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mexico
experiences
GREENS & BLUES
A burgeoning hotbed of world-class courses, Mexico has become a golfing
destination pulled straight from links lovers’ wildest dreams. With luxury resorts, lavish spas and global VIPs lining
their seaside fairways, the country’s legend-designed courses sit amongst more than just palm trees and offer far
more than just golf.
EL CAMALEÓN GOLF COURSE /
PLAYA DEL CARMEN
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EL CAMALEÓN GOLF COURSE / PLAYA DEL CARMEN
WILLOW STREAM SPA / FAIRMONT MAYAKOBA
Any Mexico golf adventure must begin where the pros do, at El Camaleón, the PGA Tour’s first and only stop south of the border.
The host of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba weaves along stands of mangrove trees and crystalline Caribbean oceanfront before arriving at the
AAA Five Diamond-certified Fairmont Mayakoba, Riviera Maya, where players can prep for the next round beneath the jungle canopy ceilings
of the Willow Stream Spa (www.fairmontgolf.com/mayakoba).
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PLAYA MUJERES GOLF CLUB / CANCUN
EXCELLENCE PLAYA MUJERES / CANCUN
Just up Mexico’s Cancun-to-Chetumal highway is Playa Mujeres Golf Club, an eco-conscious course that, although
only built in 2006, has already joined the ranks of Mexico’s ten best. Spanning the tip of Yucatan, the genius of Greg Norman’s layout lies in its
strategic back and forth design that bounces from the Caribbean to the Chacmochuc Lagoon and back, keeping players on their toes as they take
on changing wind conditions and a myriad of distinct water hazards. Afterward, trade bragging rights at the clubhouse’s Laguna Grill, offering
19th-hole cuisine to rival any Michelin-star restaurant, before retiring to the Excellence Playa Mujeres’s two-story, ocean-side Imperial Suite
(www.playamujeresgolf.com.mx; www.excellence-resorts.com).
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PACIFICO GOLF COURSE / PUNTA MITA
Set on an entirely different but equally stunning strip of coastline, the Four Seasons Punta Mita’s Pacifico Golf
Course brings Mexico’s golf expertise to Riviera Nayarit’s Pacific paradise. Though the resort is known for its five-star accommodations and
unrivaled discretion (which has attracted the likes of Jennifer Aniston and John Travolta), it is the Jack Nicklaus-designed course’s “Tail of
the Whale” third hole—boasting the world’s only natural island green—that makes it truly one of a kind (www.fourseasons.com/puntamita).
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CAFE DES ARTISTES DEL MAR / PUNTA MITA
CAFE DES ARTISTES DEL MAR / PUNTA MITA
CAFE DES ARTISTES DEL MAR / PUNTA MITA
In the evening take a break from the scorecard at Punta Mita’s Café des Artistes Del Mar, the brainchild of French chef Thierry Boulet. While
the al fresco, seaside dining room and a la carte menu are sure to impress, it is the newly debuted Cocina de Autor that offers the most
exclusive experience. Tucked inside Café des Artistes Del Mar, this intimate, 40-seat space, which also includes a demonstration kitchen,
has one nightly seating at which Boulet serves a pre-fixe chef’s menu, replete with signature wine pairings. After the gastronomic adventure,
Cocina de Autor patrons are invited into a private cognac and cigar bar for a fitting cap to an unforgettable night.
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LITIBU GOLF COURSE / RIVIERA NAYARIT
No matter the spoils at hand, try not to over-indulge as a sublime afternoon 18 awaits, at nearby Litibu Golf Course. Like
Playa Mujeres in the east, Litibu—built in 2010 and thus one of the newest top-tier courses along the pacific coastline—lays claim to another
ingenious Greg Norman design. As a two-time major champion, Norman didn’t earn the nickname “The Shark” for nothing and Litibu
captures the Aussie legend’s marauding spirit with one of the most diverse layouts in all of Mexico, if not the world. Blending seven holes of
old world links golf, eight modern designs tucked into the surrounding jungle and a closing three-tee stretch that runs right along the Pacific
Ocean, Litibu offers an array of experiences and challenges for practically every golfer. (www.rivieranayarit.com)
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DIAMANTE CABO SAN LUCAS / CABO SAN LUCAS
TIGER WOODS / DIAMANTE CABO SAN LUCAS
DIAMANTE CABO SAN LUCAS / CABO SAN LUCAS
Located just five miles from the A-list bustle of downtown Cabo, is the $200 million private resort community
Diamante Cabo San Lucas and on it—wrapping amongst the 40 beach estates, a natural hot-spring spa and, soon, Tiger Woods’ very first
course design, El Cardonal—the Dunes Course. Designed by former PGA Championship winner Davis Love III, the number one-rated course
in all of Mexico combines the rolling dunes and devouring bunkers of links golf with balmy Baja breezes and ocean views sure to stop even
the most focused player mid-backswing (www.diamantecabosanlucas.com).
