{"id":1105,"date":"2010-02-06T11:44:24","date_gmt":"2010-02-06T18:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jeffwallach.com\/?p=1105"},"modified":"2012-02-12T11:10:19","modified_gmt":"2012-02-12T18:10:19","slug":"birdies-eagles-and-turtles-oh-my-golfing-mexicos-riviera-nayarit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jeffwallach\/golf\/1105\/birdies-eagles-and-turtles-oh-my-golfing-mexicos-riviera-nayarit","title":{"rendered":"Riviera Nayarit Golf: Birdies, Eagles, and Turtles, Oh My."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

The Other Tiger: El Tigre Golf Club<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Driving across the muddy Ameca River\u2014 just north of the airport in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico\u2014 I adjusted not just the time on my watch (to an hour earlier, providing at least the illusion that merely by crossing into the state of Nayarit I\u2019d earned an extra sixty minutes of relaxation) but my attitude, as well.\u00a0 The river provides the perfect transition to the more laid back zone I\u2019d just entered.\u00a0 Just up the coast from the hip, bustling beach scene of Vallarta, Nayarit is a place where the word \u201ccrowd\u201d more accurately refers to hatching sea turtles scrambling into the warm Pacific along pristine deserted beaches than to the gaggles of happily-sunburned, margarita-sipping cruise ship passengers I\u2019d encountered in PV itself.<\/p>\n

The recently dubbed \u201cRiviera Nayarit\u201d\u2014stretching nearly 200 miles from Nuevo Vallarta to the fishing village of San Blas\u2014is the Mexican government\u2019s new eco-destination both for upscale travelers who care about how properties are developed, and less-luxury-minded travelers who crave a genuine Mexican beach experience.\u00a0 The long swath of Nayarit coastline boasts properties as varied as the Punta Mita Resort (with Four Seasons and St. Regis Hotels) and Playa Las Tortugas, an eco-development with lovely custom homes and its own turtle camp where biologists and volunteers work to save a dwindling turtle population.\u00a0 But wherever you end up on this scythe of natural, sandy coastline, it\u2019s sunny, relaxed, and nearly as warm as a habanero pepper.<\/p>\n

On my most recent trip I visited only the lower part of Riviera Nayarit, where nearly all of it\u2019s golf courses are located; but on previous sorties I explored many other beaches, hostelries, restaurants, towns, and attractions all the way up to San Blas (don\u2019t miss the old Spanish fort there) that draw non-golfers the way the ice-cream vendor at a tiny beach called Platanitos attracts hungry, well-muscled surfers.<\/p>\n

While the Vallarta area has gotten away with a mere couple of golf courses for decades, Riviera Nayarit is one of the rare places on the North American continent where the game\u2019s great architects are creating exciting new venues, mostly associated with posh hotels and housing communities.\u00a0 But a couple of public courses also provide for enough shanks and chili-dips for everyone.\u00a0 Five courses are currently available for play in the southern part of the area, with several new venues slated to open in the next couple of years.<\/p>\n

Upon entering Nayarit I soon came into Nuevo Vallarta, where construction cranes proved that many folks are still buying vacation property in this idyllic, beachy suburb mixing modern glass condos, single-family homes tucked in palm groves overlooking the water, and hotels with pools, paths, and other amenities.\u00a0 Nuevo Vallarta is also home to a vast marina full of pleasure craft, and an endless variety of neatly-coiffed resorts.\u00a0 Non-golfers can charter a fishing boat, go scuba diving or sailing, take a canopy tour, and even swim with dolphins.<\/p>\n

