocean behind the right edge. Nothing about the coastal drama has been softened, modernised, or compromised. What has changed is the quality of the surfaces you land on, the condition of the bunkers you must escape, and the consistency of the round from start to finish.
What It Means for Villa Guests at Casa de Campo®
For Caribbean Paradise Homes guests, the reopening of Teeth of the Dog® at full strength is significant news.
When the course was closed throughout 2025, we counselled golf-focused guests toward Dye Fore and The Links — both excellent Pete Dye courses in their own right — while noting that the flagship experience would return for 2026. That return is now complete.
Guests staying in villas at Casa de Campo® this season are playing a fully restored Teeth of the Dog® in peak condition, with Dynasty Paspalum surfaces throughout, rebuilt bunkers, and an infrastructure that will maintain this quality for the foreseeable future.
Demand is high. The reopening has drawn significant attention from golf travelers who waited out the restoration before booking their Casa de Campo® trip, and peak season tee times — particularly the early morning slots when Caribbean trade winds are at their calmest — are moving quickly.
How to Book
For Caribbean Paradise Homes villa guests: Contact Casa de Campo® Booking Tee website.
Green fees (2025–2026 season): $400-550 per person, including cart and driving range. The caddie is mandatory: $50 for 1–2 golfers, $80 for 3–4 golfers, with a minimum $25 gratuity per golfer payable in cash at the course. An 18% tax applies.
Advance booking: Tee times can be reserved up to 90 days ahead. For groups, 12 or more players require a 10% non-refundable deposit on confirmation.
Not yet booked your villa? Browse our Casa de Campo® villa collection or read our complete Teeth of the Dog® visitor guide for the full hole-by-hole breakdown, course strategy, and everything else you need to prepare for the round.
The legend is back. It was worth the wait.