The new course traverses four distinct natural environments: jungle, volcanic cliffs, ocean and estuary
By Laura Hyde |
A new Fazio Design layout at Nauka Golf Club, a private members club located north of Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s Pacific coast, has opened for play.
The par-72, 7,600-yard course is set within the Nauka private community along the Riviera Nayarit and is routed through four distinct natural environments: jungle, volcanic cliffs, ocean and estuary, with three holes on the back nine playing directly along the Pacific. Golfers are encouraged to enjoy their surroundings with a walk barefoot on the sand or step into the ocean before continuing their round.
The new Fazio Design course at Nauka includes three holes that play directly along the Pacific Ocean
The course, which Tom Fazio describes as one of his top three designs, begins inland with a par five that doglegs right. Holes move through dunes and jungle before providing the first view of the ocean from the ‘Booby Blue’ tees (named after the seabird) at the sixth, the longest par four on the course, which plays downhill.
The sixth provides players with the first ocean views from the Booby Blue tee
The back nine also begins with a par-five, the longest on the course. Golfers reach the oceanside holes at the fourteenth, a par three with tees sitting on the beach. The next two holes, both par fours, also play alongside the ocean, with the sixteenth featuring an estuary on the left. The par-five seventeenth takes players back to the jungle holes before a par-four finish alongside marshland.
The par 5 seventeenth takes players from the ocean to the jungle
The club also has a nine-hole par-three course, ‘The Booby Trap’, which was designed for relaxed rounds and social competition, and can be lit for night play.
“Nauka is the result of an extraordinary site and a vision that allowed the land to lead the design,” said Jaime Fasja, founder of developer LIFE Properties International. “The transitions, from jungle to dunes to estuary and then directly to the ocean, are seamless and natural. It’s a course that challenges players strategically while immersing them in one of the most beautiful settings in the world.”
Read more about Nauka Nayarit in ‘Welcome to the jungle’, from the January 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture.