Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

[cary lichtenstein]

I have a list of 6 courses in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and within a 2 hour drive. I would love to get some feedback on these positive or negative plus anything else worth playing

1. El Tiger...Von Hagge
2. Vista Vallarta...Nicklaus
3. Vista Vallarta...Weiskopf
4. Punta Mita...Nicklaus
5. El Tamarindo...don't know architect
6. Isla Navidad...Von Hagge

[klangone]

The road to El Tigre is the most rugged terrain I have been on.  The course is cut into the jungle on the coastline.  The Punta Mita course is part of the Four Seasons (hands down the BEST place to stay in Vallarta).  It is an hour plus from the airport though.......a beautiful place up on a bluff overlooking the bay.  They have a unique par-3 which you have to take a boat to during high tide.  A very good Nicklaus course.

[David Wigler]

Cary,

I was in Puerta Vallarta over Thanksgiving.  Here is a link to a thread I started before I went.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=6456;start=msg123540#msg123540

I am not sure which course Klangone is talking about, but it is not El Tigre.  El Tigre is connected to the Paradise Valley resort and a 10 minute cab ride from the airport on a real highway.  It is good resort golf.  The lion in the cage behind the 6th tee box is a little cheesy, but I had my son with me and he thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen on a golf course.  The course is plenty hard from the back tees, perfectly manicured, very pretty (Several neat waterfalls) and about what you would expect for high end resort play.

The Vista Vallarta Nicklaus and Weiskopf courses are also very solid resort golf (Think better than anything in Cancun but not at the level of Los Cabos or Hawaii).  Nicklaus is better IMO.

Marina Vallarta is a waste of time and not worth playing.

Punta Minta and Isla Navidad are huge drives on substandard roads through rough terrain.  I cannot fathom making those drives to play public resort golf.  I just can't believe that they are so much better than El Tigre and VV that it is worth the effort.

Hope this helps!

PS - There is a restaraunt downtown called the Brazil Steakhouse.  My entire family ate for $50 and I had one of the best meat eater dinners I have had in my entire life.  I think that they have another in the Paradise Valley mall.  The waiters walk around with meat on Swords and cut if off for you.  Mortons or Ruth Chris's have nothing on this place.  It is at least an 8 on the Doak Scale.

[ddavid426]

Spend all your time on the Vista Vallarta courses and maybe the Nicklaus at Punta Mita.  The rest you should pass.

[klangone]

The course cut out of the jungle is El Tamarindo....about 2 hours from PV......sorry about mix-up.  David Fleming is the designer.  A must see whatever the name.

[henrye]

Quasssi.

I have played a few of the courses you have listed and was told by a friend that one of the others is great.

Isla Navidad is 3 terrific nines.  The lagoon nine is truly a delight.  The place was practically empty when I played.  Note: it is a long way from anywhere other than the Grand Bay Hotel which is located on site.  The Hotel is good.

Tamarindo is only about a 10 minute drive from Isla Navidad.  I didn't play there, but a close friend highly recommended it.

I played the Vista Vallarta courses.  Nicklaus is the better of the two.  Both are enjoyable.

Lastly, I played Punta Mita a few times with my son and it is a fun ocean layout, but in my opinion the weakest of the bunch.

I have not played El Tiger, but it looked more like a typical resort layout surrounded by a number of new hotels.  Negative to me, but to be fair, I didn't play it.

I have mentioned Isla Navidad previously on this site and I think it is a top world course and setting.  If you have been to Cabo and played the courses there, this is in the same calibre, but different in that it is not dessert golf, but rather ocean golf played in a lush tropical environment.  It is a hidden gem.