Courtesy of the club
Courtesy of the club
TPC Dorado Beach: East
Dorado, Puerto Rico • Public
Overview
Now part of the vast TPC network, the East Course at Dorado Beach was one of the first courses of international acclaim, along with Villa Real in Cuba, Lyford Cay in the Bahamas and Jamaica’s Tryall, to be developed in the Caribbean—all four opened between 1957 and 1960. Long considered one of architect Robert Trent Jones’ masterpieces, the course was hacked out of tropical forests and mangrove swamps, wowing the golf world with one of its first looks at premium tropical golf. Most holes offer a view of the ocean and Trent Jones was able to place several greens on the beach, including that of the famous 13th, a short zig-zag par 5 that allowed players to cut across not one but two ponds to get home in two shots. Dorado Beach retains a wonderful old-Caribbean golf vibe even if the cadence of the holes are anticlimactic after the nines were swapped—the ground-breaking 13th is now played as the fourth.
