The Magic of Golf in Mexico

by Greg Norman

Golf was introduced in Mexico just over a hundred years ago, which is shocking considering today it is the type of golf destination that will make you wonder if it is the best you have ever visited.

No two golf courses are the same, and one of the special pleasures of golf is to play as many of them as possible. But in Mexico – where the deserts of Baja California, the tropical shorelines of the Pacific, the snow-capped volcanoes of the central plateau and the azure waters of the Caribbean – all provide perfect backdrops to the golfing experience, you have a feeling that you are traveling the world within the borders of one country.

I have been a regular visitor to Mexico for nearly three decades and I have followed the country’s meteoric development very closely. Mexico has established itself as world-class golfing destination and the attraction is the result of many factors – weather, location, luxury and unique experiences among them. I am tremendously pleased that Greg Norman Golf Course Design has had the opportunity to contribute to this and design a number of golf courses in Mexico with six completed designs, three under construction and another five under contract to date!

As a golf course designer, my challenge is to create aesthetically pleasing yet playable courses, each with a distinct look and feel. I like to “begin with the end in mind” on each and every project and I pride myself on finding the most desirable natural features and incorporating them into the routing. Our “least-disturbance” design approach is integrated into each project and results in courses that blend seamlessly with their surroundings and appear as if they have been part of the landscape for generations.

Due to our unique philosophy, GNGCD has been an industry leader in promoting sustainability and the compatibility of golf courses with the environment, with many of our projects having been awarded the coveted Audubon Society Award for environmental stewardship.

For us, sustainability is integral to how we do business. With 7 billion people on our planet, the earth’s resources can be strained. We believe that we have a responsibility to our customers, to the communities and the environment in which we have a presence. This means sustainability is the only acceptable model for our business.

Anyone who has ever thrown a bag over his or her shoulder knows that the game of golf is much more than birdies, pars and bogeys, for every course is intrinsically linked with the elements of nature as it progresses from the first tee to the 18th green. This is the essence of Mexico’s most magical courses – grand links in their most natural form – wonderful gifts returned to Mother Nature.