Discover Dominican Golf

By: Elisa Gaudet

Golf never looked so good, and the Dominican Republic is filled with many spectacular golf courses. Beginning with Casa de Campo in la Romana, it has been a playground of the rich and famous for years. Business moguls, presidents and celebrities have been bitten by the Caribbean golf bug after playing the famous “Teeth of the Dog” – one of Pete Dye’s most celebrated courses.

The country is now poised to explode with other golfing developments, including CapCana, Roco Ki and Punta Cana. These new luxury resorts will boast first-class golf along with spectacular ocean-front homes and marinas.

Casa de Campo recently hosted the third annual Funglode, an event that benefits the foundation started by President Leonel Fernandez. Funglode supports global democracy and development and is dedicated to the formulation of innovative solutions related to the fundamental issues of the Dominican Republic, such as health care, energy, technology, the movie business and other areas.

The Funglode golf tournament brings together leaders from a variety of industries which have a direct effect on the economic and social development of the Dominican Republic. Extremely accessible and brilliant, President Leonel Fernandez is dedicated to improving his country and has done so by encouraging initiatives like the Funglode and making the Dominican Republic the NAP of the Caribbean. (NAP – Network Access Point – involves Internet access and traffic centers: data, voice, image, video and all manner of digital telecommunications, in which telecommunications and applications companies take part.)

Golf is serving as the common language for many. This was demonstrated at the 2006 event, where Sammy Sosa, one of the Dominican Republic’s most celebrated baseball players and an honorary committee member, was on hand alongside industry leaders from Dubai, Spain, the U.S., England, Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Brazil. For the Dominican Republic, golf represents a premonition of what is to come in other areas of the country. We have watched the birth and progression of golf and, from this example, the future looks bright . . . or rather, green.

Elisa Gaudet brings a wealth of entertainment and golf experience to Cybergolf. Elisa has spent the past several years in the golf industry in the U.S., Latin America and Spain. She worked for the PGA Tour and the Tour de las Americas before founding Executive Golf International, a golf marketing company that works with clients to develop strategies using golf as the medium. Often referred to as the Maria Bartiromo (a business analyst for CNBC) of golf, Elisa says: “Golf, as a marketing tool, has been around for years. It’s amazing how many new ways companies can align their brand with the golf market to reach their target audience. Our goal is to create alliances and establish cross-border relations.” Elisa also worked in the entertainment industry for over 10 years, including five in Los Angeles as a model and actress. She can be seen at many celebrity golf events and often gets the inside scoop from PGA Tour players. For more information about Elisa, visit her websites at www.onthelip.com or Executive Golf International www.execgolfintl.com.

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