Vista Vallarta Golf Club - The Nicklaus Course
Rating Snapshot
About
The Nicklaus Course at Vista Vallarta Golf Club is one of two championship courses at the club, the other was designed by Tom Weiskopf. The Nicklaus Course is perched atop the property's highest elevation, offering spectacular views of Puerto Vallarta and the Bay of Banderas. The course tumbles across grassy hillsides covered with dense forests of palms and giant ficus trees. True to Nicklaus' style, the wildly undulating greens are balanced by generous driving areas. He also chose to route the holes along the natural contours of the land, giving each hole a unique character. One of the most talked-about holes on the golf course is the par-5 third, which is ranked as the toughest. This 550-yard monster demands three strong shots in order to make it onto the elevated green in regulation, but the tricky part is that the elevation rises a bit more with each shot.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 72 | 7074 yards | 73.8 | 144 |
| Blue | 72 | 6595 yards | 71.7 | 137 |
| White | 72 | 6031 yards | 69.5 | 124 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 5251 yards | 71.1 | 119 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold M: 73.8/144 | 401 | 429 | 550 | 381 | 213 | 452 | 427 | 534 | 182 | 3569 | 536 | 394 | 580 | 340 | 440 | 177 | 423 | 170 | 445 | 3505 | 7074 |
| Blue M: 71.7/137 | 338 | 408 | 519 | 366 | 192 | 435 | 395 | 499 | 178 | 3330 | 513 | 370 | 558 | 314 | 422 | 149 | 383 | 157 | 399 | 3265 | 6595 |
| White M: 69.5/124 W: 73.5/125 | 294 | 360 | 484 | 338 | 168 | 416 | 372 | 453 | 152 | 3037 | 466 | 356 | 538 | 262 | 402 | 125 | 347 | 131 | 367 | 2994 | 6031 |
| Yellow M: 66.4/117 W: 72.0/121 | 260 | 336 | 443 | 268 | 145 | 331 | 284 | 422 | 131 | 2620 | 433 | 334 | 521 | 236 | 311 | 113 | 307 | 114 | 298 | 2667 | 5287 |
| Red W: 71.1/119 | 258 | 334 | 441 | 266 | 143 | 329 | 282 | 420 | 129 | 2602 | 431 | 332 | 519 | 234 | 309 | 111 | 305 | 112 | 296 | 2649 | 5251 |
| Handicap | 11 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 17 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 10 | 18 | 8 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 13 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 18 | 12 |
Course Details
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Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by tcallaway25 on 06/12/2023
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Photo submitted by tcallaway25 on 06/12/2023
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Photo submitted by tcallaway25 on 06/12/2023
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Photo submitted by u314160452191 on 02/04/2023
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Photo submitted by u314160452191 on 02/04/2023
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Photo submitted by u314160452191 on 02/04/2023
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Photo submitted by u9883322 on 06/12/2022
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Photo submitted by u9883322 on 06/12/2022
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Photo submitted by u397521615 on 02/08/2022
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Photo submitted by browndoodle on 02/02/2022
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Hole 15 Photo submitted by u290742857 on 12/02/2021
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Photo submitted by RTomaselli1 on 11/22/2021
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Photo submitted by RTomaselli1 on 11/22/2021
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Photo submitted by RTomaselli1 on 11/22/2021
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Photo submitted by u778001500 on 11/16/2021
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Photo submitted by u778001500 on 11/16/2021
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Photo submitted by u778001500 on 11/16/2021
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Photo submitted by u000006172924 on 12/15/2020
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No. 16 on the Nicklaus course Photo submitted by greg0000023 on 05/26/2019
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A bunker and the bougainvilleas on the Nicklaus course. Photo submitted by JasonDeeganGA on 04/09/2018
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Pro Ivan Cueva on the Nicklaus course. Photo submitted by JasonDeeganGA on 04/09/2018
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A wall of fame celebrates the players from the 2002 World Golf Championships-World Cup at Vista Vallarta. Photo submitted by JasonDeeganGA on 04/09/2018
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Photo submitted by TroyJames on 01/24/2018
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View of one of the holes Photo submitted by kl3443 on 09/20/2012
Worth the price
Loved this challenging course in the hills above the city of Puerto Vallarta. Well maintained. Friendly staff. This is not a course for beginners. Take a caddie with you if you are playing the Nicklaus course for the first time. At $20 USD pp it's well worth it.
Great time
Gorgeous course. The mountains in the background was a constant eye candy.. Many bunkers and its fair share of ravines...My wife rode along and took many pictures....
Enjoyed playing golf at Nicklaus course, and staff was incredibly friendly from beginning to end.
Booked at discount, which made the price feel more appropriate for what this course is right now.
Lives up to its Name !
Course was terrific . Beautiful vistas . Fair if you play from the proper tee box . Well maintained .
The best course you can play in P.V.
Great layout, greens are fast enough without being gimmicky. Awesome location. One of my favorite courses anywhere.
Golfing in Mexico
First time playing golf in Mexica. Great experience all around. Greens were amazing. Loved the pace of play. No behind us and no one in front.
The course is true Jack Nicklaus
I loved the course. Difficult as expected from Jack Nicklaus. Great greens and bunker play.❤️❤️
Excellent golf experience
Wonderful course. Challenging but not ridiculous. Well maintained. Don’t judge the course by the primitive road! Course is excellent.
Very good to have a caddie. Arturo is a very good caddie.
I will make it a priority to play golf here every time I am in Puerta Vallarta
Great course
We just played this Nicklaus course after having played the Tigre and we liked it much more; there is no comparison.
The beautiful nature all around the course and the lot of flowers are fantastic.
Really great
Sandy greens still in August
Based on previous reviews I almost don’t play here. Besides the sandy greens, the front and back nine were great. I’d play again but want to make sure the greens are great. I called the clubhouse and they said they were fine on the front and back nine.
Vista Vallarta (Nicklaus Course) - Solid Golf Course
Chose to play this course while on vacation and was happy I did so. According to our hotel concierge and a few locals I spoke with, this course and the neighboring Weiskopf course are better than the resort courses because of both the conditions/maintenance as well as the terrain changes. The other resort courses are all flat and surrounded by the busy touristy hotel scene closer to the beach. The Vista Vallarta courses are very isolated from the crowded beach front areas and offer beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.
Overall, the course was in very good shape - greens were smooth and pure, bunkers held plenty of sand, and the fairways were lush. There was virtually no one else golfing at the same time I did so I had the entire course to myself which was very enjoyable.
From a price point ($250 when I played in June 2023), it was expensive in my opinion but thats what you get with destination golf. This course was a $50-75 premium to the other resort courses closer to the beach but worth it in my opinion for the reasons I listed.
Best course in P V
Great course, very challenging so be patient and avoid the hero shots. Staff are great. Best course marshals of all the PV courses. (Including Nuevo Vallarta)
Good Value for a Mexican Resort Course in Prime Season
Played during a port stop from a cruise ship. Drive out to the course and back via Uber was reasonable in terms of time and cost. Taxi's are more expensive, so be aware of that. Played early afternoon but weather was good with just light winds. Course conditions were good. Greens could have been a little faster, but they rolled fairly smooth. Fairways were mostly good with a couple of brown spots, but I'm being pretty picky calling that out. Bunkers were good and very playable. Course layout was nice with a mix of challenging and simple green complexes. Typical Nicklaus course with wide fairways navigating around some ravines and hills. I'd give it an excellent rating 5% rating if the green fee was $100 or less but still worth playing if you are in town. 4.5 is what I would give it to be exact.
