RIO SAN JUAN, Dominican Republic — On the 14th tee of the newly redesigned Playa Grande Club, architect Rees Jones backed off of his drive to survey the scene. The 14th is a short par 5 that runs north, turning right around bunkers before moving downhill to a green set diagonally on the shoreline. Jones turned to his guests, paused, then said, “You can see the ocean from every hole.”
An architect can go a long time, even an entire career, without getting a site like this – with 2.7 miles of frontage on the Atlantic Ocean. It’s not just the ocean views that make golf here along the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic so thrilling.