Troon Privé, April/May 2017

TROON PRIVÉ CONNECT 35 34 TROON PRIVÉ CONNECT The results are impressive We didnt change the holes or the course routing says General Manager Jason Ballog But we significantly upgraded the playing surfaces Plus we thinned out a lot of the overgrown vegetation to open up the sightlines to the ocean and added a lot of colorful plantings to areas throughout the golf course to add visual aesthetics The verdict Palmilla Golf Club the first Jack Nicklaus Signature course in Latin America is better now than when it first opened in 1992 In addition to replacing the facilitys computerized irrigation system golf cart fleet and mowing equipment three lakes have been refurbished and a fourth will be renovated this summer adding storage and a water feature No 4 on the Mountain nine a Cape style par 5 angled from left to right calls for a carefully aimed drive over one of the refurbished lakes which now features beach bunkers feathered into the waters edge Actor Michael J Fox is a big fan of the course Palmilla Golf Club is a beautiful combination of courses and holes that challenge even great golfers but still provide opportunities for high handicappers like me to achieve personal victories and keep coming back Shout out to Jason Ballog director of golf and my personal golf sensei Chiseling into a box shaped canyon framed by stark brown peaks in the Sierra de la Laguna range Nicklaus created a core 18 the Arroyo and Mountain nines that sets the course apart from any other in North America A scintillating target style test Palmilla was the first course in the hemisphere to make use of Cabos unique mountain desert ocean ecosystem When we first went to work on Palmilla we saw that the property had some wonderful ravines and arroyos that ran down throughout Nicklaus says We utilized those in the design the strategy and they certainly added to the aesthetics and personality of the golf course We also tried very hard to utilize the native vegetation there and used pockets of it for our strategy Routed around cactus studded hills boulder strewn arroyos and vast waste bunkers the layouts five sets of tees and three 18 hole combinations provide a great deal of versatility With several holes calling for heroic do or die forced carries over no mans land from the back tees better players are presented with intriguing risk reward scenarios I have actually known that property for well over 50 years Nicklaus says I used to come to Cabo in the early 1960s to fish because as everyone knows Cabo has some of the best fishing in the world especially for marlin So you might say that I have a lot of history at Palmilla But what I am most proud of is the important place in history Palmilla has in the true birth of golf in Cabo Before Palmilla was opened in the early 1990s Los Cabos had only one course a nine hole municipal layout In the quarter century since we opened Palmilla we at Nicklaus Design have created a total of six courses in the Cabo market That area has become one of the worlds top destinations for golf palmilla golf club combined with the oceanfront one only palmilla makes for one of the best stay and play vacations in north america Nicklaus continues and almost three quarters of a million golfers from the U S alone travel to Mexico each year Golf has become a very important amenity to Mexico and Cabo leads the entire country with the number of courses 14 and rounds played And it all began with Palmilla Needless to say Palmilla has a special place in my heart as well as a special place in my design history Created with a great deal of sensitivity to the environment Palmillas fairways tees and greens appear airlifted into the desert Holes throughout are framed by multi armed cardon cacti a cousin of the saguaro but taller and angular peeling torote trees The Arroyo nine routed around canyon like gulches up to 100 feet deep serves up glorious panoramas from its topmost holes But theres more than scenery here The sixth seventh and eighth holes a long par 4 and a daunting par 3 wrapped around a 566 yard par 5 have been described as Cabos Amen Corner Palmillas signature hole is No 5 on the Mountain nine a stirring par 4 that plays from a hilltop tee over a rocky arroyo to a sinuous fairway that resembles a green island floating in a blue sky Situated well below fairway level is a sunken putting surface fronted by a dry river bed and defended by a pair of deep bunkers Par here must be earned I HAVE ACTUALLY KNOWN THAT PROPERTY FOR WELL OVER 50 YEARS NICKLAUS SAYS I USED TO COME TO CABO IN THE EARLY 1960S TO FISH BECAUSE AS EVERYONE KNOWS CABO HAS SOME OF THE BEST FISHING IN THE WORLD ESPECIALLY FOR MARLIN BETTER THAN NEW A SETTING OF EXTREME BEAUTY