Golf

Challenging courses and breathtaking sea views

After Bing Crosby teed off at the Tres Vidas golf course in Acapulco, he then selected the course for his All Celebrity Golf Tournament, held the following year.

Acapulco has a perfect combination of world-class golf courses and 360 days of sunshine. It adds up to an exciting golf destination, with a variety of challenging courses. There are presently four 18-hole courses to tee off on, as well as a conveniently located 9-hole course near the Acapulco Convention Center. Acapulco is an all-around resort destination, so if you’re vacationing in a group that doesn’t include golfers, there will be plenty to keep non-golfers occupied while dedicated duffers are on the links.

New in Acapulco this year is the Turtle Dunes Country Club and Golf Course, an exclusive, full-service country club opened on the grounds of the Fairmont Acapulco Princess. The club has an 18-hole championship golf course, a clubhouse on Revolcadero Beach, the Lorena Ochoa Golf Academy and a state-of-the-art fitness center.

The Fairmont Acapulco Princess 18-hole course was designated by Golf Digest as one of the world’s “25 Greatest Golf Resorts.” While it’s located at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess resort, in Acapulco’s Diamond Zone, you don’t have to be a guest to play the course. The course was designed by Ted Robinson and utilizes trees and 12 water hazards to challenge the golfer. The signature hole is the 18th, a challenging dog-leg par 4 twisting around a lake. The course has played host to PGA sectional pro-am tournaments from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Germany. You’ll find a pro shop, driving range and restaurant; golf carts are du rigueur.

President Lyndon Baines Johnson ran into Bob Hope on the Acapulco links. LBJ had a privileged way of playing – if he made a bad shot his Secret Service agents would retrieve the ball and he’d swing again, until he got a result he liked.

The beachfront Tres Vidas Golf & Country Club course, a home of the PGA Chrysler Cup Tournament, was designed by legendary golf course architect Robert van Hagge. The 18-hole, par 72 course meanders alongside the Pacific Ocean, with five of the holes being oceanfront. Course challenges include palm trees, sand traps and nine lakes. Hole number 12 is the signature hole, with golfers having to drive straight towards the ocean into a sea breeze. Tres Vidas has a pro shop, caddies, restaurant, lounge, bar and swimming pool.

The 18-hole par-72 Copra Acapulco course at the Mayan Palace Acapulco resort has Bermuda grass greens surrounded by dunes, lakes, gardens and a tricky total of 49 sand traps. The number 1 hole is a par 4 and the most difficult hole on the course, demanding an accurate tee shot to the green, which is flanked by a water hazard on the right and a bunker on the left. It has a pro shop, restaurant and tennis center. Copra Acapulco is only five minutes from the international airport.

Acapulco’s 9-hole municipal course is the Club de Golf Acapulco. This easy to reach course is near the Acapulco Convention Center, just off the main tourism road of Costera Manuel Aleman. The 9-hole course is designed so golfers can play 18 holes without exact repetition of play. The course doesn’t utilize carts, although caddies and rental clubs are available. Club de Golf Acapulco is a favorite with locals, and includes a restaurant, gym and swimming pool. The course is also lit for evening play.