Destination Golf
by Mike Sorensen
Mike Sorensen is a sportswriter for the Deseret Morning News and a frequent contributor to Fairways.

Fall - November - 05
Ol' Mexico - You Just Have to Go

In the hills of Mexico, a few miles ablve Puesrto Rico, sit a pair of beautiful golf courses designed by none other than golf great Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weikopf

The two stunning layouts, built in 2001 by ClubCorp International, give travelers to this city on the west coast of Mexico an affordable and fun way to spend their time away from the beaches.

The Vista Vallarta Club de Golf is spread across 478 acres with the striking Sierra Madre Mountains serving as a backdrop to the East and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean to the West. A white-brick Spanish-style central clubhouse services the two courses.

It’s about a 15-minute drive from the hotel district of Puerto Vallarta to Vista Vallarta. The courses are a contrast to the nearby Mexican landscape, which features a few abandoned, half-built cement structures and several farms, complete with crowing roosters.

The Nicklaus course was the site of the 2002 EMC World Cup Golf Championship and the first of the two built. It features elevation changes, narrow fairways, giant Fica trees and beautiful flowers dotted around the course, along with spectacular views of Banderas Bay.

The first hole is a gentle dogleg right requiring an approach shot over a small ravine. It’s a preview of things to come as half of the holes on the course require shots over “arroyos’’ or creeks.

One of the best holes is the par three No. 9 over a gulch to a green that resembles No. 11 at Augusta National, the way it angles from left to right with beautiful flowers behind the green and a bunker in front.

No. 16 is a 423-yard par four with a lake hugging the right side and a fairway bunker waiting at the corner of the dogleg right. The large green is severely sloped and guarded by bunkers on three sides.

As good as the Nicklaus course is, the Weiskopf course may be the better of the two. The course has a more wide-open feel to it and doesn’t have quite the undulations of the Nicklaus course, which required three times as much earth-moving. The Weiskopf course does have a few more bunkers, 75 to 68.

Unlike the Nicklaus course, which is higher with views of the ocean, the Weiskopf course is built on more extreme terrain with more of a jungle feel to it. It also has several arroyos to hit over with forests of Papillae and palm trees lining the fairways.

The par five No. 8 hole requires a carry shot off the tee to a fairly wide landing area, although a shot hit left, will end up in the trees. The green is reachable in two, but you must hit over a stream that angles from left to right toward a long green that angles from right to left with a large bunker on the left.

On the back nine, the two best holes may be the finishing holes. No. 17 is an uphill par five with a narrow fairway and three fairway bunkers to navigate. The 18th is a very driveable par four at 346 yards from the back tees. However, there are eight bunkers to contend with — three on the fairway and five up around the green. The best play may be an iron off the tee, short and to the right, leaving a short shot to the 43-yard green surrounded by bunkers.

The two courses are owned and operated by ClubCorp International, a Dallas-based company founded in 1957. ClubCorp owns or operates more than 200 premier golf courses, country clubs and golf resorts stretching from the U.S. to Europe, Australia and Asia.

The rates at Vista Vallarta are reasonable by resort standards at approximately $150 per person, depending on the time of year.

Caddies are available, but not required. However at just $10 per person per 18, plus tip, caddies are well worth it, particularly for the first-timer. My partner and I shared a caddy, Juan, who knew the course like the back of his hand and we found out later was a single-digit handicap golfer. We liked him so well, we asked for him when we came back the second day to play the Weiskopf course.

Besides the two courses at Vista Vallarta, ClubCorp owns and operates Marina Vallarta Club de Golf down in the city of Puerto Vallarta. The 6,700-yard, par 71 Joe Finger-designed course sits on flat ground amid the hotels and businesses of the city, near the ocean. It also has a lot of wildlife on the course and the signs at the lakes warning you about alligators will get your attention.

The signature hole is No. 13, a 210-yard par three, which is right next to the beach. In fact if you hit your tee shot a little left, it will end up in the sand — on the beach, not in a bunker.