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Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Instead of my usual whining like the fat middle aged hack that I am, I decided to actually make an attempt at a positive contribution to this site.  So on our family holiday trip to Cabo, your intrepid reporter risked life and limb on a day trip through the mountain roads of Baja California Sur armed with my new Panasonic Lumix camera (with a Leica lens!).  The good news is I made it there and back by nightfall and took a ton of pictures.  The bad news is I would have liked to have taken even more non-golf related pictures and have spent more time soaking in the course and this was my first time using the camera extensively, so I have yet to figure out all the manual settings, so apologies in advance.  For anyone travelling down that way, I'd highly recommend making the trip to play this course, although the preferable method for those not rushing back to watch the kids go parasailing is to stay over and get 54 holes in.  Combined with Diamante and Cabo del Sol Ocean, this is one hell of a golf trip.  My only problem is that it's a lot easier to justify a guy's golf trip to Bandon than it is to Cabo, the family inevitably wants to come along for the 80 degree days and the beaches.  (side note-if anyone wants the recipe I got personally from the head chef at Don Emiliano for Salsa Macha please IM me).

Anyway, on to the course.  This is not a walking course.  Hell, you'd need a massage just humping it from the clubhouse to the first tee.  Your cart comes with your own GPS gun, ballwasher, club cleaner, and a rake (a nifty cartball solution to the "where should the rakes be kept" argument).   I suppose you COULD walk the course with some shuttling around, but I doubt that anyone does.  Obviously there were some constraints in terms of proposed real estate lots which caused this routing, but they did a nice job of segregating the two elements, although it's a bit hard to tell as the only houses built thus far are near the clubhouse and there are posts and signs all over the place.  Well, anyway, if there's ever an advertisement for a cart-ball course, this is it.  As with most Doak courses, at least those I've seen, the greens are really interesting and there's a lot of subtle, and not so subtle, movement on the fairways.  I tried to get a lot of pictures of said ground game, but as usual the photos don't do justice to the land.

The fact that this place is not one of RGD's Top Ten leads me to 2 possible conclusions:

1.  The gang took a bit too much Peyote one night in the desert and had a bad experience, or

2. I need to make a much better effort to get off my butt and see the other 8 of the top 10 that I have yet to see. (I've only played Pac Dunes and Lost Dunes, as well as Legends Heathland.  FYI- Old Mac didn't make their top ten either!).

« Last Edit: December 26, 2011, 07:24:33 AM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2011, 01:31:25 PM »
A few things you don't see every day on your way to the club:








Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Derek_Duncan

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2011, 01:42:09 PM »
Jud,

I'll be watching with eagerness as this thread and its photos develop, but which Lumix did you get, and what are your thoughts on it?
www.feedtheball.com -- a podcast about golf architecture and design
@feedtheball

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour New
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2011, 01:42:44 PM »
OK- on to the course.  I will include in quotes the hole by hole "quick tips" that they give you before heading out.  Again, as it was my one and only play and I was rushing a bit on the back to make sure I made it back to civilization, hopefully others will chime in.  As with the other RGD courses I've seen, the course is a ton of fun and playable for all abilities, but that doesn't mean it's easy to score, particularly on your first visit.  The greens were running a bit slow (9ish?) but not so slow that you couldn't use the slopes effectively around the green.  My only beef was the quality of the sand, which is one of my pet peeves.  It was very heavy and didn't really allow for many shots other than the grip-it and blast out one.  Don't know if this is a maintenance issue.  Also is this the indigenous sand they found on site?  Anyway, it's hard to quibble with a real-estate course in this environment.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2011, 12:40:39 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour New
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2011, 01:45:28 PM »
Derek,

I got the DMC-ZS7.  This is their smallest, lowest priced model which has the Leica lens.  I think it was about $250. I really like it.  The zoom and the HD video are very good.  (The above pix were taken through the windshield of a moving car.)
« Last Edit: December 26, 2011, 07:28:51 AM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2011, 01:55:08 PM »
Par 72, Blue 6916, White 6336, Red 5213

Hole 1: Blue 426, White 386, Red 289
Handicap 10

"Driver off the tee, aim for the green on this wide open fairway.  On your approach, anywhere but the bunker lined right side is good.  Plenty of room for an easy chip and putt if you don't hit the green.  Good warm up for what's to come"

I'm a fan of the "ease-into-the round" hole, and down-wind this is certainly one, particularly after spending nearly 3 hours on the Mexican back roads! I'm on record as consistently saying views are overrated on golf courses, but some of these are pretty darned good.

View looking back out over the bay from the first tee:


« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 03:41:35 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2011, 01:57:46 PM »
View from first tee.  I played the whites, but tried to take as many pix as possible from the tips:


Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2011, 02:00:53 PM »
Looking back towards the tee from the fairway:


Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #8 on: January 02, 2011, 02:03:17 PM »
Approach shot:


Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2011, 02:05:30 PM »
View from just short of the green.

Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2011, 02:08:36 PM »
From the front-left side of green:


Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2011, 02:10:22 PM »
Left-rear of green:


Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2011, 02:12:37 PM »
Some of the great bunker work front-right:




Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #13 on: January 02, 2011, 02:14:11 PM »
Introducing Ball-Cam!  No this isn't porn...OK maybe it is for some of us....


Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #14 on: January 02, 2011, 02:15:42 PM »
Left Bunker:


Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour
« Reply #15 on: January 02, 2011, 02:18:13 PM »
From behind the green.  As I recall there are a lot of interesting shots from behind the green on several holes.  Might even be the play with this pin to avoid dealing with the swale and bunker on the front-right:


Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour- Hole #2 posted
« Reply #16 on: January 02, 2011, 03:13:33 PM »
Hole #2:  Par 4, Blue-416, White-393, Red-320
Handicap 6

"Aim at the green and let 'er rip on this hole, too.  A bit longer than the first, but same wide open fairway.  Take an extra club to the uphill green, and stay left.  This green is anything but flat. so anywhere on is good, or leave it short left for an uphill chip shot."

So much for the easy 3-hole start the pro told me about...This hole plays fairly long into the breeze off the bay and there's a lot going on on this green and some nice bunkering short and right...

From the tee:




« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 03:57:06 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour- Hole #2 posted
« Reply #17 on: January 02, 2011, 03:16:00 PM »
Zoomed in:


« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 04:01:15 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour- Hole #2 posted
« Reply #18 on: January 02, 2011, 03:21:48 PM »
Zoomed-in left approach:


« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 04:00:57 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour- Hole #2 posted
« Reply #19 on: January 02, 2011, 03:24:10 PM »
Great bunker short and right, may find more balls than you think in a stronger breeze:


« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 04:00:48 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour- Hole #2 posted
« Reply #20 on: January 02, 2011, 03:26:09 PM »
Short-left:


« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 04:00:38 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour- Hole #2 posted
« Reply #21 on: January 02, 2011, 03:28:14 PM »
from left of the green.  Notice the contours both below and above the hole (bigger than they appear):



« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 04:00:29 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour- Hole #2 posted
« Reply #22 on: January 02, 2011, 03:30:23 PM »
Another look at the green contour from below the hole:



« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 04:00:14 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour- Hole #2 posted
« Reply #23 on: January 02, 2011, 03:32:53 PM »
from behind the green, notice contour on right:



« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 04:00:03 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Bahia de Los Suenos Golf & Beach Club Photo Tour- Hole #2 posted
« Reply #24 on: January 02, 2011, 03:34:53 PM »
Not where you want to be:



Another crappy view from the green  8):


« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 03:57:26 PM by Jud Tigerman »
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak