| Golfing in Paradise |
by Dick Fulton
March 2004
My wife and I just returned from our third trip to Zihuatanejo in four years. Much to my wife’s chagrin, I hauled my golf clubs in their large hard case to paradise yet again. Every trip, I have taken the opportunity to play the Marina Club de Golf golf course in Ixtapa.
I grab a cab from Playa La Ropa and $70.00 pesos later I’m at the golf course. I have a 10% coupon from our hotel which reduces the green fee to $825.00 pesos (charged on my Visa bill as $76.00 US in January 2004). The posted green fee is $94.99 US including cart. Definitely check with your hotel to see what discounts they offer. You can rent clubs for about $40.00 US (don’t tell my wife), and you can hire a caddie for $20.00 US plus tip. If you have never had a caddie before this may be the most inexpensive opportunity you will ever have. The caddies are helpful for course management and club selection, plus they know where the hidden yardage markers are on the par threes.
One of the fun things about playing golf on vacation is the great people you meet. In my last two trips to Marina Ixtapa Club de Golf, I have played with people from Canada, France, and Mexico, and Americans from Minnesota to Texas. As I check in to play this year, however, I see no one on the first tee; in fact, no one on the first hole. They ask if I want to hit some balls on the range. As I remember, that means $6.00 US for a small bucket of Top Flites circa 1989, so I pass. Of course, given the fact I had not held a club in my hand for a few weeks it would have been a smart idea, but hey, I can get in a little practice on the course.
I climb into my cart and realize there have been some upgrades made at the Marina course—I’m in a new cart! On my last trip I observed there were a total of two new carts and they were always taken. This led to my wife tutoring me through my most complicated sentence in Spanish to date. “I would like a newer golf cart like #3 or #17—please?”
The first hole is a straight away par five measuring 490 yards. After I hook my drive into the rough I ask myself permission to hit a mulligan. It is granted and away I go. I decide to hit a practice shot with my first drive and simply proceed to play both balls into the hole for two pars. I practice my putting on the first green and remember what a challenge the Bermuda greens are. They are in good condition, but getting the speed right and reading the grain is difficult if you don’t putt on Bermuda at home.
As I record my score I write down Me followed by “5”. Below that I put Me2 and “5”.
We’re having fun now!
As I approach the green on number 3, a dogleg left par 4, I see evidence of the golf cart upgrade. There, off to the right, is a golf cart graveyard. I think I spot the cart I had last time.
One of my favorite things about this golf course is the wildlife. Water comes into play on about half the holes here which provides a wonderful environment for exotic birds, herons, buzzards and oh did I mention the crocodiles? Relax, you won’t run into any crocodiles until number 8. Number 8 is a great par five, you have about 275 yards from the tee before water crosses the hole. Going over the bridge was the first time I saw a crocodile on the course. It was swimming beneath me and there was another on the left edge of the fairway, basking in the sun. I checked around my neck to make sure I didn’t have any raw chicken hanging there and moved on. Not surprisingly, I put my lay up shot out to the right and wound up in a bunker for the first time during the round. A word about the bunkers in this part of Mexico. For some reason, although there are beautiful sandy beaches in abundance, they choose to fill their bunkers with dirt mixed with gravel about the size of kitty litter. If you are going to enjoy the golf here, you simply must forgive them this eccentricity. The consistency of the bunkers does make it a little easier to pick a shot from the fairway, but an explosion shot from greenside is an adventure. Try your pitching wedge and you may fare better than with your sand iron.
As I make the turn, I go into the clubhouse and order a hamburguesa con queso and a cerveza. I’m in a rut—this is what I do every time I play here. The service is great. They always deliver my hot cheeseburger and cerveza before I finish the par three 11th. The bill is $75.00 pesos. Additional beer can be purchased for $20.00 pesos from the roaming club cart which came by no less than six times during my round. If your game is going south, you can also buy Tequila for $60.00.
The 18th comes all too quickly. Even playing two balls, I reach the tee box two and one-half hours after I started. This is a very difficult finishing hole. The sign and the card say 556 yards—they both lie. It is closer to 600 yards with water up the entire left side of the hole. Right where you would want to put your lay up shot, you will find a giant gravel pit (bunker) across the fairway. On my best day I couldn’t carry it. I strongly advise going up the right side and anything inside the 150 marker is a great shot. This is what Me and Me2 did. The match was tied going into the 18th. Unfortunately, Me2 pulled his approach into the water.
Final score: Me—82, Me2—84. Me2 wants a rematch and a chance to get his money back. Next time.
Dick Fulton is a Real Estate Broker for Coldwell Banker Bain in Seattle and plays to a 10 handicap. His brain can be picked at: dickfulton@cbbain.com. |
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