Iberostar Hotels and Resorts opened
the Playa Paraiso Golf Club, the chain's first-ever golf course, in
the Riviera Maya. Travel Weekly's Jerry Limone spoke with course
designer P.B. Dye about what it takes to build a good resort golf
course and Cancun's potential as a golf destination.
Travel
Weekly: Most of the golf courses you have designed have
been for private clubs. What was your approach in designing a
resort course?
P.B.
Dye: I was sticking with the philosophy that 99% of
golfers are just like us: We're hacks who play a $5 Nassau on the
weekends. The goal was to build a golf course that everyone can
have fun on, to make it playable for everybody.
TW: How did you accomplish
that?
Dye: The course has ample landing areas,
and the hazards are offset [so that well-struck, well-aimed shots
avoid them]. There are four par-3s of varied distances that play in
four different directions. I like to build short par-4s that you
can reach in one shot or score a seven real fast. (There are two of
these risk-reward par-4s on this course). With my golf courses, you
never see two holes exactly the same because I utilize the land's
natural features.
TW: Is there a signature hole?
Dye: I have never built a signature hole.
That's a sales deal. A signature hole is a hole that a designer
draws on a map, signs his name to it and doesn't show up [to see
the course being built]. I've been here well over 100 days and
nights. The trick is to build the best 18 holes the land will allow
you to build.
TW: Using the land's natural features
resulted in an undulating course, including several multitiered
greens. But there's also the challenge of making a course playable
on acreage that's dense with trees and rocks. Talk about
that.
Dye: In Cancun, it's unique. Because of
environmental regulations, all plants that are removed have to be
rescued. And this place was cleared by hand, not
bulldozer.
TW: Several courses in the Cancun area
have been built in the last decade and many more are in the
planning stages. Can Cancun grow to be a golf destination the way
Los Cabos has?
Dye: I think Cancun will be as big or
bigger because it's only one hour from Miami [attracting golfers
from the East Coast]. Many airlines fly into Cancun, and you can be
on the first tee in 40 minutes after landing at the
airport.
To contact
reporter Jerry Limone, send e-mail to [email protected].