Tom Fazio discusses Chileno Bay project

Chileno Bay will become the latest new course to open in the popular destination of Los Cabos
Native vegetation has been used to help ‘frame’ the course
Fazio has designed the course to be playable and to cater for golfers of all abilities
Chileno Bay lies on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula

By Sean Dudley

Mon 23 Jan, 2017

Construction of the golf course at Chileno Bay Golf and Beach Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, originally started in 2009, but was halted due to the economic downturn. Fazio Design returned in 2016 to complete the layout

How would you describe the Chileno Bay course?

The course plays through a lush desert environment, and given the very limited amount of real estate interface, we were allowed to route the golf course strategically to take advantage of the varying topography, natural features and landscape throughout the property. In addition to ocean views to the east on many of the holes, the western interior mountain views are similarly spectacular. The goal of the course aesthetic was to build on the natural characteristics and vegetation surrounding the golf course and integrate the visual appearance as much as possible. Native bunkers blend into undisturbed vegetation and contours, while new landscape areas visually enhance the overall aesthetic of the golf experience by expanding the native vegetation back into the ‘frame’ of the golf hole.

What work has taken place to complete the course?

The economic downturn came in the very late stages of golf course construction. By the end of 2009, work on the course was halted with most of the course work nearing completion. The bunkers and turf areas suffered due to the passage of time and limited care. This summer Discovery Land Company (DLC) took over the project and implemented an aggressive renovation programme to rebuild all of the bunkers and the eighteenth hole. DLC also focused heavily on agronomic rehabilitation to heal the turfgrass and get it ready for the official opening, which took place in November 2016.

What can golfers visiting Chileno Bay expect?

The golf course at Chileno Bay is designed to be very playable, with generous turf areas and hole widths which not only cater to the average golfer, but also create strategic options and variety of play day-to-day for even the best golfers. The course is visually stunning while ranging from 100 to 350 feet above the ocean to the east and is characterised by several prominent natural pinnacles that rise steeply above the course. Golfers are in for a unique and fun golf experience that is matched by the quality of the rest of the development.