What could the creative minds of such golf course architects as Robert Trent Jones, Jack Nicklaus, P.B. Dye and Greg Norman come up with if presented with pristine land along a beautiful coast line in a tropical area?

Such a coast line exists along a 125--mile stretch on the Yucatan Peninsula in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico. From the air you can see where the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean Sea splash into the white sandy beaches all the way from Puerto Morelos, which is just south of the Cancun International Airport, to the small fishing village that is Punta Allen.

The white sand is all that separates the water from the green jungles of the Riviera Maya.

It was in that jungle foliage and along the jagged coast line that Jones, Nicklaus, Dye and Norman created outstanding golf courses that are offer stunning vistas and enough sets of tees to make the game challenging for all classes of players.

Golf hasn’t always been an option on the Riviera Maya. As recently as 30 years ago, the only reason to venture south of Cancun would be to visit the ruins of Tulum or Playa Del Carmen and the only thing one would see on the route would be a few fishing villages and maybe some thatched huts along some of the beaches.

Not anymore.

The Riviera Maya, with its cultural richness and beautiful surroundings, is now one of the fastest growing resort areas in the world with many all-inclusive hotels and ocean front bungalows dotting the landscape.

There’s one other thing that is getting attention – the golf courses. There are currently six golf courses on the Riviera Maya and more in the planning stages. I played three of them and visited two others during a recent journey to the area.

To plan for a trip like this, one has to find the right resort. The choices are endless. You can find secluded beach hotels or stay in a trendy ocean front hotel where you will mingle with guests from all over the world.

I stayed at the Iberostar Playa Paraiso, a five-star hotel which is one of five Iberostar resorts located on the same property. Part of the lure was because the Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club was part of the complex. The other part of the lure was it was an All-Inclusive resort which means the only time you reach into your wallet is to offer a tip, and even that is optional.

Big tipper than I am, I became one of the favorite guests of the friendly staff and all were asking me to ask for them whenever I needed anything.

I got to know one of the bartenders (Carlos) so well that whenever I returned from a round of golf, as soon as he spotted me crossing the massive lobby on my way through the bar, he would have my favorite beverage prepared and handed to me as I passed his station on my way to my suite.

Life is good at an Iberostar resort.

Before my first round of golf, the club pro, Greg Bond, gave me the best advice about playing all of the courses on the Riviera Maya. “Fairways and fairways,” he repeated over and over. “You keep remembering those two things and you will be rewarded.”

What he was trying to emphasize was tightness of the fairways the penalty you will pay for missing them because you don’t want to wander into the jungle looking for lost balls. Keeping the balls in the fairways takes on more difficulty because of the wind, and even reading the wind is tough because the trees are so short on the peninsula. Once a ball gets above the tree line, it’s at the mercy of the wind.

With all of the information rattling around in my brain, the first course I played was the Dye-designed Iberostar Playa Paraiso.

If you know anything about the Dye family of golf course architects, you know to expect anything. P.T. Dye did not disappoint. How about trees in the middle of bunkers? Or cenotes (deep sink holes) in the middle of fairways?  There is always a fair amount of water on a Dye course and this one also has narrow fairways carved from a Mayan jungle, deep bunkers, rock riverbeds, and vertical movements of land to create side hill, downhill and uphill lies.

“The first few holes are relatively easy,” Bond said, “but the course gets your attention beginning at the seventh hole.”

The stretch of holes, from 7 through 11, are what Dye liked to refer to as his Amen Corner. I would have called it Tapped Out Corner because it can make you feel like tapping out.

The 547-yard 7^th hole plays directly into the wind. Once you traverse the bunker-strewn, heavily contoured fairway, you must deal with a three-tiered green that isn’t very deep, but is about 80 yards wide. Land on the wrong side of this green and you will be proud to three-putt it.

The 8^th hole is a 463-yard par-4 that is uphill. You can’t miss the green left, right or long or you will wind up in the jungle. Come up short and you will be hitting from a cenote.

The 9^th hole is one of the most scenic with a view of the pyramid from the Iberostar Paraiso Maya resort. Although it is a relatively short (364 yards) par-4, the wind plays trick with your shot to the green.

The 10^th hole is the one with a tree standing along in the middle of a waste bunker in the middle of the fairway. The tree really doesn’t come into play as your tee shot should easily carry the waste bunker, but still, it makes one want to hit either left or right of the tree.

The 11^th hole is a 405-yard par-4 with a sharp left dogleg. You have to carry a leg to cut the dogleg or risk going into one of several bunkers if you play right of the water. This is a target hole and you better not miss your target.

Despite the Dyeabolical trappings, the course is fun to play if you play it from the correct set of tees. The course is all-inclusive which means you pay one price which covers greens fees, driving range, a shared cart, food and beverage.

The next stop on my three-day excursion was the Jones-designed Gran Bahia Principie Riviera Maya Golf Club.

This is the newest course on the Riviera Maya having opened just under a year ago. There are two golf courses on the property, a full-length 18-hole, par-72 course and a 9-hole par-36 layout.

Jones took a piece of land that was 717 acres of tropical rain forest and used 223 acres to route his courses.

Because the course is so close to the Caribbean Sea, it gets pretty windy so you always have to be careful with your club selection, particularly on the par-3 holes.

