La Cana Golf Club - no. 18
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La Cana Golf Club - no. 18
Like many of the best courses in the Dominican Republic Puntacana Resort's La Cana Golf Club has plenty of ocean views. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf Club - no. 1
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La Cana Golf Club - no. 1
If you play the Tortuga-Arrecife combination of nines at La Cana Golf Club, the first hole is a comfortable 368-yard par 4, but it does have an usual feature. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf Club - no. 1
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La Cana Golf Club - no. 1
Just to the right of the first green is a cenota, or sinkhole, filled with water. Hit in there, and your recovery might be difficult. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf Club - no. 5
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La Cana Golf Club - no. 5
Among the picturesque par 3s at La Cana is the 154-yard fifth, located right next to the ocean. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf Club - no. 12
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La Cana Golf Club - no. 12
The par 3 12th at La Cana Golf Club has an island green. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf Club - no. 16
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La Cana Golf Club - no. 16
Hit you drive a little left on the par 4 16th at La Cana Golf Club, and you can find yourself blocked out by a large stone. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf Club - no. 17
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La Cana Golf Club - no. 17
The par-4 17th is one of a half dozen holes at La Cana right on the ocean. Mike Bailey/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf Club - no. 18 tee shot
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La Cana Golf Club - no. 18 tee shot
At La Cana Golf Club, the Caribbean is your backdrop on the 18th tee. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf Club - no. 18
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La Cana Golf Club - no. 18
The par-5 18th is a good risk-reward par 5, but there are plenty of bunkers as well as the ocean to avoid on the way to the green. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
La Cana - beach
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La Cana - beach
La Cana has its own private beach club that golfers can enjoy after their round. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
Spa at La Cana
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Spa at La Cana
The Six Senses Spa has a full menu of massage treatments after golf at La Cana. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf Club - No. 1
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La Cana Golf Club - No. 1
Big waste bunkers are common throughout La Cana's P.B. Dye design. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
La Cana Golf - small bunker
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La Cana Golf - small bunker
The small bunkers are very small on La Cana. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
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Puntacana Resort & Club's La Cana Golf Club boasts oceanfront value and a member-for-the-day vibe

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic -- Punta Cana is certainly a hotbed for great golf in the Dominican Republic and La Cana Golf Club, which has around a half dozen holes on the Caribbean Sea, certainly contributes to that notion.

La Cana might be not be quite as spectacular as its big brother course at Puntacana Resort & Club, PGA Tour host Corales Golf Club, but it offers golfers plenty of eye candy and enjoyable holes during their rounds there.

Designed by P.B. Dye, the course is actually 27 holes and in line for some modifications, but the most popular combination is the Tortuga-Arrecife combination of 18 holes, with both of those layouts bumping up against the ocean. The first really good view comes on the par-3 fifth, a treacherous 157-yard hole that plays over beach and rocks with the surf to the right to a well-protected green.

Some of the inland holes are quite interesting as well, like the first on the Tortuga Course, which has cenota, or sinkhole, filled with water, to the right of the green. The 12th is a par-3 with a mostly island green, while the 17th and 18th are terrific finishing holes with the water on the left. The par-5 18th is a risk-reward par 5, and those going for it in two have to thread their way over and through a foreboding series of bunkers, not to mention avoid going left into the sea.

And unlike Corales, which is the host of the PGA Tour's new Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, you don't have to stay at the resort to play La Cana Golf Club.

In addition to the golf, La Cana also offers two dining options, pool and a spa. Those who book a tee time can spend all day enjoying the amenities at the club, like the private beach and pool.


Staff course reviews of La Cana Golf Club: Jason Scott Deegan | Mike Bailey | Brandon Tucker


Mike Bailey is a former Golf Advisor senior staff writer based in Houston. Focusing primarily on golf in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America with an occasional trip to Europe and beyond, he contributes course reviews, travel stories and features as well as the occasional equipment review. An award-winning writer and past president of Texas Golf Writers Association, he has more than 25 years in the golf industry. He has also been on staff at PGA Magazine, The Golfweek Group and AvidGolfer Magazine. Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeBaileyGA and Instagram at @MikeStefanBailey.
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Puntacana Resort & Club's La Cana Golf Club boasts oceanfront value and a member-for-the-day vibe