The Grand Reserve Golf Club has hosted the Puerto Rican Open since 2008.
Grand Reserve Puerto Rico
When most golfers imagine their perfect winter getaway, the picture drawn usually includes lush foliage, tall palm trees, gentle breezes, inviting beaches, and a huge blue body of water. PGA Tour players are no different.
From October to March, the tour stops at seven tropical destinations, in six different countries or territories, five of which are available to the mobile golfer. If you’re looking to walk in the footsteps of the famous on the golf course and then stick your toes in the warm, sugary sand, here are five championship-tested resort courses that will let you immerse yourself.
Port Royal golf course | Southampton, Bermuda
PGA Tour event: Butterfield Bermuda Championship
This government-owned, 1970’s Robert Trent Jones Sr. film dazzles with camera-worthy opportunities, especially the beautiful, but brutal, Class III 16. At 235 yards from an isolated rear tee, the breezy hole up the cliff requires an expanse of 180 yards above Atlantic Ocean. The target is a tall, skinny green surrounded by bunkers and a jagged-covered slope to the right, making for horrific recoveries. “It could easily be the hardest hole you’ll ever play in your life,” Ernie Els said in 2010. It was his 16th game performance on day one of the 2013 four-man PGA Grand Slam of Golf, which only Justin Rose could match the equalizer. Adam Scott, Jason Dufner and Padraig Harrington caused such a mess that their efforts were edited out of the final (postponed on tape) TV broadcast.
The Port Royal has hosted the PGA Tour since 2019 and was also the venue for the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 2009-2014. A few clunkers dot the hard-rolled, 6,828-yard, par-71 design, including the opening name 4, a right 90-degree dogleg that features a raised tee release into a blind landing. Hit it away and the ball will splash into an invisible lake. However, holes like the 213-yard, 3-8 that head straight into the sea and the 412-yard 15, which slide through the ruins of Fort Marine Batteries, with the ocean on the left, more than make up for it.
The last word: “When the wind blows here, this golf course is a real test. Probably my favorite fifteen and sixteen holes – two amazing golf holes. It’s a beautiful, beautiful course.” – Graeme McDowell, 2010 US Open winner
El Kamalion Golf Course in Mayakoba | Playa del Carmen, Mexico
PGA Tour event: World Tech Championships in Mayakoba
On a golf course dotted with one joyous whim after another, it’s perhaps not surprising that Mexico’s first PGA Tour event of the 21st century was won by a PGA Tour Champions player named Funk. Then turning 50, Fred Funk acquired the 2007 Mayakoba Classic in a playoff with Jose Cosiris. Funk grabbed the trophy despite starting off with one last run that darted to the edge of “Devil’s Mouth,” the opening to a large cenote, an underground freshwater cave monopolizing the landing area.
In 2004 Greg Norman designed this 7,039-yard layout and bar 71, which serves as the centerpiece of a gorgeous resort and residential community, located 45 minutes south of Cancun Airport in the Riviera Maya. Toss in the limestone-lined canals that bisect the Paspalum Trails, the jungle-like mangroves framing some holes, natural rock caves and a couple of beaches, this is one of the most memorable spots on the PGA Tour.
The last word: “The course is great. Although it’s a resort training course, it’s still a challenge for many parts of your game. If you’re out, you’ll be punished and if you play well, you’ll be rewarded. The weather is great, the food is great, the people are great. It’s just that A mixture of everything.” – Victor Hovland, two-time winner of the Mayakoba Classic (2020, 2021)
Kapalua Resort (Plantation Course) | Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
PGA Tour event: Guard Championship of Champions
Win a PGA Tour tournament and one huge jacket right away: you’re going to Kapalua. This stunning resort tournament will host the Sentry Tournament of Champions for the 24th time in 2022. Previous winners include Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and, in 2021, Harris English. Each winner has solved one of golf’s biggest puzzles: the Plantation Course at Kapalua.
Bill Core and Ben Crenshaw channeled the sprawling plot over an old mountain pineapple farm in 1991 and it’s unique in many ways, starting with Level 73. There’s only one of 3 Par-37’s back nine, 164 yards 11, that features the ocean backdrop. Quiet. Second, no other course on the PGA Tour places such a great emphasis on the ground game. The wide, steady slopes force players to read the outline and hit the ball representing the expected bounce and turn, just like the classic links in Scotland and Ireland. The last puzzle to solve is the wind. Hitting the ball on the right lane is often critical to Kapalua’s success.
Most spectacular is Hole No. 5 Par 5, which, even at 668 yards, is usually accessed in two through a large portion of the field, sinking into the cliffs and to the left, with the ocean beyond. Greedy players who take any shot are more likely to find a bushy valley on the left. Play it safe, short and right, however, awkward style awaits with a steep right-to-left slope. It’s the perfect risk and reward.
The last word: “Looking out at the ocean, you see whales there. Growing up in southern Georgia, I never saw that and never thought I would in my life. Playing a golf course like this is incredible. I love it. It’s just a very special place. It’s hard to describe in words. One of my favorite golf tournaments. I would like to start here every year.” – Harris English, Sentry of Champions (2021) winner
Grand Reserve Golf Club (Championship Course) | Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
PGA Tour event: Puerto Rico Open Championship
The current edition of the Puerto Rico Open on the PGA Tour dates back to 2008, with winners including Tony Finau in 2016, Viktor Hovland in 2020 and Branden Grace in 2021. While the host tournament has been on its third since then, tournament planning is underway. t had not changed. At one point the Trump-branded course, later known by its original name, Coco Beach, Grand Reserve offered a solid Tom Kite build with a 7,551-yard run of 72.
Located on the island’s north shore, 20 minutes east of San Juan, the Grand Reserve doesn’t offer many individually memorable holes, but as a handsome solid test of golf, it has undoubtedly succeeded. Tropical breezes, swaying palms, a plethora of lagoons and hideouts, eye-catching coastal scenery, and the legendary El Yunque rainforest 5 miles to the south add fitting character. With the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve next door, there’s nothing to fear in this Puerto Rican paradise.
The last word: “I enjoy the golf course. It’s tropical, like Florida, where I live. I love the greens. I love the design.” – Michael Bradley, two-time winner of the Puerto Rican Open (2009, 2011)
Puntacana Resort & Club (Corales V Golf Course) | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
PGA Tour event: Corales Puntacana Club & Resort Championship
In March 2018, the PGA Tour organized its first-ever event in the Dominican Republic. Choosing Puntacana Resort and Club’s Corales Course to host, the tour certainly outperformed the eye candy test. In 2010, Tom Fazio covered Corrales on top of a cliff along the Caribbean Sea. Its attraction was instant. The spacious 7,650-yard, 72-meter-high design features ponds, coconut palms, sandy-dotted expanses and an array of elegant Fazio hideaways, bathed in coastal breezes.
The closing trio, known as “El Codo del Diablo” – “Devil’s elbow”, is unforgettable. The 461 yards, 4, 16 are rounded straight out to sea, while the 210 yard, 3 17 is a bright blue hazard limit. Still, the showstopper is a 501-yard, par-4 18 that bounces right, around a chasm of cliff, beach and surfing.
The last word: “Those last three holes are really hard—long, hard, in the wind. I hit a 4-iron, 4-iron, 4-iron in those three greens. The eighteenth shot, especially the second on the right pin, with the wind blowing—no I think people realize how hard this hole is.” — Joel Dahmin, winner of Corales Puntacana Resort & Clubs Championship (2021)
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