Nicklaus design team helps reinvent Nayar Golf Course in Riviera Nayarit, Mexico

NUEVO VALLARTA, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico -- Change is constant at Nayar Golf Course. Nayar will debut a new par-3 18th hole sometime this summer to complete the alterations made by the design team of Jack Nicklaus to the original Jim Lipe course.

Nayar opened in 2002 with several holes along Banderas Bay, but the routing has been altered constantly as the resort has expanded, sometimes forcing customers to play awkward loops of seven, 13 and even 15 holes.

The ocean holes, and their views, have been lost. Fortunately, a solid and challenging resort layout still remains. A lake between the two holes impacts the stout par 4s at nos. 14 and 15.

All the tinkering leaves the Nayar golf experience feeling a bit disjointed, although a forecaddie given to each group adds a nice touch. There are long cart rides from the pro shop to the first tee and to the new Jack Nicklaus Academy of Golf, home to a nice practice area and lighted range, along with a K-Vest Kinetic Training System and TOMI Computerized Putting Lab.

A new 27-hole Greg Norman course being developed across the Ameca River could mean more changes are coming. Nothing stands still in this sprawling golf resort where staying in the Grand Luxxe Nuevo Vallarta means living in luxury.