Golfing in Puerto Vallarta

Seemingly overnight, Puerto Vallarta has become a world-class golf destination, boasting seven outstanding golf resorts. Some of the world’s greatest golf course architects have designed courses for this tropical paradise in the last decade, including Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf and Robert von Hagge, who with 11 courses south of the border has become Mexico’s most esteemed golf course designer.

The newest golf resort in Puerto Vallarta is Robert von Hagge’s El Tigre at Paradise Village. Enclosed on all sides by the Sierra Madre Mountains, El Tigre is a beautifully constructed 7,239 yard, par 72 golf destination. Originally constructed on a flat piece of land, the layout required extensive earth moving and the creation of nine on-course bodies of water. Just a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean and Paradise Village Beach Resort and Spa, El Tigre also boasts a luxuriant 45,000-square foot clubhouse equipped with restaurants, lounges, locker rooms, golf shop and a European Spa.

Jack Nicklaus’ senior designer, Jim Lipe, devised the 6,700-yard Mayan Palace Golf Club, located next door to El Tigre. Mayan Palace is a fun, less-challenging course with a signature 180-yard par 3 that plays over a lake to an oceanfront green. According to players and locals, the grass and trees have already matured very well at Mayan Palace.

Just three minutes from Mayan Palace is the longtime favorite Los Flamingos Country Club, the oldest course in Puerto Vallarta. Providing a great golfing experience for players of all levels, Los Flamingos also features over 2,500 palm trees and lakes that serve as home to ducks, seagulls, egrets, and flamingos. As it is, technically speaking, the only public golf course in the area, Los Flamingos offers excellent vacation packages to prospective players and provides free shuttle transportation to its Nuevo Vallarta shore location. It has also been said that the grass at Los Flamingos is of a softer variety, similar to British links courses.

Marina Vallarta Golf Club is Puerto Vallarta golf at its best, complete with jungle foliage, lagoons, iguanas, tropical birds, and a challenging layout designed by Joe Finger. The course winds its way through countless palm trees and a number of holes feature views of Banderas Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Located within walking distance of the marina boardwalk, it integrates the area’s beautiful natural landscape with a layout designed to test even the best golfers.
Ten minutes from the Puerto Vallarta marina, tucked in the city’s captivating foothills, lay the championship courses of Vista Vallarta. As host to the 2002 Anderson Consulting Match Play Championships and PGA World Cup tournament, the resort has received unanimous accolades since it opened just five years ago.

Tom Weiskopf’s 18-hole layout at Vista Vallarta has extensive native jungle growth and a signature par 3 that seems to be carved out of the jungle hillside. The course masterfully blends elevations and natural features into an incredibly playable experience from start to finish. Jack Nicklaus’ course measures 7,057 yards and features some incredibly long par-5s. The views of Banderas Bay and the Sierra Madre Mountains experienced here are unrivalled by any other golf resort. Despite proximity to Puerto Vallarta’s resorts and hotels, the Vista Vallarta courses feel entirely otherworldly.

Designed by Jack Nicklaus and built on one of the most gorgeous properties on Costa Vallarta, the Four Seasons Punta Mita golf resort features the only green on a natural island in the world. Entry to the green across a sandbar is only possible at low tide, otherwise an amphibious vehicle or boat are necessary for access. Eight spectacular holes border the ocean here with a photo opportunity at every turn.

Though golfing in Puerto Vallarta is not necessarily a cheap hobby (prices for 18-hole rounds generally cost between $60 and $180), many Puerto Vallarta hotels and resorts offer discount or all-inclusive vacation packages that allow interested players affordable access to any of the golf resorts detailed

This article was written by Justin Burch. Justin writes select pieces about travel in Mexico for the CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort. - marriott.com/property/propertypage/PVRMX here.

Share This

Read more... Comment now » November 10th, 2008

Why Are Golf Courses Designed The Way That They Are

No matter where you go on this great big planet of ours you are bound to come across at least a few golf courses. These days golf courses are the must have for all countries and that is because now more than ever, golf is a major tourist attraction. People travel far and wide to visit the best and most talked about golf courses. That is why so much time and effort, not to mention money is poured into these projects each and every year.

If you love to play golf then you know how great really good golf courses can be. Playing on world class golf courses is very different than playing on a poorly designed one. If you are like me, and like most true golfers, you search for the golf courses that will provide the most amazing game play of all.

The world would not be such a magnificent place as it is if not for great golf courses now would it. And who do we have to thank for these fantastic golf courses? Well here, we usually thank the USGA. They are the ones who have come up with the most amazing guidelines for golf course designers to follow. All of the best golf courses have been built to their find standards. Since way back in 1960 those who design golf courses have been building the most fabulous of all courses according to the ideas set out by the USGA and people from all around the world have been thanking their lucky stars.

The perfect golf courses are not only designed to provide the best golf game, they are also designed in a way that will look gorgeous. All of the greatest golf courses are a wonder of design I that they look glorious and they play like a dream. To live in a place with a view of these kinds of golf courses is something that most people dream of, that is how great they can look.

There is much more to the design of good golf courses though. Such as the number of slopes and waterways. Good golf courses will have plenty of both. These kinds of obstacles are necessary for any good and challenging game. No one wants their golf game to be too easy and that is why these types of things are added into the equation when designing golf courses. The intrigue the eye and provide you with amazing opportunities to outwit and out play your opponents.

Most of us take for granted the golf courses in out area. We just play there and have fun but we do not take into consideration the amount of work and planning that goes into each and everyone of these fantastic golf courses. It takes years to plan the best golf courses and it is about time that we recognized this fact and game the appreciation that they designers of golf courses deserve to them once and for all.

Golf Information http://golfrs.com/ improve your golfing game with tips and tricks to help you with your game of golf.

Share This

Read more... Comment now » August 16th, 2008

Beware, Golf Can Become an Addictive Passion!

Love for the game of golf only gets better as one improves. Nothing is more exciting than hitting a drive down the fairway far and straight, except for sinking a 25 foot put. Moments like these on the course can make even the most reserved golfer giddy with excitement.

Improvement starts with understanding, knowledge and practice. Combined, these three components will provide the foundation for breaking 80. But more importantly, one needs to focus on the fifteen most critical skills of the game:

1. Understanding the fundamentals - Learn the proper way to address the ball, and grip the club;

2. Swing - What one needs to do to create consistency and strength;

3. How to use the draw and fade shots to add distance and accuracy;

4. Learning how to deal with bad breaks and what can be done to still get a birdie;

5. Hitting the greens - Learning to get up or down;

6. Understanding the simple formula for short-game shots;

7. Adding roll and loft to your chip shots;

8. Putting secrets of the pros;

9. Reading greens properly;

10. Focus on your putting game and visualize draining every putt;

11. Staying focused while playing;

12. Practice makes perfect - drills that will improve ones game;

13. The mental and physical rituals that make one’s shots accurate;

14. Turning failure into success while on the course;

15. How to incorporate the “must-haves” for ones game

Golf is a complex game but one is rewarded handsomely for effectively understanding and incorporating these mechanics to be successful.

GolfScoreSuccess.com (http://www.golfscoresuccess.com) outlines and provides detail information regarding the 15 critical areas of golf. Moreover, information on club selection, discount clubs and golf courses are reviewed. This information is free to the general public and provides the foundation to Golf Score Success.

GolfScoreSuccess.com, http://www.golfscoresuccess.com, is published by Greg Meares of Performance Connections. His love for the game, motivated the research and success of this topic.

Share This

Read more... Comment now » August 13th, 2008