Dominican Republic recognized as the 2013 "Caribbean Golf Destination of the Year" by the IAGTO

The Dominican Republic was named the “2013 Golf Destination of the Year in the Caribbean and Latin America” by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) for a second time.

The honor was presented to the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism at the annual IAGTO convention held Nov. 12-15 in Vilamoura, Portugal.

There are so many great courses on the island - The Punta Espada Golf Club at Cap Cana, La Cana and Corales at Punta Cana Resort & Club, Teeth of the Dog and Dye Fore at Casa de Campo, Playa Dorada and Playa Grande - that I’m not surprised it won. Punta Espada, pictured above, is still an all-time favorite. Read my stories here and here. La Cana (read my story here) and Corales (read here) are awesome, too. My review of the entire Punta Cana resort can be found here.

But I am bit perplexed by the final outcome. The real winner probably should have been Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico was the Caribbean Island making news within the past year. It opened Royal Isabela, a scenic coastal stunner I haven’t seen yet, but both of my partners in crime, Brandon Tucker and Mike Bailey, have. Read Bailey’s thoughts here and Tucker’s here and here.

The rebirth of Dorado Resort - including the restoration of the famed East course and the construction of a new Ritz-Carlton Reserve - is another major feather in the tourism cap of the island. Pictured below is a wonderful Z-shaped par-5 on Dorado East. Click here and here to read my stories.

But to be honest, it doesn’t really matter which destination was honored. They’re both wonderful with numerous places to play. I can’t wait to set foot on either of them again and peg a tee in their lush, tropical soil.