Think of most any superlative and it applies to TPC Danzante Bay Golf Club.
“There’s no way you can exaggerate about this place,” said legendary architect Rees Jones, who has designed or renovated more than 250 courses in his illustrious career. “I think what went through my mind when I first saw the site was ‘My goodness, it’s greater than I expected.”’
The only TPC Network golf course in Mexico, Danzante Bay sits on the desolate east coast of the Baja California Sur – halfway down the slender peninsula or 700 miles south of the United States border – and is flanked by the swank Villa del Palma Beach Resort & Spa.
The golf course and resort are a short drive from Loreto, Mexico, a proud fishing community that is home to a 17th century church, prehistoric cave paintings and an offshore national marine park where vacationers can view dolphins, manta rays, whales and pelicans.
Opened less than a decade ago, the Jones golf layout has quickly risen to the top of the best courses in Mexico list, weaving its way through arroyos, canyons, the Sierra de la Giganta mountain range and down to the beach, offering golfers a stunning backdrop with each and every shot.
The final 11 holes were completed in 2017 after several had to be rerouted from the original design to fit in what would be described as arguably one of the world’s top par-3 holes – certainly one of the most photographed.
The 178-yard hole sits on a cliffside “finger” above the Sea of Cortez, with a green surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped bunker to catch errant shots from plunging into the water several hundred feet below.
“What makes the course unique is you’ve played what could be 10 or 12 signature holes, and then you come to 17 and you’re just blown away by what you see there,” said Danzante Bay director of golf Rich Taylor. “You come over a crest on top of the mountain and there is 17 . . . and it just takes your breath away. You just stand there and look at it for a couple minutes before you even think about teeing off, with the Sea of Cortez as a backdrop and its untouched beauty.”
The lead architect for Jones on the project, Steve Weisser, recalls the extensive search and various options in an attempt to try to build one of the most scenic holes on the planet for owner and developer Owen Perry, who summoned Jones to the site to ask his opinion of the potential and drama of the 17th hole location.
“I asked him if he wanted to do all the extra work of moving the other holes he had already designed and he said he thought that the 17th hole would be one of the best holes on the Baja,” Perry said. “And once we started working on it and we got it framed, Rees came down again, he looked at it and comes to me and he says, ‘Owen, this is going to be one of the best holes in Mexico.’ And then that following summer, when it was all grassed he calls me up and was very excited and said it was going to be one of the best holes in the world.”
“It was an interesting process, and took us a while to find it, but when it happened it was one of those things where everybody realized it was going to be a great thing,” added Weisser. “There was just that one spot that worked . . . and it’s not like you can ever manufacture something on a site like that.”
After gazing and then playing the 17th hole, the final hole also offers somewhat of a “stunner” with a mammoth boulder outcropping more than 30 feet high, and those playing the back tees must navigate on the longest par-4 on the course at 520 yards.
An 18-hole round costs $395 for resort guests and $450 for those not staying on site.
In addition to a selection of spacious suites, multi-bedroom penthouses, and residences at the Villa del Palmar, guests can enjoy an array of exceptional amenities. Highlights include five shimmering pools, four restaurants serving fresh, locally inspired cuisine, and the expansive 39,000-square-foot Sabila Spa.
Outdoor adventures abound, from whale watching and ATV desert tours to snorkeling, LED night stand-up paddleboarding, sport fishing excursions, and surfing at Scorpion Bay. Guests can also embark on cultural city tours or explore the renowned Islands of Loreto by boat.
There are now direct flights from Dallas, Los Angeles and Phoenix to Loreto International Airport. Transportation from there to the resort along the Transpeninsular Highway 1 takes about 30 minutes.
“I think that drive makes it even more charming for people,” Taylor said. “You feel like you’re all by yourself. And it’s a magical bay, and the fact that the owner found this site and it was untouched is just spectacular. By the time you get checked in you just relax because you’re in this really remote spot with beauty all around you and a private beach. It’s just so cool.”
Taylor started his pro career at Pebble Beach, so he knows a thing or two about course scenery.
“When I went down to see Danzante Bay for the first time I didn’t know much about it,” Taylor said. “I was just literally blown away. I’ve never seen anything like it from a full 18-hole golf course experience because all of the topography and the beauty is just stunning. People that play for the first time always come back, and they bring friends. That’s really been our strategy, too. It’s word of mouth. And it’s a golf course that you can play all week, it’s so friendly and fun.”
Whether you carry a high or low handicap, logging a round or two at Danzante Bay is much more than a score.
“Even if you’re not a good golfer you’re going to enjoy the scenery of all of this property,” Perry said. “I’ve been here 10 years and I’m still amazed about some of the views I still see.”
It’s often difficult to get golf course architects to pick out a favorite hole, but Jones isn’t bashful about his affinity for the 17th hole at Danzante Bay.
“It’s a golf course architect’s dream,” Jones said. “This is a hole that will attract people to this resort from all over the world.”
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