Today, Friday the 29th of August 2012, the Teeth of the Dog Golf course has re-opened – 1 week after the “passing” of Tropical Storm Isaac brought destructive waves crashing over tee boxes, greens and bunkers. (Click here for our amazing photos of the waves!)
The Teeth of the Dog is now OPEN again!
All 18 holes of the Teeth of the Dog are now open and ready for play! However, the “upper greens” on holes #5 and #8 are being played rather than the oceanside greens, where reparations continue.
Teeth of the Dog, hole #8 “upper green”
We applaud the Casa de Campo golf department for their skill and efficiency with which the Teeth of the Dog was restored! Congratulations Casa de Campo golf department!
Here we bring you the incredible reparation story of the Teeth of the Dog:
On Saturday morning the 25th of August, 2012, following the relentless onslaught of waves caused by the storm surge associated with Tropical Storm Isaac – the Teeth of the Dog golf course was in a bit of a mess. The oceanside holes were littered with debris and on many holes serious erosion damage had caused parts of greens, tee boxes and bunkers to completely disappear.
Debris littered the fairway of hole #8, Teeth of the Dog
But by far the most impressive sight on Saturday morning was the dedicated team of Costasur maintenance workers, who by 7am (whilst waves were still crashing against the rocks), began the “clean-up” job so efficiently that by the end of the day most of the debris was already completely cleared and all that remained was the reparation of the areas damaged by erosion.
Early morning “clean-up” on hole #8, Teeth of the Dog
To find out a little bit more about this impressive “clean-up” operation we spoke to Gilles Gagnon, the Director of Golf at Casa de Campo, who told us all about the damage and the work involved to fix it. Over to Gilles:
@cdcliving: Which holes sustained the worst damage and why?
Gilles Gagnon: Hole #8 took a beating, we lost part of the front and the back of the green. Back tee on #8 was almost gone and the bunkers on the ocean side of holes # 5 and # 7 needed to be redone. When the waves hit at full force right next to a green we have no chance.
Missing sand – bunker surrounding hole #7, Teeth of the Dog
@cdcliving: How would you describe the damage to the Teeth of the Dog golf course?
Gilles Gagnon: Manageable, I have seen worse. In the past we have lost the entire green on #5 & #8.
@cdcliving: We’ve heard that this damage was worse than when Hurricane Georges passed right through Casa de Campo – is that true?
Gilles Gagnon: No I would not say that, but there was lots of damage considering this was only a tropical storm. This time the waves were coming right at us, with George it lasted longer but the waves were coming sideways. With Hurricane Georges, the wind did most of the damage, but this time it was the ocean that did the damage.
A forklift truck was used to clear the largest pieces debris
@cdcliving: What is the process for dealing with this kind of damage?
Gilles Gagnon: The paspalum grass is a big help because it can take the salt, if it was bermuda grass at least three greens would be gone. First we clean up, next you evaluate the damage and go from there.
@cdcliving: What is the process for reconstructing the damaged greens and tee boxes?
Gilles Gagnon: The tees are easier, you check the irrigation, build the walls back up, bring in sand, make sure it is level and plant. For the greens you have to make sure you try to reproduce the slopes and contours so it looks very similar to the way it was.
Damaged green, hole #8, Teeth of the Dog
@cdcliving: The “clean-up” op was very impressive – you must be very proud of your team?
Gilles Gagnon: The maintenance crew did an amazing job. By midday on Sunday the 8th green was all cleaned up and we were ready to repair the damages from erosion.
I have been at Casa de Campo for 31 years, I have seen lots of storms, lots of damage caused by these storms and the men under the direction of Nunez Malena are the best at handling this situation. We should be very proud to have them.
@cdcliving: Now that the Teeth of the Dog is reopen will it be completely returned to normal?
Gilles Gagnon: The Teeth of the Dog has been in a few dog fights before, you will see a few scars for a while but in the next few weeks you won’t be able to tell. You have to expect things like that when 4 greens are next to the water at sea level and 3 holes are only maybe 20 feet above the water level.
THANK YOU to Gilles Gagnon, Director of Golf at Casa de Campo for answering our questions.
Gilles Gagnon, Director of Golf
Gilles Gagnon has been working for the Casa de Campo golf department for more than 30 years, arriving when the resort had just one golf course; “The Teeth of the Dog”, which just celebrated it’s 40th anniversary and which is Gilles personal favorite golf course to play. In his role as Director of Golf for the Casa de Campo Golf Department, Gilles is in charge of the entire golf operation.
Over the years, Gilles has overseen the opening of 3 new Pete Dye designed golf courses, as well as successfully creating numerous golf tournaments and events, such as the Casa de Campo Open, which last year celebrated it’s 30th anniversary and one of the best golf events in the Caribbean; the Caribbean Classic. Casa de Campo and her famous golf courses have become much more than just a job for Gilles Gagnon, for this golfing fanatic, Casa de Campo golf is his home, his obsession and his passion and one which he is quiet rightly very proud of.
Remember the Teeth of the Dog has now been completely restored and re-opened, but the following images show the damage sustained on the various oceanside holes of the Teeth of the Dog golf course:
(NOTE: all damage has all now been completely cleared up!)
Middle teebox on hole #8, Teeth of the Dog
Back teebox on hole #8, Teeth of the Dog
Missing sand – bunker surrounding hole #5, Teeth of the Dog
Debris and driftwood across the ladies teebox, hole #6, Teeth of the Dog
Bunker and green damage, hole #8, Teeth of the Dog
Casa de Campo Golf
Casa de Campo’s first golf course, Pete Dye’s masterpiece, the Teeth of the Dog, was opened more than 40 years ago in 1971 thus beginning the transformation of Casa de Campo, from rural seaside retreat to a world-class golf destination, otherwise known as the “World’s Leading Golf Resort.”
Spanish
