Design firm Schmidt-Curley has begun construction on the back nine of Mexico’s Amanali Country Club.

The course, which will measure 7,150 yards, is set on the shores of Lake Tepeji, about an hour north of Mexico City. Like the front nine, which has been open since 2010, the back nine holes work their way through high-desert terrain. Construction is expected to finish by summer 2012, and all 18 holes should be open for play in January 2013.

Firm co-founder Brian Curley and lead designer Grant Haserot have worked on the project. Tees, fairways and roughs will be grassed with hybrid bermuda, while putting surfaces will be bentgrass.

“Amanali has all the ingredients to make it one of Mexico's best courses,” said Curley. “Our firm's design acumen, combined with an excellent, lakeside site and fantastic climate for golf, will help make the development one of the country's most desirable addresses.”

The existing front nine occupies the higher part of the property, while the newer holes play through ravines and along the shore of the lake. The par three seventeenth and par four home hole both hug the lakeside.

The master-planned community also includes a golf practice facility and tennis centre. A clubhouse and boutique hotel are planned. The developers report that residential sales are strong and around 500 golf memberships have been sold.