Casa De Campo
Dominican Republic
By Liz Palmer
C
asa De Campo, one of the
Caribbean’s legendary resorts,
boasts six restaurants and
three award-winning golf
courses, one being the top
golf course in the world, the Teeth
of The Dog. That’s just the beginning
and the Casa story tells the tale of
constant evolution and corporate
contribution.
Casa de Campo translated means
“homes from cropland,” and the real
beginning started in the late 1960s
with the success of the Gulf +
Western sugar mill operation at
La Romana.
Alvaro Carta operated the largest
producing mill in the world at the
time and was interested in investing
profits into impoverished parts of
the island. Alvaro Carta decided to
bring in designer Pete Dye to design
a hotel and golf course. Originally
the plans were drawn up for an area
just outside Santo Domingo, but Dye
focused on an area near the La
Romano Sugar Mill.
Dye started building an Executive
Course for the employees of the
Sugar Mill; in walking the Caribbean
coastline, he realized that a course
along the shore was something
special. This course was hand-built
by over 300 Dominicans. Coral rock
26