Three lakes converge here– nearly the number that dot the landscape at the Mayan Palace Golf Club\u2019s Nayar Golf Course, which nestles between the river and the salty blue waters of the Pacific.\u00a0 Designed by Jim Lipe of the Nicklaus Design Group, this easy-going resort course routes through palm-lined flats within the Grand Mayan Resort.\u00a0 It\u2019s the perfect venue for a family golf outing\u2014or a foursome of friends puffing on cigars, as we did. The back nine is currently under renovation, but the front side stretches to 3,641 yards of Bermuda-grassed fun.\u00a0 Wide fairways decorated with lakes, palms, and bunkers welcome even the kinds of shots I\u2019m known to hit.\u00a0 Wind off the ocean provides an invisible hazard\u2014and a great excuse to explain wayward approaches.<\/p>\n

Nuevo Vallarta is also home to Tiger\u2014no, not that<\/span> Tiger, but the El Tigre Golf Course, part of the Paradise Village Resort.\u00a0 Robert Von Hagge crafted one of his best Mexican courses here among eight lakes, 144 free-form and pot bunkers, and grassy swales.\u00a0 The features unfurl across rolling hills and Sonoran desert flora such as purple bougainvillea, red hibiscus, and the \u201cgringo\u201d tree (so named because of its peeling bark). Other hazards include the live tigers who live behind the 17th<\/sup> tee box (I am not making this up!) in a natural enclosure.<\/p>\n

The course plays to a muscular 7,239 yards from the grande hombre tees.\u00a0 Wide fairways sculpted with gentle moundings and fair placement of water hazards make for a perky round.\u00a0 Although a plashing stream and waterfall accompany golfers from the first tee to the peninsula green on number one, the course grows truly interesting on the par-five fourth, where sand demands focus on the second shot and then encroaches upon the green.\u00a0 Number five presents a monstrous 474-yard risk\/reward puzzle over a lake and perfect round pot bunkers.\u00a0 It\u2019s followed by a par three with an island green fronting a view of the rugged Sierra Madre Mountains in the distance.<\/p>\n

Memorable holes on the back nine include the thirteenth, sporting a double fairway and a funhouse green, and the par-three seventeenth, 250 yards of mayhem with a putting surface tucked between sand and water.\u00a0 In case that\u2019s not long enough, the 18th<\/sup> plays 621 yards with water down the entire left side and a green that also gets jiggy with sand.\u00a0\u00a0 El Tigre\u2019s elegant Spanish-style clubhouse provides a great place to have a drink while your playing partner revisits every shot he hit over 18 holes\u2014even though you were there to see them.<\/p>\n

Also in Nuevo Vallarta, English golf course architect Percy Clifford\u2019s Flamingos Golf Club provides a sense of entering the wilderness.\u00a0 While the most obvious attraction of the area is the ocean, moving inland took us into tropical jungle dense with ficus, stranger fig, rubber trees, and other tropical flora, and an increase in humidity.\u00a0 I believed that Indiana Jones might rush out onto one of the greens at any moment, chased by machete wielding caddies.<\/p>\n

The course routes through rolling terrain bordered by jungle.\u00a0 Holes play around, over (and sometimes into) natural lagoons, estuaries, and mangroves full of birds ready to taunt you for a mishit.\u00a0 Mango trees and 1,800 palms stand ready to deflect errant shots.\u00a0 Built in the 1970s, Flamingos has matured into its setting, as evidenced by how comfortable deer, hare, crocodiles, and turtles feel there\u2014keep an eye out for them (especially the crocs).\u00a0 The course underwent a $3 million renovation in 2000.<\/p>\n

The 6853-yard track opens with a narrow fairway slicing through the jungle.\u00a0 The next three holes, while more open, snap back with length, playing 452, 611, and 547 yards respectively.\u00a0 Respect is the operative word on the entire front nine, which is 500 yards longer than the back. Great holes on the back side include number 12, which plays over a ravine with trees to the right and water to the left.<\/p>\n

