Dominican Republic Project for Greg Norman Golf Course Design

By Brian Weis

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Greg Norman Golf Course Design (GNGCD) has announced a new design project in Santo Domingo slated for completion in late 2019.

Vistas del Pedregal Golf & Country Club broke ground in fall 2018 and at completion will encompass an 18-hole, par-72, 7,225-yard course, world-class learning centre and short game complex.

Located in the heart of the Dominican Republic, the course is nestled in the mountainous area of Santo Domingo surrounded by majestic tropical forests featuring dramatic elevation changes and panoramic views.

GNGCD, a Full Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation, has preserved the integrity of the land by developing the natural flow of the topography and incorporating the rich variety of native vegetation and natural surrounds into the golf landscape, enhancing strategy and playability at every hole.

The environmentally sustainable design focuses on a least disturbance approach and regeneration of the existing landscape, including the care and enhancement of creeks and streams and rescue of endemic flora with reinsertion back into the micro-systems of the project.

Particular considerations will be made for the maintenance of the course with use of organic products and an automated irrigation system that focuses on optimal water use and the demands of energy and natural resources. The course will be grassed with Latitude Bermuda on fairways, roughs and tees and Tif-Eagle Bermuda on greens. Bulk earth works and Rainbird irrigation are well under way.

"We have created a unique golfer experience at every hole at Vistas del Pedregal by working with what Mother Nature gave us. This approach bleeds into the overall philosophy of the entire development," said Greg Norman. "I am honoured to have the opportunity to leave a unique fingerprint in the Dominican Republic and enable future generations to experience the benefits of what an integrated golf and country club can offer."

Marcos Malespin, President of Vistas del Pedregal Golf & Country Club, said: "Vistas del Pedregal is one-of-a-kind in the Dominican Republic, born with the purpose of giving added value to the traditional concept of social and sports clubs.

"Greg Norman Golf Course Design is a world-class partner and adds tremendous value to the project. We are thrilled to have Greg and his team on-board."

This is the firm's first design in the Dominican Republic. GNGCD has opened 105 courses internationally, six of which are included in the 2018-2019 Golf Digest 'World's 100 Greatest' rankings: New South Wales GC (Australia,18), Ellerston (Australia, 31), The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip (Vietnam, 35), Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth Course (UAE,82), Danang Golf Club (Vietnam, 94) The National Moonah Course (Australia, 98).

Revised: 03/05/2019 - Article Viewed 12,538 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.