Adam,
I don't remember that comment of Ran's about #6 or#17. But for the 6th at least, the fairway is a mile wide and the further you play safe to the right and up the hill, the longer is the second shot on what is a long par 4. So, hugging the left side of the fairway provides some reward of a shorter second. The green is also more receptive from the left side than the right. The line is not over the coral rock (not concrete) wall, it's over the bunker to the right of the wall. But there is some advantage and some risk to that line.
Art,
I guess I'm one who was less impressed with Dye Fore. Each to their own. I thought the front nine was generally uninspiring. The back was a lot better, but it was no TOD. Perhaps if you like cliffs in play rather than oceans .....
Wayne,
Thanks for the explanation. I guess, given your distaste for desert and now the best of the Caribbean courses, that you must be generally a parkland course aficionado. As for the layout, it is basically two loops along the coast line. The loops certainly give variety in how the prevailing winds affect each hole. I, for one, like the ocean in play, either in parallel or to be played across, rather than behind a green.
I found most if not all of the hole at the TOD memorable. There aren't many more memorable holes in the world than the ocean holes. Different strokes.
Interesting thought about the difficulty of tie-ins to the ocean. It doesn't offend my eye. Would the same not hold true for cliffs and mountains or desert? Or any water feature?
I guess you're not a fan of 18 at PB either with all that faux rockery protecting the coast side of the hole.
Perhaps you should give it another try when the course is not recovering from a hurricane and you have lower expectations about the resort, the caddies, and the drive in from Santo Domingo.