Punta Mita Bahia

The verdict

The Pacifico made Punta Mita famous, with its optional island green in the ocean, the Tail of the Whale, doing the postcard work. When Nicklaus returned to build Bahia a decade later, the temptation must have been to chase the same spectacle. Instead, opened in November 2009, Bahia is the connoisseur's round on the peninsula: tighter driving lines through tropical jungle, more movement in the fairways, smaller and better defended greens, and a finish that drops out of the trees onto the shore of Banderas Bay with surf, sand and the Sierra Madre across the water.

Members and regulars at Punta Mita tend to split cleanly: Pacifico for the views and the photo, Bahia for the golf. The truth for a traveling golfer is that the two courses are a single argument for staying inside the gates for three or four nights and playing both, twice if the trip allows. Within Mexico, the one two punch competes directly with Los Cabos' Quivira and Palmilla, with Punta Mita trading desert drama for lush Pacific jungle.

The holes worth the trip

Bahia opens inland, working through thick Nayarit jungle where the corridors are framed by palms and flowering trees and the premium is on shaping the tee ball rather than chasing it. Nicklaus moves the targets constantly: angled fairways, diagonal bunker lines and greens that sit a half club above or below your feet, so the course asks questions even when the wind off the bay stays quiet.

The reward arrives late. The closing holes spill out of the jungle and run along Banderas Bay itself, fairways separated from the beach by little more than dune grass, with the St. Regis in view and whales breaching offshore in winter. It is one of the great finishing stretches in Mexican golf precisely because the course makes you earn it; after fifteen holes of green walls and shadows, the sudden width of the bay lands like a curtain pull.

And because both courses share the same clubhouse campus, regulars fold Bahia and Pacifico into a single rhythm, alternating mornings and settling the trip's honors over fish tacos between rounds. If the group has one shot at the famous optional island hole, the Tail of the Whale on Pacifico's 3rd, play Bahia first and save the photograph for the last morning.

Where to stay nearby

Staying inside Punta Mita is the whole point, because the hotels are the tee time. The Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita and the St. Regis Punta Mita both sit on the peninsula's beaches minutes from the golf club, and a villa rental inside the development carries the same playing privileges. Outside the gates, Puerto Vallarta's hotel zone is 45 minutes away but does not come with access, so golfers should book the resort first and the flights second.

A week on this coast builds naturally: four nights at Punta Mita for Bahia and Pacifico, then either beach days or a hop to the Riviera Maya's El Camaleon at Mayakoba for the Caribbean side of Mexican golf. Our Mexico golf holidays page maps the options, and our luxury golf tours of Mexico page covers the top end with private transfers throughout.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts at Punta Mita.