“What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive.”
~ Arnold Palmer
Playing a challenging game of golf on a competitive golf course is like a work of art to some, in fact, often the golf courses themselves can be works of art.
Playa del Carmen in the Riviera Maya is becoming a world-class golf destination for its beautiful championship golf courses, drawing both golf amateurs and professionals. Golf course architects Jack Nicklaus (El Manglar Golf Course), Robert Von Hagge (Playacar Spa & Golf Club), Greg Norman (El Camaleon Golf Club), Nick Price (Grand Coral Spa & Golf), and Robert Trent Jones Jr. (Riviera Maya Golf Club) have all recognized the potential of the region.
In Mexico, over 180 golf courses have been developed, many of them signature design courses, 15 of which are in the Cancun – Riviera Maya region. In fact, Playa del Carmen hosts Mexico’s only PGA Tour − the Mayakoba Golf Classic − which has been held in the same location since 2007. This year is no different; the next Mayakoba Golf Classic will be hosted on February 22-26, 2012 at El Camaleon Golf Club.
Golf Course Development
In the last 10 years the Riviera Maya has become one of the fastest growing travel destinations in Mexico for its many natural and cultural attractions. Located on the eastern Yucatan Peninsula coastline of the Caribbean Sea in Mexico’s state of Quintana Roo, the region extends 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of Cancun from Punta Brava, over 75 miles (120 kilometers) further south to Punta Allen and into the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, the largest of the many nature preserves in Mexico.
Although features of the natural terrain and compliance with nature conservation regulations have resulted in golf course construction challenges, they have ultimately contributed to unrivaled golf course beauty, artistry, and competitiveness. Cancun golf courses, and those in the nearby Riviera Maya, feature rainforests and mangroves, natural bends and hills, lagoons and wetlands, sand dunes and the Caribbean Sea, exotic birds and wildlife, cenotes (cavernous wells) and even ancient Mayan ruins.
Golf Vacation in the Riviera Maya
Many championship golf courses have been designed at multiple playing levels in the Riviera Maya and Cancun and new ones continue to be developed. Recognizing the potential of the region as a premier golf destination in Mexico and the world, the Association of Golf Courses in the Mexican Caribbean (Asociación de Campos de Golf del Caribe Mexicano, A.C.) has paired up with golf organizations to promote the development of additional golf courses in the region.
While on vacation at Hacienda Tres Rios Resort, Spa & Nature Park you’ll discover some of the natural characteristics that golf course architects must integrate into their course design, ultimately resulting in some of the most competitive courses in the world. Located on nature’s finest fairways and golf greens, Playa del Carmen and Cancun golf courses contain tropical vegetation, natural curves and hills, water hazards and sand traps, and sunshine and warmth, which make it a golfer’s paradise.
Hacienda Tres Rios Resort has PGA Golf Tournament Packages available which combine a luxury vacation in paradise with the excitement of attending a world class golf event.
