Grassing of Las Iguanas, a new golf course by Nicklaus Design in the Dominican Republic, is nearly complete.

The course was planned to open in the mid-2000s as part of the expansion of the Cap Cana development, which also includes the Nicklaus-designed PuntaEspada layout that opened in 2006, however, Las Iguanas was abandoned due to the 2008 financial crash and has sat dormant for over 15 years.

In 2023, the project was resurrected with Troy Vincent, senior design associate at Nicklaus Design, in charge of completing the course, which is located next to Punta Espada.

“Las Iguanas is going to be available for the public to use and very different to the private Punta Espada,” said Vincent. “The biggest difference is the number of ocean holes. At Punta Espada, there are eight while at Las Iguanas, we have the twelfth green touching the ocean, the par-three thirteenth playing alongside it and fourteen’s tees playing away from it.”

At Las Iguanas, there are 10 lakes, which were used to generate fill and help create contouring on the fairways and greens.

“There is plenty of room off the tee, but the shot into the green is where the challenge lies,” said Vincent. “In addition to the contouring, a lot of the greens are protected by bunkers.”

A unique feature at Las Iguanas is a bluff that comes into play on some holes.

“It is visible behind the seventeenth green and is on the left side of the par-five eighteenth,” said Vincent. “You also tee off it on ten. This kind of natural feature can be difficult to design for, especially in the Caribbean.

“We demonstrated similar design skills for holes twelve to fourteen, as there’s a lake running along the right side that connects to the ocean. When you do it right and take advantage of what natures gives you, you can create something unique.”

The only routing change from the original plan comes at holes five and six, with that area now marked for development purposes. This has enabled Nicklaus Design to take advantage of a different area on the property that has a natural wetland.

“We have also toned down some elements as we thought some of the shaping was a bit too  strong for the type of golfers that will be playing it,” said Vincent. “The principal challenge will be the wind. Ten is a great example – a short par four with a decent sized 36 fairway bunker on the inside of the dogleg and a greenside bunker front and centre. You’re going to have to throw a shot up in the air, and depending on what the wind is doing that day, it could be a challenge.”

Grassing is nearly complete on nine holes, with Pure Dynasty seeded paspalum from Atlas Turf International the chosen variety. “The reason we chose Pure Dynasty is to meet the schedule – we had a nursery but that is now gone,” said Vincent. “As an architect that has had the  opportunity to work with a number of different paspalums, I can say that Pure Dynasty has performed wonderfully, and I am thrilled with how the grow in process has gone.”;

Nine holes are expected to open for preview play in October 2024 with the goal to complete the course next year.