I played the 18-hole course which was one of the most beautiful courses I have ever played. Jones had to cut through an ancient limestone quarry to create fairways for some of the holes. Others flowed naturally through the contours of the Mayan jungle that was thick with mangroves and gum trees.

This was my favorite stop on this trip. The course had a more traditional look than the others because of the way Jones used the natural terrain of the land and the holes that were surrounded by a wide variety of plant species and animals.

Jones is a genius as using natural rock formations and cenotes in routing the course. The fairways were wide enough to be fair, yet bordered by natural hazards to be challenging.

There is no need to trick up anything on this course. The course can stretch to as long as 7,272 yards for top players to as little as 5,259 yards from the forward tees. I played it from the white tees at 6,006 yards which was plenty for me.

The Riviera Maya is also an all-inclusive course where the price to play golf covers food and beverage as well.

The third course on the trip was Norman’s El Camaleon Mayakoba, home of the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Classic.

This course, one of Norman’s favorites, bends through three distinctive landscapes – mangrove jungles, limestone canals and the coast line of the Caribbean Sea.

Located on the luxury resort the Fairmont Mayakoba, residents can actually step out of their rooms and get into a boat that will take them through one of the channels directly to the first tee. Once on the tee, the course demands your attention immediately because right in the middle of the fairway (in the landing area) is a massive cenote and leads into an underground cavern. If you hit your ball long enough, you might have to rake the ball out of the cavern and take an unplayable!

Using a dark green tone of Paspalum grass, Norman guards his wide fairways with white sand dunes, mangroves, cenotes and lagoons.

Two of the great holes on the course are par-3s that play directly toward the blue hued waters of the Caribbean Sea. The 8^th hole measured only 110 yards into the teeth of a strong wind and when my playing companions all came up more than 20 yards short, I went from a 9-iron (my 110-yard club) to a 6-iron (my 150-yard club), hit it well and barely reached the front edge of the green.

When I got to the 15^th, a 144-yard hole into the same wind, I went with a 5-wood (175 yards for me) and knocked it over the green. So much for knowing how to play the wind.

Although the fairways leave ample room to drive the ball, you have to be careful with your distance because trouble lurks in many areas if you hit too long (into lagoons) or into cenotes if you are too short.

The greens are massive and heavily contoured which brings precise irons into play. It’s a PGA Tour course so it’s not meant to be easy, but it has enough tees to make it fun and challenging for all levels of players.

A course I didn’t play, but got to see was El Manglar Golf Course, an 18-hole, par-54 designed by Nicklaus.

As far as par-3 courses go, this one is right up there alongside the par-3 course at Augusta National. This course is a masterpiece which includes several holes that are replicas other famous par-3 holes around the world.

Augusta National’s 12^th hole is replicated in detail including a bridge at the 7^th hole much like the Ben Hogan Bridge that crosses the pond in front of the green. Rivera’s 6^th hole which features a bunker in the middle of the green shows up as the 17^th hole.

But it’s not just the replications of holes that makes the course special. It’s holes like the 276^th 13^th and the closing 195-yard 18^th to an island green that make this course a “must play” course for every golfer who visits the Riviera Maya.

All of the course I played are truly spectacular and it’s easy to understand why more and more courses are being planned for the Riviera Maya. The area has stunning beauty, grandiose resorts and the weather is gorgeous.

WHERE TO STAY

Five-Star all-inclusive hotel. There are two huge statues that preside over the entrance to the impressive reception area which features furniture carved in wood, brass,  bronze or limestone. From a giant harp whose strings are decorated with seashells to the huge brass vases and a lobby bar that is an exact replica of the Chichen Itza Pyramid, this hotel is an authentic masterpiece, filled with objects that wouldn’t be out of place in a museum.

This hotel also features outstanding nightly entertainment, sports facilities, six restaurants to satisfy all culinary palates, five bars and an ice cream bar.

Guests may choose from one of 349 Junior Suites, all with a terrace and full range of facilities including cable television, coffee making machines, mini-bar, hair dryer and safe.

The hotel’s all-inclusive service also includes swimming at any of the many pools, sports such as aerobics, shooting, archery, basketball, cycling, beach volleyball, billiards, bocce, catamarans, football, gymnastics, kayaking, aqua gym, the scuba clinic, snorkeling, table tennis, tennis and windsurfing.

WHERE TO PLAY

THINGS TO DO

Tulum Archeological Site

This is the most beautiful archeological site on the Riviera Maya. Tulum, which means Fortified City in Maya, is the only walled city along the coast, built in a way to defend itself against attacks. Most of the buildings were built between 1200 and 1450 AD.

Playa Del Carmen

This is a port where cruise ships stop to give its passengers a taste of the Riviera Maya. The city has experienced a development boom recently and the population, once made up of people from the surrounding area, has quickly turned into a melting pot of immigrants from all over the world.

La Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue)

This is where Europe meets Mexico over several square blocks featuring handicraft shops, jewelry stores, exclusive boutiques, bars and restaurants. In the evening, the nightclubs come alive raising the spirit and energy of the people to create a unique party atmosphere.

Festivals, Events

There are things to do throughout the year throughout the Riviera Maya. In February there is the Mayakoba Golf Classic and a carnival at Playa Del Carmen. The Expo Tequila, which features tequila producers from all over Mexico, is in July Other events during the year include film festivals, a sea turtle festival and the Playa Del Carmen fishing tournament.