Guavaberry Golf Course

 

Guavaberry Golf Course presented by Guide to Golf in the Dominican Republic:

Excellent layout in beautiful settings. A golf course that will suit players at most levels depending on what tee box the player chooses when playing.

 

The beautiful 7,156-yard par-72 Guavaberry Golf Course is sensitively blended into the landscape bordering a tropical forest and nature preserve. The course is as beautiful as it is challenging.

The black championship tees offer the greatest challenge. There is a 936-yard difference between the middle white tees (11-20 Hcp) and black tees (scratch golfer) -- the sight lines are quite different and the penalty for missing a landing area can be quite ruthless.

There are a few holes that require some sharp, short iron play to avoid a big number and still others that offer birdie opportunities. The greens are quite true for such a young course and, as is the case with courses in this environment, they should become even more consistent with time.

If you get hot with the putter you can score well here. Failing that, you’ll need to hit a straight shot. There are some forgiving fairways; however, in width and reach, this course is a ball graveyard for the scatter golfer and will only become more so as the flora matures.

Hole 6, for instance, has trees growing in on the right side that will eventually change the view from the tee and also affect the sight lines for the approach shot.

With the splendor of the tropical flora, blue skies, and consistent Caribbean breezes, this is a highly enjoyable course to play. It caters to every golfer’s whim with five sets of tees, smartly-crafted waste bunkers, and some inviting looks that seem to inspire the golfer to take a shot at scoring on every hole.

Watch out for the coral rock formations, especially on Hole 9. Also, notably, the closing 18th has a massive coralline garden on the right flank with the fairway tilting precariously in that direction as well. Its exposure to a strong and steady ocean breeze pushes even a straight drive to the right.

This ending hole is a true score killer. Even a strong drive will leave the second shot in question as the direct line to the hole will require an accurate long iron over the coralline corner, through a strong wind and over a protective bunker in front of the smallish green.

There is ample room to the right and back of the green though, indicating Gary Player doesn’t have a heart of coralline. This additional room around the green is a consistent aspect throughout the course and invites all players to try to score as much as to play.

Guavaberry Golf Course is designed by Gary Player and opened in 2002.

 

Hole by hole description of the Guavaberry Golf Course

 