Moving north out of Nuevo Vallarta, the land mass suddenly spears out into the ocean and the terrain opens to reveal the shape of the drier peninsula.\u00a0 The upscale resort development of Punta Mita marks the end of the large tureen of Banderas Bay and the beginning of the rest of the Nayarit Coast.\u00a0 It\u2019s also the pinnacle of upscale golf and hotel development.\u00a0 For those who prefer a sandwich to a sand wedge, Punta Mita boasts world-class cuisine (see sidebar) in addition to a wealth of non-golf activities.\u00a0 Mountain biking and horse trails cut through the area, and nearby small towns offer their own specialties\u2014Sayulita has a great surf break (I nearly broke a few things of my own when surfing there), whereas San Francisco is home to a polo club.\u00a0 Many of the towns also have galleries of original art and handicrafts, such as the colorful beaded animals made by the Huichol Indians.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Punta Mita Resort\u2019s 7035-yard Bahia course is the younger of two Jack Nicklaus designs, and features green contours verging on the whacky\u2014at one point my friend and I had the same putt, and each one broke in a different direction.\u00a0 Just getting to some of the greens can prove an adventure, given ledges that drop steeply into bunkers and other entertaining features\u2014entertaining if you\u2019re the architect, that is!\u00a0 The par-three fifth hole presents a demanding 173 yard poke that carries over a nasty bunker but not over the green.\u00a0 The front nine features three each of par threes, fours, and fives, creating a rhythm as upbeat as a Mexican ballad.<\/p>\n

The back side emerges from jungle into an open seaside plain with two large lakes, and no shortage of wind.\u00a0 Number fifteen capers steeply toward the water while also canting left in the direction of a bunker, while the right side is protected by palms lining a ridge.\u00a0 Hit a low running draw to the left side of the fairway and you\u2019ll feel like a long-drive champion.\u00a0 Looking past the green, the wide sweep of beaches and breakers far off on the other side of Banderas Bay pleases the eye.<\/p>\n

But the real golf treat at Punta Mita is the older sibling Pacifico Course\u2014 which Conde Nast traveler has named as the number one layout in the world.\u00a0 Eight holes of the 7,000+-yard venue samba along the ocean, and all offer ocean views.\u00a0 The course opens with several fairways defined by sandy waste areas.\u00a0 Number three\u2014at least the first number three\u2014plays over a wetland, and maximizes excitement for what\u2019s coming next: wait for it . . . wait for it . . . hole 3-B: an optional extra hole that floats 194 yards across the Pacific and boasts the only natural island green in the world.\u00a0 At high tide, golfers climb into a partly submersible golf cart to reach their birdie (or double-bogey) putts.\u00a0 Other treats such as cross-bunkering, creek carries, and risk\/reward opportunities continue to delight throughout the round.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As you make the turn, uniformed attendants may whisk cool towels or mango smoothies out to your cart, which is to say that service and great conditioning help make Pacifico stand out from all other courses in the area.\u00a0 On the back side, number 12 presents as much intrigue as a David Mamet play as you decide which set of bunkers to attempt crossing.\u00a0 And the bunker in the middle of the fairway on the thirteenth could end your round early; there are no easy shots on the hole but hitting out of sand beside a lake is one of the tougher options.\u00a0 Palms and flowers may ease the pain (okay\u2014not really).\u00a0 But at least you know you\u2019ll be headed for a great hotel after you\u2019ve lost your last golf ball.<\/p>\n

Although most of Riviera Nayarit\u2019s golf currently ends at Punta Mita, new developments are already underway further north.\u00a0 Road and airport improvements, new resorts, a Greg Norman course at Litibu just on the other side of the point from Punta Mita, a new Robert Trent Jones II layout at Punta Raza, and other attractions will provide additional options soon.\u00a0 In the meantime, head up the undisturbed coast to fishing villages and surfing towns, pursue water sports, hiking, archaeology, and other activities, or their opposite– pure, laid-back, turtle-slow Mexican beach time in a quietly developing tropical locale.<\/p>\n

