Cancun Golf Club (Pok-ta-Pok) Course Detail
This writeup was done from the blue tees (7051 yards). The whites are a calmer 6473. In retrospect, as a bogey golfer, I probably should have played the whites. On the other hand, I got to work out my long irons a lot. Distances are marked in yards, not meters. Most fairways have a blue marker at 200 yards, and wooden signs at 150 and 100 yards. The front nine holes inhabit a little island with vacation homes fronting the water on one side, and the golf course hugging the shore on the other. Bring a camera!
#1 is a warm-up hole, playing only 354 yards from the blues. It's also plenty wide, so there's no reason not to hit your driver off the tee, setting up a mid or short iron in. (I dubbed the tee shot and had to hit a five.) There are bunkers beside the green, but plenty of room in between if you want to roll the ball on.
#2 is a par 5, playing 536. It's straightaway, and wide enough for a driver, so grip it and rip it. The green is tucked right behind a huge bunker, making it challenging, but possible, to reach in two. Or you can play conservatively, and lay up to the left side of the fairway and play a wedge in on your third shot.
#3 is one of the shorter par 3s on the course -- only 166 yards. It has bunkers left and right, but no trouble in front.
#4 is a huge par 4 - 450 yards. You can hit a pretty decent drive and still be 200 yards out. There's a huge waste area extending down the left side of the fairway. This tends to make you want to hit it right, but beware, the rough to the right of the cart path can be difficult (bermuda grass, you know). Still, driver is clearly the play here.
#5 is a 210 yard par 3, with the water from the lagoon extending down the left side. The water is fronted by a waste area. Very pretty hole. Very long too. Be sure to base your club selection on the direction of the wind.
#6 and #7 are both is a 400 yard par 4s, straightway and unremarkable. Both are well-guarded by bunkers around the green. #6 has a fairway bunker on the right, #7 is wide open.
#8 is an interesting hole. It's a short par 5 (504 yards) with a sharp dogleg left, with a big bushy tree on the corner. If you hit anything short left, you're pretty much screwed and will have to lay up for position on your second shot. On the other hand, a monster tee shot down the right half of the fairway will leave you sitting pretty, relatively speaking. There's a huge waste area fronting the green on your approach. If you're playing this as a three shot hole, it doesn't come into play. On the other hand, if you're going for it in two, it will interfere with anything that's hit a little thin, and will rob you of what would otherwise be a long roll-out. #8 also shares a green with #1.
#9 is a pretty straightforward hole, if you can convince yourself you're not playing in the desert. There's a huge waste area that crosses in front of the tee, and extends up the left side. Ignore it, hit a straight drive up the middle, and the hole is cake.
The back nine is on the main part of the island, and large parts of it are visible from the main road down the spine of the island. #10 is a long par 4 (438 yards) with a big dogleg to the left. A well-placed drive needs to stay right of the big bunker. There's an overpowering urge to try and cut the corner to save some distance. Some shots will work out that way, but most of them will just put you in tree trouble.
#11 is a 580 yard par 5. I dubbed my tee shot, not quite making the red tees (I hope the Mexicans haven't heard of Fort Worth rules...), and then hit two brilliant five woods, leaving me set up for a 100 yard wedge shot, which I stuck within four feet, making the putt to save par. There's no strategy required here, except to hit three quality shots in a row, remembering to have the first two leave you at your favorite distance.
For #12, you have to drive under the highway to get to the other side where the next four holes are. #12 is a 400 yard par 4, with a dog leg left up to the green which has a breathtaking view of the Caribbean behind it. Gorgeous! Stay away from the left side to keep from blocking yourself out.
#13 is another monster par 4 at 453 yards. If you don't catch your drive really cleanly, play for bogey.
#14 is a short par 3, again setup so the green fronts the ocean. Enjoy the view off the elevated teebox.
#15 is another 600 yard par 5. You need two really good shots to set up an easy approach. Forget about trying to reach it in two, unless you're Tiger, or one of his steady companions. This is a three shot hole from the get-go. Any screw-up turns it into a four shot hole.
To get to #16, you go back under the highway. This is an uninspired 375 yard par 4. Straightaway, and boring.
#17 next to it, by contrast, is a very interesting par 3. First, it's huge (220 yards). Then there's sand/waste area everywhere. Finally it tends to be into a headwind, at least the day I was there. The score card say the handicap is 16, but I still think bogey is a pretty good score here.
The home hole is another huge par 4, playing 453 yards. I hit a pretty good drive, and then nailed the three iron of my life, a slight cut arching in past the bunker fronting the green, setting up a 20 foot right to left downhill putt, which I made! Right when I was ready to give the game up too...
Again, my long irons got a heavy workout on this course, and I probably should have been playing the white tees. But I really enjoyed this course, and would love to play it again!
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