Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 15

courses, and it would rarely be disappointing.
But here's a surefire checklist
of five Nicklaus tracks in Mexico that
will be eye-opening for any golfer.
It all started with the Palmilla Golf
Club (palmillagc.com) in San Jose del
Cabo, which opened in 1992-93 and
put the area on the resort map. It has
since become a magnet for golf, fishing,
luxury hotels and high-end residential
communities. It's worth reflecting that
before Nicklaus began moving dirt here,
about 5,000 rounds of golf were played
yearly on the area's one nine-hole municipal
course (which still exists), and
five flights a day came into Cabo. Now
daily inbound flights are up to 100 even
in summer, and annual rounds are measured
in the hundreds of thousands.
The 27-hole routing at Palmilla may
have been surpassed by subsequent
Nicklaus designs, but not enough to
push it off the must-play list. Add the
Troon-managed course to the want-tostay
coupling at the One&Only Palmilla
resort-a virtual last word in lotus-eating
glamor along one of the best swimmable
beaches in the area-and the deal
is sealed.
The intrigue at Palmilla is the differing
character of the three nines. The Arroyo
and Mountain nines came first, proving
so popular that Nicklaus returned to
add the Ocean nine in 1997. All are aptly
named, though we're basically talking
desert golf in all cases (Cabo has always
put out a West Coast vibe), with only
the par-4 third hole on the Ocean nine
reaching down to the Sea of Cortez, albeit
in stunning manner.
That the Ocean Course at the Cabo
del Sol (cabodelsol.com) residential resort
community has seven seaside holes
is what elevated it to the top of the Nicklaus
international rankings list after its
1994 opening, and it has remained his
top-rated Mexican course ever since
(though Quivira is now giving it a serious
chase). It's difficult to say what is
more spectacular here-the routing of
the course or the scenic backdrop. As a
package it's irresistible, and makes one's
camera an essential piece of equipment.
But with cliffside tee shots over sandy
coves, doglegs around craggy outcroppings
and what Nicklaus called the best
three-hole stretch in his portfolio (1618),
players had best pay attention to
what they're doing.
As good as the course and its home
stretch were, Nicklaus returned in 2010
to polish the gem, reworking holes five
through seven to produce a remarkable
three-hole span, including the back-toback
par-3s at six and seven, the latter
playing right down to the beach. (Other
critics have called the tandem as good a
par-3 pairing as 15-16 at Cypress Point.)
The entire sequence, with water crashing
on the nearby shore and winds swirling
off the sea, may rival the lauded finish.
There's also a back-to-back par-3 sequence
at the Nicklaus Pacifico Course
at the Punta Mita Resort (fourseasons.
com) on mainland Mexico's west coast,
about 40 minutes north of the Puerto
Vallarta airport. Both of them are the
third hole. Eh? The regular third, 3A,
is a tough enough par 3 over a marsh.
But the extra (and optional) 3B, known
as the Tail of the Whale hole, plays to a
natural island that throws shade on the
famous island green at Sawgrass. So
that's 19 holes for your money at PaciPunta
Mita
Quivira Golf Club
www.mngolf.org
Fall 2016 MINNESOTAGOLFER
13
http://www.palmillagc.com http://www.cabodelsol.com http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016

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