[George Freeman]

I was down in Cabo a couple weeks ago, and although I only got one round of golf in during the week, I was lucky enough to do it at Diamante.  I'm not sure I have played a golf course in a more breathtaking setting.  The scenery and landscape absolutely dominate your attention for the majority of the round.  But, that is not to say the golf course isn't befitting of the spot, b/c I think it is really good.

The Donald would be envious of this range



#1

The first hole is one of the few holes played in the flatter portion of the property behind the massive dunes.  This hole eases you into the round and gives good players a great opportunity to start the day off with a birdie.  The interesting mounding separating the green and the bailout area really make the hole IMO.  The hole plays into the dominant wind.



The large dune that runs the length of the hole


The green.  The pic is too zoomed in to capture the aforementioned mounding.

[George Freeman]

#2
They didn't waste any time getting the golfer into the dunes.  The second is a long par 3 (usually playing downwind) that is set in a huge dune bowl.  The green is separated by a large ridge running through its middle, which would really seem to effect the way one would play the hole.  I like the scrub short of the hole that screws with depth perception.  It is a pretty spectacular sight when you pop over the hill to see the hole.




There is tons of green and fairway down to the right, behind the scrub.


A better picture from Greg Tallman's photo tour


On the way to the next hole.  You can see the ridge bisecting the green.

[Anthony Gray]

  This course is one of my Top 5 favorites.The CB of Cabo.The third hole is alot like 7 at Old Mac.

   Anthony

[Matt_Ward]

George:

Great photos and commentary !

Quick question -- are the contours at the 2nd green somewhat excessive. For the length of the shot -- and with the wind conditions being favorable -- I have to wonder.

What's your take ?

[George Freeman]

#3
The third is a mid-length par 4 which has you hitting from up on the dune ledge, down into a valley between two ridges.  You then hit back up to a green placed up on the ridge.  I haven't played Old Mac #7, but from pictures, the approach shots look somewhat similar.  The regular wind is in your face quartering from the left, so the tendency is to have your tee ball pushed further and further right, making your approach more perpendicular to the green access.  The fairway has some really nice humps and mounds which are hard to see in the pics.





Zoomed in to capture (kinda) the humps in the fairway


This is a shot from the base of the hill.  The entire hill and bunker surrounds are shaved to fairway height, so anything left short will run back down the hill and most likely into a bunker.


Sorry, no pics of the green.

[George Freeman]

George:

Great photos and commentary !

Quick question -- are the contours at the 2nd green somewhat excessive. For the length of the shot -- and with the wind conditions being favorable -- I have to wonder.

What's your take ?

Matt,

I would say no.  Typically this hole will play pretty severely downwind and, in addition, the tee shot is slightly elevated.  I hit two clubs less than the yardage and the wind was hardly blowing at that point.

There is nice contouring on the small scale throughout the green and green surrounds, but as mentioned, the dominant feature is the ridge running through the middle of the green.  

If the pin is on the left side of the ridge (which I would say is visually easier, but harder to pull off), you can play your ball well out to the left and it should funnel down to the top, left portion of the green.

The lower right half is much more visually daunting, mainly b/c you are mostly blind (other than the top half of the flag).  However, as can be seen in my pics, there is quite a bit of room over on that side and once again, balls will tend to feed to the green.

So, no, I think the contours of the green work quite well on the hole.  It is a fun chip or putt trying to get from one half of the green to the other if you find yourself on the wrong side (which I did).

[Matt_Ward]

George:

Understood -- but should the wind pattern change -- the length increases dramatically -- plus the contours look to be quite demanding.

Even downwind holding the shot to a given spot would seem very tough. Love the look of the hole.

In regards to the 3rd I have to wonder if the bowl-shaped fairway simply feeds balls to roughly the same area.

[George Freeman]

George:

Understood -- but should the wind pattern change -- the length increases dramatically -- plus the contours look to be quite demanding.

Even downwind holding the shot to a given spot would seem very tough. Love the look of the hole.

From what I was told, the wind direction rarely changes.  It sounded like 75-85% of the time it will come from the same direction (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Also, the little island of scrub short/left of the green is probably a good 25-35 yards short of the green, so there is room to land the ball short of the green and let it run on.

But you're right, if the wind flip-flopped, this would be a very difficult hole.

[George Freeman]

In regards to the 3rd I have to wonder if the bowl-shaped fairway simply feeds balls to roughly the same area.

The third fairway is quite a bit wider than the pictures portray.  In addition, there is a ridge running from the near left corner of the fairway to the far right corner of the fairway, which definitely adds interest to the tee ball.  This hole plays into the wind, so it isn't a sure thing to clear the ridge.  If that happens, you're faced with a much harder shot.

A real bomber could get the ball to or near the base of the hill upon which the green sits.

[Matt_Ward]

George:

How high is the green from the base of the fairway -- looks to be in the 30-40 foot range ?

[George Freeman]

George:

How high is the green from the base of the fairway -- looks to be in the 30-40 foot range ?

I'm no expert, but I would guess it is slightly more than that.  I'm not sure you can see the green surface from many places in the fairway.  And if you're at the base of the hill, you're only able to see the top half of the flag.