Dining<\/span><\/p>\n

Though not long on ambiance, El Tacon de Marlin<\/strong> ( +52 322 221 1914, 8106 Avenida Francisco M. Ascensio) simply has no competition for serving the best seafood burrito in the universe.\u00a0 Just across the pedestrian bridge from the PV airport, this hole-in-the-wall has been a secret of flight attendants and pilots for years.<\/p>\n

Chef Sylvain Desbois\u2019s culinary wizardry makes the St. Regis Punta Mita\u2019s Carolina Restaurant <\/strong>da bomb.\u00a0 Try the roasted Caribbean lobster or the canelon\u2014 an artichoke stuffed with lobster, foie gras and truffle.\u00a0 Lush black, white and silver d\u00e9cor with handcrafted furnishings form a sleek backdrop for the smooth Mexican-accented Mediterranean cuisine.<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re on the subject of seafood, Restaurant Caf\u00e9 des Artistes<\/strong> (866-628-6293), just off campus from the Punta Mita Resort, plates an upscale version of a Riviera Nayarit specialty\u2014pescado zarandeado; in this case, it consists of grilled salmon with a sauce that is kept secret by anyone who prepares it.\u00a0 Grilled swordfish, giant Portuguese shrimp, and red snapper only begin to fill out the menu concocted by celebrity chef Thierry Blouet.\u00a0 And the restaurant only begins to hint at the delicious elegance of the associated Hotel des Artistes.<\/p>\n

Lodging<\/span><\/p>\n

Stepping into the lobby at The Grand Mayan (<\/strong>877-999-3223, www.MexicoMayanResorts.com<\/a>) provides the kind of slightly disorienting experience that travel is all about\u2014the nearly pitch dark room is lined with gigantic Mayan statues several stories tall, which only become visible as your eyes adjust to the light.\u00a0 The entire property expresses a fusion of ancient Mayan styling and super modern d\u00e9cor\u2014 for example, sleek lines, polished marble floors and engaging modern artwork.\u00a0 Guest rooms are cool and welcoming.\u00a0 The Brio spa offers treatments in beachside palapas, and the pool complex features a loping, lazy river with fountains and waterfalls, flume slide, and wave pool.<\/p>\n

The luxe 1,500-acre Punta Mita Resort<\/strong> is home to both The Four Seasons<\/strong> (52 329 291 6000, www.fourseasons.com\/puntamita<\/a>) and The St. Regis<\/strong> hotels (52 329 291 5800, www.stregis.com\/puntamita<\/a>).\u00a0 The Four Seasons<\/strong>\u2014Punta Mita\u2019s first grand hostelry\u2014features 173 casita-style rooms with tiled roofs and views of beach, hills, and water. Highlights include the Apuane Spa and the Tamai Pool complex, complete with waterfall and high-tech cabanas.\u00a0 The poolside restaurant may well serve the world\u2019s best guacamole.\u00a0 The St. Regis<\/strong> consists of 120 rooms in the Mexican and Provence styles and employing river stone, marble, onyx, wood, and clay in a convergence of natural luxury.\u00a0 You may never want to leave a room replete with terrace or balcony, outdoor shower, and butler service\u2014they\u2019ll even unpack your bags for you.\u00a0 Check out the famous champagne ritual in the Altamira lobby bar and the pool area that\u2019s itself an artwork of tile, stone, grass, palms, and gardens.<\/p>\n

For travelers seeking a different kind of Riviera Nayarit experience, head north an hour from Punta Mita and far from the golf courses to visit Playa Las Tortugas (<\/strong>877-287-8905, www.playalastortugas.com<\/a>).\u00a0 The secluded resort features grand eco-villas set amidst a coconut plantation beside miles of undeveloped beach and a natural estuary worth exploring by canoe.\u00a0 While a cook, kayaking, horseback riding, and other services and activities are available, PLT is meant for more self-sufficient travelers.\u00a0 Guests can volunteer at the turtle camp on property, and many find the release of hatchlings into the ocean on some nights to be a highlight of their travels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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