For the past three decades, the Riviera Maya, set on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, has become one of hottest spots in the Caribbean for vacationing, thanks to its ready supply of sun and sand and a glorious combination of jungles and beaches.
All those aspects also make for great golf as well, and the region more than fits the bill with over a dozen facilities spread across the 81 miles of coastline and nearby interior that define the Cancun/Cozumel/Riviera Maya region.
This is a destination where golf is always first in our hearts, but the beaches and the clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the pool scene run a close second and third.
Let’s take a look at four of the courses in the Riviera Maya area: El Camaleon Golf Club and Playa Mujeres Golf Club, both fashioned by Greg Norman; Riviera Maya, a Robert Trent Jones II-designed tester; and Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club, which was brought to life by P.B. Dye of the famous design family.
El Camaleon is the face of Riviera Maya golf
El Camaleon Golf Club at Mayakoba is likely the most famous of the courses in the region as it hosted the World Wide Technology Championship of Mayakoba on the PGA Tour for 16 consecutive seasons before switching to the site for the LIV Golf League Mayakoba event the past two years.
Set in Playa del Carmen, a coastal resort town along a strip of Caribbean shoreline known for its palm-lined beaches and coral reefs, Norman’s course blends the diverse ecosystems of the lush Mayakoba resort and plays like two sides of a coin.
The Caribbean Sea coastline side of the routing is part of a vast system of mangrove wetlands with minimal undulation, with play affected constantly by the winds. The upper area holes move away from the coast and are rolling and rocky as they play through tropical Mayan jungle.
El Camaleon Golf Club’s features are dramatic, and its cenotes (which are natural pits, or sinkholes) create unique hazards. One of those cenotes can be found in the middle of the seventh fairway, with several more scattered throughout the course. These natural water pools are surrounded by bright green vegetation and the frequently observed iguanas.
Like the chameleon, from which it takes its name, El Camaleon Golf Club offers constantly changing views as it winds through three diverse ecosystems. The 7,039-yard layout plays as a par-71 also has exotic blue water, alligators and Seashore paspalum greens.
El Camaleon Golf Club’s mix of par-4s and par-5s are the highlights of the round.
On the aforementioned par-5 seventh (as the course is played for the PGA Tour event) the entire hole is visible from the tee, but the player’s eye is immediately drawn to the cenote in the middle of the fairway. Norman routed the hole so that the cenote falls between the first and second landing areas for the average player and at the end of the first shot landing areas for the pros.
The short par-4 17th allows for the layup option off the tee with a nicely placed lateral hazard lurking near the landing area. A wayward shot with the driver can end up either in the canal left or rough on the right. Although right might be safe, the second shot from that angle is to a green that tilts slightly towards the canal that is lurking.
Winding under a forest canopy and through the tropical landscape, El Camaleon Golf Club is rather open and forgiving off the tee. As with many Norman-designed courses, there are a lot of challenging run-offs around the greens. And things can get tricky if the winds don’t cooperate.
El Camaleon Golf Club is part of the Mayakoba Resort complex along with four luxurious hotels – Rosewood, Banyan Tree, Fairmont and Andaz, respectively – as well as expansive private residential homes.
If there’s one course that has to be on your bucket list when in the area, it’s El Camaleon.
Iberostar Playa Paraiso asks for complete game
If you like the challenge of hilly terrain with dramatic drops and elevation changes then the Iberostar Playa Paraiso golf course at the famed inland resort is right up your alley.
Located between the two beach towns of Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen to the south of Cancun, the course was designed by P.B. Dye and has lots of the famous golf architecture family’s design elements: narrow fairways, testing water hazards, rock walls and deep bunkers.
There are cenotes here, too – three of them, in fact.
Measuring about 6,800 yards from the back tees, Playa Paraiso is not going to beat you up too badly with its length. But it’s a technically challenging course that has hosted the Canadian Tour Riviera Maya Open so don’t expect an easy walk in the Mayan jungle.
With a number of holes cut through thick forest, the routing can be rather tight at times and the smallish, undulating and well-bunkered greens place a premium on accuracy on the approach. Be prepared to move your ball in both directions to navigate some of the doglegs here as the rough can be penal.
Dye moved a great deal of dirt in this verdant, but flat, jungle area to create a visually exciting and entertaining layout that has more roll and features than the courses on the coast.
Its set of par-4s includes no bruising holes lengthwise, but there are plenty of good reachable and manageable holes that give the 20-year-old course its flavor.
The par-5s at Playa Paraiso are all reachable by long hitters and the quartet is defined by the closing hole, on which Dye combined length, sand (a lot of bunkers) and a narrow fairway to make sure golfers leave with a real memory
Playa Paraiso combines blind shots and plenty of elevation changes that generate attraction. Of note is the replica of a Mayan pyramid behind the ninth green, a tribute to the ancient civilization that once ruled the region.
PGA Riviera Maya had great brand
Born as Bahia Principe Riviera Maya Golf Club, PGA Riviera Maya is the southernmost golf course on the Maya Trail. Designed by the renowned Trent Jones II firm, the course opened in 2010 and features elevation changes that are not typical in this part of Mexico.
The course is carved out of dense jungle with natural flora and the fairways are ringed by jungle and ornamented with natural lakes. Yes, cenotes are also a part of the routing design.
The facility houses Jones’ 18-hole par-72 championship layout as well as a nine-hole par-3 course with plenty of natural lakes so you can decide how much of the day you want to play.
Riviera Maya’s holes are set next to an old limestone quarry. Feature offerings on the front nine include the fourth and the eighth, both par-5s with water a challenge near the putting surface on the former and an elevated greens complex waiting for wayward approaches on the latter.
The signature hole here is likely the 245-yard par-3 15th, which is played off a terraced tee over a clear lake to a rolling putting surface defended by two bunkers at the left.
There’s also a strong finish to the round, starting at the long par-5 16th (doglegging around a stone-lined water hazard) and ending at the 436-yard 18th, which plays uphill past a number of rocky outcrops to the home green.
Playa Mujeres Golf Club is a little bit of everything
Norman’s other course in the region is the sublime Playa Mujeres Golf Club. set north of Cancun on a largely unspoiled spit of land that leads to the rather remote outpost of Isla Blanca between the Chacmochuc Lagoon and the Caribbean Sea.
Norman is at his “resort design” best here, bringing a little bit of everything into play but not making things too difficult for the vacationer that’s playing golf rather than the golfer on vacation. The course is spotted with several lagoons and a quartet of holes are played either looking towards or from Playa Mujeres’ beautiful white sandy beach and the turquoise seas of the Mexican Caribbean.
The track has fairly wide fairways and a forgiving second cut and there is wildlife everywhere. Its bunkers are large and well placed while the slope and the grain of the putting surfaces make them the most challenging part of the challenge at Playa Mujeres.
The best holes come late in the round, starting at the par-3 15th hole, home to a tabletop green and deep bunker. The 16th tee reveals the sea, a distraction on a tricky short par-4. The intimidating par-4 finishing hole ends at the large colorful clubhouse.
Playa Mujeres is a great resort course with daily trade winds that demand pinpoint accuracy and challenge even the most experienced of players.