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 1 • Par 4 • 417 yards
The first hole at Guavaberry is a classic opening hole with a broad fairway and a small, softly rolling green protected by three sand traps. Keep your drive in the 75 yards. of width between the palm trees and you will have a clean shot to the green and a good chance at scoring. This hole has over 50 Coroso Palms protecting both sides of the fairway and the backside of the green.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 2 • Par 4 • 440 yards
With over 200 feet of open width at the landing area, golfers should have no trouble finding their tee shot here. However, as with many of the holes at Guavaberry, the second shot presents a challenge, as well as an opportunity. A good drive will leave the golfer 140-180 yards from this small, undulating green that is well protected by bunkers on the right and left, but with ample room behind.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 3 • Par 5 • 553 yards
Consider taming any confidence created on the first two holes. This tee shot is slightly uphill to a fairway protected on the right by a large stand of Coroso Palms. If you drive the ball far enough off the tee, and the wind is calm, you can try to reach the green with a strong and accurate second shot. However, to accomplish this you will need to skirt the lake and a long fairway bunker that guard the left side of this hole. In addition you will need to stop the ball quickly after clearing the small berms on the front side of the green. Golfers that are successful with this difficult shot could have a putt for eagle. If you stay to the right with your second shot you will gain a clear view of the flat green, taking the bunker and water out of play.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 4 • Par 3 • 192 yards
Another unusual feature of Guavaberry are the large waste bunkers. The tees and the green on the 4th seem to spring out of a vast waste bunker. Land here and you’ll face a sand shot to the green 6-7 feet above the ball. There is a sizable short cut landing area before the green that can save par if you are short off the tee.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 5 • Par 4• 404 yards
This hole is one of the most gentle on the course, with a wide fairway that softly undulates and rolls to the green. #5 also illustrates the drastic differences in sight lines from the black championship tees to the forward white tees. A huge waste bunker sits in front of the black tees forcing a strong drive. Stay middle-right. Another large bunker protecting the green on the left will require splendid sand skills to get out of. The obvious is that long and straight shots are highly rewarded.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 6 • Par 4• 437 yards
This hole rises from the elevated tees to the landing area where the left side is well guarded by sand traps that must be avoided. The green is well protected by another bunker and a series of bumps, swales, and grass hollows around the green. The second shot on this hole will be one of the most difficult on the front nine as the landing and access areas get very narrow closer to the green. Stay away from the purple bougainvilleas on the right side of the green, there are no recovery shots from here.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 7 • Par 3• 157 yards
This is a fairly short and easy par 3, unless you go left. Two deep bunkers guard the left side of this green and will challenge even the best sand players. Miss long, or to the right, and you can still make par.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 8 • Par 5 • 575 yards
A monster, the longest hole on the golf course. The central feature of this hole is the large bunker that bisects the first and second fairways and then splits the second landing area in half. Stay right and locate your spot to land the second shot on the right side landing area - and you are still faced with a mid iron to green. Hit the ball poorly and it will be difficult to reach the large green in three shots.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 9 • Par 4• 405 yards
The tees on nine are elevated and built upon a large mound of coralline that also serves as a bunker that must be cleared into an expansive landing area. The best second shots on this hole are from the right side of the fairway with a clear view to the green.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 10 • Par 5 • 542 yards
This par 5 looks much easier than it will play. The bunkers on the left side will force a big recovery shot if you find one off the tee. Stay safely to the right on this narrow fairway and you will have plenty of room for a long iron shot to a green that measures 6,000 square feet. Stay out of the bunker to the left of the green or you will be extricating yourself from a very deep trap. Many of the greens at Guavaberry are relatively small, placing a premium on accurate iron play.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 11 • Par 4 • 445 yards
Likely the most difficult hole on the golf course, this unforgiving par 4 doglegs left and will test any golfers game. The 3 fairway bunkers on the left side of this hole are to be avoided or you will have a very difficult time making par. Get the drive safely on the fairway and the second shot is a long iron or fairway wood of 190-210 yards to a large undulating green that will test any golfers skill with a putter.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 12 • Par 4 • 406 yards
This hole is not long, but accuracy off the tee is an advantage as the best place to position your drive is just to the left of the large fairway bunker on the right side. The green is very reachable but is well protected by a sand trap in the front center of the green and a steep grass faced slope that abuts the left edge of the putting surface. Pin placement and drive accuracy are critical.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 13 • Par 3 • 146 yards
Hole 13 is the Gary Player signature hole and is shaped around a small quarry. The dual greens are separated by a stream that cascades 2,000 gallons of water minute off the rock wall into a lake in the bottom of the quarry. Golfers will face a different challenge each day on this hole depending on the wind, which set of tees they are playing from, and the pin location on the dual greens. Accuracy and ball control are critical as being short is not an option and being long is not recommended.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 14 • Par 4 • 345 yards
This is the shortest par 4 on the golf course, and will be a welcome break for golfers before they play the difficult finishing holes. A straight carry over the right side of the large waste bunker on the left of the fairway will put you in an excellent position to attack the green from the generous landing areas, just stay away from the small pot bunker in front of the green and a birdie is a possibility.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 15 • Par 3 • 155 yards
Beautiful simplicity; either land the ball on the island green in the middle of a 3-acre pond or tee it up again. Correct club selection is crucial on #15 as the wind is a major factor. There is a small and playable trap on the front left side, but nothing to catch shots flying the green. Perhaps the most beautiful hole on the course in the early morning.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 16 • Par 4 • 431 yards
This dog-leg right is cut right out of the existing tropical forest and offers an imposing tee shot over a small field of coralline for the golfers on the back tees. Regardless of where you tee up from, club selection is important, as you should be aiming to set up your approach shot, so avoid going long and cutting the corner on the right. There is ample room around the green so if your drive gives you a clear look at the green, attack it. If you’re feeling gutsy, try and carry the bunkers on the right and you can score here.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 17 • Par 5 • 560 yards
At 560 yards this is the longest hole on the back nine. However, there is ample space in the landing areas, golfers just have to keep the ball out of the 8 bunkers that line both the right and left sides of this hole. Two clean shots and a short iron will get you to a subtle green where making par - or even birdie - is possible.

Guavaberry Golf Course Hole 18 • Par 4 • 482 yards
Eighteen will be one of the most challenging finishing holes you will have ever played. It features one of the most unique hazards ever designed. From the tee, golfers will notice a large area of exposed coral rock to the right that was pushed off the ocean floor some 200,000 years ago.

If golfers are successful in landing the ball on the grass in the center of the landing area - which also slopes towards the coral - they have a shot of approximately 200 yards over the natural rock hazard that separates the landing area from the green. This is no simple task as there are 2 large waste bunkers in front that are to be avoided at all costs, long and right is safer. Reaching this green will require a great second shot and a par will be a very good score. Like most of the holes, the wind also plays a role in club selection and aim.

In the final analysis Guavaberry golf course provides 18 great golf holes carved from a totally native landscape filled with indigenous plants yet maintaining an ecologically sensitive and dramatic landscape. Each hole is slightly different, but connected by repeated themes of rock, gently undulating greens, native plants, wide fairways, several sets of tees, tropical birds, and large waste bunkers. Guavaberry is a challenging yet fair golf course. As it matures, it is sure to accrue additional challenges.