A few follow-up thoughts on Golf in Mexico...

Having played the new Greg Norman designed El Camelion course two years ago (when it first opened), I'm enjoying watching the Mayacoba Classic being played on this great track this week on the Golf Channel. The broadcasts are singing the praises of the 15 golf venues in Cancun and the Riviera Maya. True - some of them are excellent... but most of them are "just OK". El Camelion at the Fairmont Mayacoba Resort is one of very few courses that are on the ocean. Add to that the fact that this area is very flat and that the course grooming on many of the courses is good but not great.

That brings me back to my trip to Los Cabos last month... beyond my comments on Los Cabos golf in the last two posts, I have just learned that construction of a new Nicklaus course will begin this spring on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas. On my "other" Blog Site devoted to travel in general, I described a "post-golf" stay at a fabulous adults-only Spa Resort on the Pacific side. It was fabulous to the point of not caring that I was over 30 minutes away the "golf zone"... I was very content to leave my clubs in storage and just relax. BUT... it was just that I didn't want to endure the hassle and expense of the whole thing. This new course will be immediately across the road from the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica resort and will add a new element to the absolute ONLY place to go in Mexico for a golf vacation.

Until this new Nicklaus course opens, if yo want some ideas of where you can stay on the Gulf side that allows great spa facilities for non-golfing wives while you play, just let me know!

Cheers,

Dick
To comment, please click the "comments" link below, type in your comments then, under “Choose an Identity”, select “Nickname" if you want to leave a name (your name or a ‘blog handle’) or just leave it blank. OR, you can select ‘Anonymous’. I would love to hear from you!

Cabo Golf is all that I remember - and more!

Well, the week in Cabo San Lucas is over and I'm back in the tundra! (81 degrees at the time of boarding our flight home; -12 degrees upon deplaning 4 hours later!) This place has really "grown up" since my last trip 9 years ago. Oddly enough, the greens fees hadn't gone up very much in that space of time... but the service sure has!!! Back then, largely due to the prices, you could tell the golf concierge at your hotel at 8:00 am that you wanted to play a specific course around 9:30 and you were in. You got a tee time within 20 minutes of the requested time. And when you arrived at the course you would find that there were many open times on the tee sheet. It was great to have a couple open holes in front and behind you.

Now, the courses are very busy. Still, with 10 minute intervals, we never had to wait for the group in front of us and were never pushed from behind. Truly awesome!

There were two other areas of great change from 9 years ago... back then, there was no friendly, fuzzy service and it was hard to find anyone in the clubhouse (sometimes just a trailer) that spoke much English. And, what you got for your $200 was simply a round of golf on a beautifully manicured course.

Now, the clubhouses are the equal of any upscale course at home and the staffs speak English and are extremely friendly and accommodating. Starters & Rangers (non-existent and totally unneeded back then) were as welcoming as can be - and were largely "gringos". A starter at Cabo del Sol noticed my TPC Twin Cities shirt and introduced himself. He is an assistant pro at Hazeltine National just a few miles from my home.

And, unlike the past, it became clear that you were paying for an "experience". The fee included amenities such as complimentary Course Guide books, an attractive suede "goody bag" with logo tees, markers and repair tool (at Cabo Real), rangers that would stop and help you find your errant drive, cold towels upon the completion of the round, and more.

The only downside was that my Two Amigos took me to the cleaners! (Nothing new, here!) I'll describe the courses we played later in the week.

Cheers,

Dick

To comment, please click the "comments" link below, type in your comments then, under “Choose an Identity”, select “Nickname" if you want to leave a name (your name or a ‘blog handle’) or just leave it blank. OR, you can select ‘Anonymous’. I would love to hear from you!