Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club

Riviera Maya, Mexico

He’s a man whose father’s autobiography is titled, “Bury Me in a Pot Bunker,” so when attacking P.B. Dye’s Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Mexico you aren’t exactly taken aback when you see more than 100 strategically placed bunkers spread throughout the course. But as you make your way through the 18-hole championship layout, you get the impression that Dye made his dad – the legendary Pete Dye – especially proud by creating a course with so many nooks, crannies and crevices you’d swear on a stack of Pro VIs that you were playing your round on the moon, instead of on the premises of the massive five-resort Iberostar domain located 30 minutes south of Cancun.

Take for example the narrow par-4, fourth hole that features a series of three bunkers in the middle of a horseshoe-shaped green. Or how about the par-5, fifth, that not only has a bunker guarding the front left, but a sizeable tree planted smack-dab in the middle of the bunker to make your approach shot just a bit more harrowing. Then, of course, there’s the par-5, seventh, where you’re forced to play a long drive into a prevailing wind and then face a three-tiered green that is described casually in the yardage book as “the toughest green you’ll play all year.”

“The course is unique, no doubt about it,” says the Playa Paraiso’s Director of Golf Greg Bond. “What [Dye] created here is really something special. People always ask me what my advice is before they play it for the first time and I always just say, ‘Remember to pack your lob wedge.’”

Aside from the creative layout, there’s even more to be intrigued with at the Playa Paraiso. The plush fairways are the product of seashore paspalum, a turf that needs to be irrigated with saltwater. Because the course was built on the grounds of a Mayan jungle, the starter who greets you on the first tee asks that you don’t go too far into the out of bounds areas to search for lost balls because of the poisonous snakes that habitat there. Less dangerous, though, is the plethora of iguanas and lizards that are seen throughout the course.

Since opening in 2005, the Playa Paraiso has garnered usual attention for a new course. The Canadian Tour signed a five-year deal with the club to host the Iberostar Riviera Maya Open, the first of which was played this past May. The course was also used as a qualifier for the Mayakoba Golf Classic, the PGA Tour’s first-ever stop in Mexico. In addition, the Robb Report included the Playa Paraiso in its “Best of the Best List” for 2006.

Guests of any of the five Iberostar Resorts receive preferred tee times. The greens fee includes a cart, range balls on the lighted practice range and putting green as well as food and drinks (yes, even the alcoholic variety) before, during and after your round.

And don’t worry about leaving the non-golfers behind during your round. Literally just steps away from the course is the resort complex that features eight pools, and more than 40 bars and restaurants, not to mention the long stretch of beach that offers an endless list of recreational activities.

For more information visit www.iberostar.com. – Gary Trask