PARAISO DEL MAR GOLF CLUB

THE WINDSWEPT FOURTEENTH (Aidan Bradley)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece is written By Quentin Lutz, head of Qonnect Partners and the youngest person to play Golf Magazine’s World Top 100. Quentin formerly worked for Arthur Hills in business development.

The Paraiso del Mar Golf Club, the first of two planned golf courses for the Paraiso del Mar development in the city of La Paz, Mexico, opened on Memorial Day. The 7,040-yard golf course is unlike anything to have been built on the “Baja Peninsula” to date. With it double fairways, rumpled natural contours and “links-style” feel it doesn’t take long for golfers to appreciate the joys of this new-to-the-region natural golf experience. Arthur Hills said at the opening of the golf club that “Paraiso del Mar is one of the most natural and beautiful sites for a golf course that I have seen in my 40-year career as a golf course architect. The sandy gentle roll of the topography [is] like the great courses of the British Isles.”

HILLS DISTRURBED AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE(Bradley)

Everything about the golf course was left very natural, including the sand and stony-base cart paths, which feel right in place with the surroundings. “I am pleased that the owners left everything looking the way they did because the land has always been so picturesque,” said Brian Yoder, the lead golf course architect working with Hills and one of the first people to walk the land with owners Luis Cano and John Fair.

The golf course starts off with a real test as the 472 yard par-4 first hole demands that you are amply warmed-up and ready for action. The fairway is wide and spacious on this opening hole and the green is perfectly contoured to receive a long iron or rescue club second. The 2^nd hole is a classic 349 yard par-4 risk/reward golf hole where players must think about what club to hit from the tee as driver or 3-wood bring the two fairway bunkers into play. A deep and devilish collection area lurks behind the green challenging the golfer to be accurate with a shor- iron second.  The long par-3 third is downwind but requires the purest of shots from the back tee to find the putting surface. These opening holes are set in the sandy mangroves on the bay side of the course.

THE DOUBLE GREEN AT THE FOURTH AND THE SEVENTH (Bradley)

Holes number 4 through 8 make-ups the first loop touching the ocean-side of the course. Standing on the tee at the par-4, 428-yard fourth hole looking out over the Sea of Cortez further awakens the senses should you have had a long evening the night before with your new found local friends Don Julio and Jose Cuervo. The short 166-yard par-3 6^th is butted up against the low dune next to the Sea. This is a shot that I play over and over in my mind, as there is certainly a premium on accuracy. Depending on the flag location, this very unique green will demand that players hit the correct iron to a precise location on the green. If the pin is at the bottom of the bowl on the 6^th, then look out because a hole-in-one may be in the cards. The 7^th hole is my favorite on the course although many would argue with me because the short par-3 14^th is meant to be the “Signature” hole. The 7^th is a hole where if you are playing well, you have the ability to add extra momentum to your round. But if your round is floundering a bit, it gives you that renewed sense of hope. Typically the wind is helping on the 7^th, which along with the par5 thirteenth are the most links-like holes on the course. The fairway is wide here and the green is very reachable in two shots, but rolls mightily to defend par. If the second shot lands on the correct quadrant of the green, then two putts are a certainty, if not watch out. The 8^th hole is a par-4 demanding a good tee shot but with the wind helping should be no more than a 7 or 8-iron second to a green that is raised and defended by somewhat of a false front. The 9^th is another relatively short par-5 where the most demanding shot is the tee shot. From the back tee, let it rip and you will be able to get home in two This is the highest spot on the course with beautiful long views of both the Sea and the Bay of La Paz.

THE FIFTH AND SIXTH (Bradley)

The back nine starts with a bang. The 224-yard Par-3 10^th is hit from an elevated tee that looks directly out onto the Sea. One of the most demanding tee shots on the course as the wind is typically coming across from the left and hurting just a bit, and the green has a fair bit of movement.  A par here on the 10^th and the back nine sets up for scoring. The 11^th is a birdie hole- a short par-4 slight dogleg right where players should be coming in with a wedge. The green features a devious center spine down the middle. Long putts are tricky but a short to medium putt can be holed. Hole 12 is the 2^nd longest par-4 but plays shorter because the wind is typically at your back. A ridge runs diagonally through the center of this fairway, which helps the player that is able to carry it. The green on this hole is receptive to long irons and enables one to play a traditional links style run-up shot. The 13^th is a devious par-5 that typically plays with a cross wind. A drive onto a wide fairway sets up an intriguing second shot because the green is well guarded short, but the trick is to get the ball as close to this green as possible to create some spin and check with the third shot onto a table-top green. This a great hole made even better by the incredible view of  the Sea of Cortez and surrounding mountains. The 14^th is a short, beautifully placed par 3 of only 137 yards. The architects changed the green location here so that it would play in the opposite direction of  the 6^th hole (which plays downwind).

THE THIRTEENTH (Bradley)

Early on there was some criticism about why the course designers shifted this hole back into the wind. It reminds me of one of the truly great golf courses of the world: Royal Melbourne designed by Alister MacKenzie. Part of the brilliance of this MacKenzie’s design was his ability to design par-3s that faced all four directions so that each would offer a new challenge with regards to the wind. This is a fantastic hole best enjoyed during sunset when the sky to the west is a glow of red, yellow, orange and pink. The 15^th is the longest par-4 on the course where a par feels like a birdie. This hole plays is a little bit of a slog but the green is perfectly framed amongst the mangroves and dunes.

THE CLOSING HOLE (Bradley)

The closing loop offers two good scoring chances in order to improve ones score. The first scoring chance is the 16^th a medium length par-5 that provides a birdie opportunity if the drive is hit well. Avoid the water on the right and one will have a good chance to get close to the green with your second. Watch out for the hellish bunker hidden on the back right quadrant of the green. The 17^th is an all world par-3 with one of the biggest greens on the course. Depending on the pin placement and wind direction, this can be anywhere from a 3-wood to a 7 iron.  The closing par-5 18^th is another chance to score. Again the key here is the drive. Find the fairway and the chance of hitting it close to the pin on your third shot goes up dramatically. The opportunity to go for the green in two-shots is possible, but beware of the lurking water next to the green on the right.

Arnold Palmer once told me that the greatest compliment that you could give to a golf course was to say that it was a course that you could play over and over again for the rest of your life and not get tired of it. To me, Paraisao del Mar Golf Club fits into that category. When you come to test drive it, play it twice and you will see what I mean.

ONE OF THE MANY BEAUTIFUL VIEWS (Bradley)