 |
| Puntacana Resort & Club: A Stellar Escape, On So Many Levels © Golf Girl Media |
 |
| Cathleen Hannigan @GolfGirlTwin |
You see, it's been just over a week since I returned from a paradisical Punta Cana getaway and the memories are still so fresh.
 |
| Corales Golf Club: A Championship Course in Paradise © Golf Girl Media |
In fact, as I was playing a windswept round on our local course a few days ago, my thoughts kept taking me back to the stunning breakers of Corales Golf Course: All of a sudden.... there I'd be... back on the terrace of the VIP lounge, sipping an excellent espresso and watching Web.com Tour pros confront Devil's Elbow ...that is, until a gust of icy wind knocked me back to the reality of New England.
 |
| The Web.com Tour's Colombia Championship Winner Ethan Tracy |
It was a thrill to attend the 2nd annual Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, and so exciting to watch the Web.com Tour pros tackle the spectacular seaside course. A Tom Fazio design, Corales is breathtaking... and Devil's Elbow, the beautiful, brutal final three holes, makes for a uniquely exciting finish.
In keeping with the excellence of the venue, The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship will be transitioning to a PGA tour event starting in March 2018. At the presser, where the official announcement was made, we learned about the orgins of this magical resort and heard the inspiring story of Frank Ranieri, the visionary Dominican businessman who patiently and responsibly developed Puntacana Resort & Club over many years, taking it from a swatch of beach and dense jungle, to what it is today: a multi-faceted, world class vacation destination encompassing a wide variety of resort and residential communities, all created with sustainable tourism in mind.
 |
| La Cana Golf Course: Challenging For Experts, But Playable For Beginners @ Golf Girl Media |
In addition to Corales, the resort is home to La Cana Golf Course; 27 holes with surfside tees and ocean views galor, and very playable, even by mere mortals such as myself, who would, I'm guessing, find the Devils Elbow... quite Hellish!
The thing is, outstanding golf is only one part of what makes this resort so wonderful. My stay at the superlative Westin Puntacana Resort & Club was sublime. Ocean view rooms on Playa Blanca beach and an expansive pool complex create the perfect setting for a family getaway...whether or not there's golf in the equation.
 |
| The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club: Warm Welcome to a World Class Resort @ Golf Girl Media |
Accomodations also include Four Points by Sheraton Puntacana Village, with it's myriad of shopping and dining venues, plus the fabulously luxurious, five diamond Tortuga Bay, an amazing 30 room boutique hotel designed by the late Oscar de la Renta.
As for dining... and drinking... the choices are endless. From casually elegant sand-in-your-toes beach bars like Playa Blanca ...serving a superlative cherveich... to the 4 star Bamboo, featuring an array of ultra-fresh, eclectic entrees, most of them created with local ingredients. This reflects the commitment to sustainability that is so important to Puntacana Resort, and which I got to experience first hand on a tour of the Ojos Indigenas Ecological Park where there are environmental projects of all sorts underway under the canopy of a lush green rainforest.
 |
| Tropical Fruit For Breakfast: Locally Sourced & Delicious @ Golf Girl Media |
Just then... I felt an icy rain begin to fall and found myself back in Connecticut on a chilly, gray golf course, whistfully pursuing my Puntacana daydreams.