[Jud_T]

George,

Playing there friday.  Hope to add some additional pix with my new camera and a couple other courses of interest....Thanx for posting...

[Matt_Ward]

George:

What is the "effective" yardage for the 3rd -- given the general wind pattern and green elevation ?

Also, what is the green width in terms of yards -- the depth at 46 is quite deep. Old Macdonald's 7th is both deep and wide.

thanks,

[George Freeman]

#4
The fourth is a (theoretically) drivable par 4, and with a good wind from behind, it probably is.  As you can see by the drawing below, the fairway is bisected by a large finger of scrub.  You can either go directly for the green and hope a running drive will run onto or near the green, or, you can hit anything from a fairway medal to a mid-iron down the left portion of the fairway to leave yourself with a shot of less than 150 yards.  

I like the options here, b/c both are reasonable depending on your skill set.  If you decide to go at the green, but come up short (but clear the scrub), you're faced with a challenging half pitch with the green falling from your right to your left and with sand and scrub to contend with.  If you lay up left, you will face a pretty straightforward shot perpendicular to the slope of the green (much easier than parallel, as with the first shot).
 



From the front tees, which are more elevated and show the split fairway effect better


Two pics of the green from the 3rd tee box

[George Freeman]

George:

What is the "effective" yardage for the 3rd -- given the general wind pattern and green elevation ?

Also, what is the green width in terms of yards -- the depth at 46 is quite deep. Old Macdonald's 7th is both deep and wide.

thanks,

Well, without any wind, I would say the shot up to the green plays at least one club, maybe two extra. 

And as the wind blows harder, the effective yardage just keeps going up.

[George Freeman]

#5
The fifth hole is a short par 3 which plays directly back into the wind, making it play much longer.  It is a pretty large green for the length of the hole, making it fun to try to punch an iron below the wind onto the surface.  The front right bunker plays much larger than just its size due to contours that feed into it from 2-3 directions (I know b/c my ball ended up in it!).  Great views from the green.





There is much more contour in the green than can be seen from these pictures.

[George Freeman]

George,

Playing there friday.  Hope to add some additional pix with my new camera and a couple other courses of interest....Thanx for posting...

Enjoy your trip!  Cabo is a great place.  I'll be interested to hear your take on the course.

[Carl Nichols]

George:
Walkable?

[Matt_Ward]

George:

What is the CR and SL for the various tee boxes ?

Curious to know if you personally felt overwhelmed with all the off-course eye-candy ?

[Anthony Gray]

George:
Walkable?

    Too hot and uphill I would say.

   Anthony

[George Freeman]

George:
Walkable?

Yes, it is walkable.  We didn't walk, but I wish we had.  I met a gentleman later in the trip who played quite a few rounds at Diamante during the week and walked all of them.  He said other than one or two decent walks from green to tee, the course was very walkable.

[George Freeman]

George:

What is the CR and SL for the various tee boxes ?

Curious to know if you personally felt overwhelmed with all the off-course eye-candy ?

Tee 1: 7,300 yds - 75.4/146
Tee 2: 6,757 yds - 72.7/138
Tee 3: 6,349 yds - 71.0/132

The back nine is considerably longer than the front.  I played the 2nd set on the front and a mix of the 2nd/3rd on the back to come in around 6,500 yds.

As far as the scenery:  I'm not sure overwhelmed is the correct term.  The scenery is amazing.  The beach and dunes are some of the largest, most dramatic I have ever seen.  Very different from dunes in GB&I as there isn't any flora on them; just huge sand dunes.  They filmed a lot of the movie Troy on the beach.

I think for your first few rounds (definitely your first), you are just blown away by the scenery, which takes a little bit of your focus away from the course.  But that is not to say the course is a dud and the scenery is the only thing worth seeing.  That is definitely not the case.

You'll never hear me say that a courses surrounds are TOO beautiful or dramatic.

[George Freeman]

#6
I really liked this hole.  Number six plays as a short par 5 and with a good drive and/or mild wind conditions, the hole is very reachable in two.  The tee shot appears much more constricted than it actually is.  As you can see by the drawing of the hole, a triangle of fairway extends behind the  nearest dune ridge, which is pretty easily carried off the tee.  The further right you go off the tee, the less of the green/flag you will be able to see.  The second/third shots play uphill to a green tucked into and behind a small dune ridge.  The bowl effect feeds balls that miss the green back onto the putting surface (especially from the right).



This is the tee shot.  Directly below the small comfort station and before the left fairway bunker is the turf extension I was talking about.  As can be seen, this area is completely blind from the tee.



This pic (from Greg Tallman's photo review) shows the hidden landing area


This is the view from the landing area of a un-aggressive tee shot.  Really no chance at getting home in two from here, but you can see how the green sits in a natural bowl.

[Matt_Ward]

George:

Help me out here / the 6th. How high is the tee elevated above the fairway ?

Curious to know why the course would have a par-5 that is THAT short.

[Anthony Gray]

   One thing that stands out on this course is the native beach foliage that plays much like heather.At places it squezes the fairway and cost the player at least one stoke if he finds it.

  Anthony

 

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