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PENINSULA DE CORTES GOLF CLUB / PUERTO PEÑASCO
Further north, 60 miles from the Arizona border, the Peninsula De Cortes Golf Club, though boasting unrivaled
accessibility, is a golf experience worth traveling the continent for. The north-most course on Mexico’s world class list, Peninsula De Cortes
Golf Club lies in Puerto Peñasco, a tranquil resort town perched between the Gulf of California to the south and Sonoran high country to the
north, and winds along the Sea of Cortez with another awe-inspiring Jack Nicklaus design. Adopting the links course “Redan” concept—a
hole protected from the wind on three sides—the course is sheltered by the tidal estuary to its north, the inlet to its south and the Sea of
Cortez to its seaside, which allows the for the course’s 7,100 yards to unfold as if they’ve been there for thousands of years. Skeptical? Well,
when the son of arguably the greatest golfer in the history of the game and the course’s co-designer, Jack Nicklaus II, says “the site for The
Peninsula is one of the better natural pieces of property we have had the opportunity to work with” you better believe him. After the round,
enjoy a cocktail on one of Mayan Palace Puerto Peñasco’s Master Suite’s three sea-facing terraces, located just next door.
(www.nicklaus.com/design; www.mayanpalace.com)
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THE CORNERSTONE OF TOURISM IN LOS CABOS
Los Cabos is not only home to luxurious hotels and spectacular scenery, but also to world-renowned golf courses designed by the best
players and experts in the world. Two new projects, in addition to the 11 existing courses, show the importance that the golf industry
represents for Los Cabos.
The new courses are a venture from two of the most important figures in the history of the sport: Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Nicklaus,
in his most recent visit, confessed that ”when surrounded by entrepreneurial and straightforward people, work becomes much easier.” After he
had visited nine of the course’s 18 holes, he called the Quivira Los Cabos course “spectacular,” owing to the combination of the ocean, desert and
winds unique to Cabo San Lucas, factors which are being incorporated into the strategic layout of the holes. Cabo del Sol Golf Course, one of the
five courses in Los Cabos designed by the former world champion, has been ranked among the 100 best golf courses in the world. Construction
of the Quivira course comes with a total investment of 40 million dollars and, as of today, has advanced halfway, indicating that the project will
be completed according to plans. While playing on the Dunes Course, Tiger Woods said: “I want to design a golf course right here and I want it
to be even better.”
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CABO REAL GOLF COURSE
Golf
PUERTO LOS CABOS
PALMILLA GOLF CLUB
ESTEBAN TOLEDO
Construction of the course has already begun. TWD (Tiger Woods Design) is in charge of the layout of the new course, which is scheduled to
be completed in approximately 18 months, making it the 13th golf course in Los Cabos. The famous player already has a house in Diamante
Cabo San Lucas, where the great Jack Nicklaus course is located, and where more stars such as George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cindy
Crawford, Sylvester Stallone and others have homes.
Finally, the Secretary of Tourism has announced the upcoming visit to Los Cabos by Esteban Toledo, the first Mexican to participate in the
PGA, the world’s ultimate professional golf circuit. Esteban will also be the image of and spokesperson for golf in this alluring tourist destination.
Without a doubt, Los Cabos is a hole in one, offering a distinguished selection of hotels, restaurants and nightlife, as well as ecotourism, the best
activities on land and sea, and impressive golf courses among many other attractive services and amenities. For more information, please contact
Los Cabos Tourism Board at [email protected].
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