[Greg Tallman]

Will do a complete photo tour when time allows. For now here is a sample.

[Bart Bradley]

Tiger's Course at Diamonte?

Bart

[Chris DeToro]

I wish I was there...

[Greg Tallman]

Tiger's Course at Diamonte?

Bart

No sir, but you can see it from the point where the second picture was taken.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

The new "around the mountain" Nicklaus course

[Greg Tallman]

The new "around the mountain" Nicklaus course

Correct. The course name is Quivira and is now open for limited play. If I can get the picture resizing feature to work on photobucket I will keep going... 1 out of 3 thus far... about like my driver yesterday.

Though experiencing moments like this made my poor golf seem unimportant.




The hole being played when above photo was taken...

[Greg Tallman]

Quivira is the latest Nicklaus course to hit Los Cabos and brings the Nicklaus offerings to a total of 90 holes in the region. The course is constructed primarily on the dune capped cliffs high above Diamante. You can see all of Diamante from several points at Quivira and much of Quivira from most parts of Diamante.  While the principals might not appreciate it an interesting day would be had playing holes 1-11 on Diamante Dunes before hopping over to play 11 back through 10 at Quivira then the final 7 on the Dunes course for a rather interesting, 36 hole trek complete with 6 or 7 comfort stations... designated driver highly suggested.

On to the course.

#1 - Par 4 - 389/378/365/334/261

A largely accommodating opener made difficult only when the wind is blowing, which is most of the time! Strong left to right cross wind makes the tee shot more difficult than it appears though there is a fair amount of width here... something that is lacking elsewhere on the course.

Though lacking the downhill nature of the opener at Doak's Bay of Dreams the tee shot is not dissimilar with ocean behind and native areas dotting what is some form of shared playing area with the 18th hole. You can see the 17th hole in the top left of the photo, including 17 there would be 5 holes down on the flat and the remaining 13 up on the cliffs/dunes.



The approach is straightforward with a deep bunker and closely mown area lurking right (remember the wind)



One of the more benign greens at Quivira though it does have some movement as you get deeper into the green



The fall off and bunker on the right side with my ball that landed on the right edge less than 20 fee from the hole once it found its final resting place

[Greg Tallman]

#2 - Par 3 - 210/192/178/155/97

Mid length par 3 where normal wind aids in the preferred left to right shape required for this hole.

I guess I would have preferred the native to provide the "hazard" left and above the green rather than the bunker but overall a solid hole in a nice setting


Plenty of movement in the green. You can make out the ridge running between my ball and the hole creating some interesting hole location options here... I failed to navigate the ridge properly 

[Greg Tallman]

#3 - Par 4 - 316/275/260/240/220

Short par 4 which I am not certain it is designed to be "drivable" though some could on this uphill, heavily bunkered hole.

An awful lot going on here, probably too much as the strong player is going to get past the center line hazard which is not a bunker but exposed dune that still requires some vegetation to present well and the average player is going to find it pretty frequently I imagine. May have been better served pulling the bunker/native area in from the left to mess with the better player while allowing the average guy ample room to get the ball in play


Zoomed in a bit


Not that I am a strong player but I was comfortably over the central hazard and left with a pitch of some 50 yards over the front bunker which looked simple enough, not easy but straightforward...


...though upon executing the shot I arrive at the green to find out just how tough it really was with the flag tucked not only behind the bunker but just beyond a transition as the green runs away from left to right. With the greens not quite up to speed I was able to get it close though I suspect the same shot a year from now would be another 10-15 right and beyond the hole.

[Greg Tallman]

#4 - Par 5 - 616/594/531/472/433

Turning around and heading back toward the ocean the wind is now from the right and slightly against, not welcome on this behemoth.

Tee shot is a bit odd. Being a right to left player and with the wind coming hard from the right the tee ball is a bit awkward and requires your full attention. That said, when you get out in the fairway you see there is more than ample room to fit the ball onto the turf.


A decent tee ball leaves you with an "all you got" second to get into position. WIth the wind howling the play here was at the tree and let the wind move it back, coming up just short of the bunker in the distance, some 90 yards from the green (dumb luck as I had no idea of distance to the bunker)


Beyond the 90 yard bunker is a ton of room right of the green complex that ranks as one of the less memorable at Quivira

[Greg Tallman]

A considerable drive from the fourth green to the fifth tee is broken up by the first comfort station... do not get too close to the edge!!

[Greg Tallman]

#5 - Par 4 - 310/311/288/268/202

After the lengthy commute and breathtaking comfort station you meet the holes that will be the most talked about on the course.


Whether the fifth is a good hole or not is open for debate though the rank and file tourist will talk about it over and over. Built along the very edge of the cliff this vertigo inducing beauty will test your nerve should your ball wander too close to the precipice. Heck just standing on the tee is a bit daunting to be honest.

At any rate you are faced with the most difficult tee shot of the day, into a fierce wind. With the turf line being about 25 yards wide in the landing area I doubt many a resort golfer gets a ball in play here and even if so the "fun" has only begun.

You can see the edge of the green jutting out on the left side of the photo some 80 feet(?) below the fairway level


Just for fun they have built a lower tee that serves as the black tee directly below the gold tee that is 1 yard longer than the black... sorry, I am not going down there!


If you manage to hit the ribbon of turf you are most likely left with a completely blind shot where you fee as though you are hitting over the cliff and into the ocean but as noted above there is a green down there as evidenced again with this photo from the cart path at the very end of the turf line.
 

After carefully managing the snaking cart path you arrive at the green that is literally on the edge of the cliff... only about 200 feet down to the beach.


The look back up to the fairway.


And from the green to black tee hanging off the cliff in the distance.


Interesting golf hole to say the least!

[Greg Tallman]

#6 - Par 3 - 180/165/135/107/98

Just when you thought it was safe to keep your eyes somewhere other than one foot in front of you... we have the second of the cliff side holes.

This par 3, while perhaps a bit forced works better than the 5th in my mind. While it certainly another "hit a very good shot or else" hole it is a hole that will garner much attention and eat many a sleeve. I do not have a photo of the green which is basically your basic narrow, longish, two tier surface


If you are a player who comes up and out of their posture, losing your balance toward your heels on your follow through.... BEWARE as here is the view just off the left edge of the smallish tee!!!!

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Hmmmmmm, very pretty though
I look forward to seeing it later in the year.

#6 looks alot like that hole on Mahogany Run in St Thomas, hit the green or else.

[Greg Tallman]

#7 - Par 4 - 409/366/345/320/306

After playing along the cliff's edge for the last couple of holes you climb to the top of the dune and play across toward Diamante.

7 and 8 are two of the better holes on the course and just as beautiful as what was just encountered along the cliffs at 5 and 6.

Still playing into the teeth of the wind (probably 25+ MPH yesterday) the seventh is a very tough tee shot. My biggest critique of the course is here. Such a great setting and awesome approach and much is lost with the lack of width from the tee. Again remember you are playing into a stiff breeze on a calm day. I think this is where placing strategy at specific yardages fails the architect. Considering I was playing from the gold markers (366) and after a decent punch driver had 160 yards remaining you simply have to be able to adjust your thinking on hazard placement. Much of the dunescape in the middle/right could be converted to fairway, giving the average player a fighting change. As it is the narrow space left of this and the central bunker that is another 35 yards beyond is all you've got to hit to. Pretty tall order in calm conditions...


Zoomed a bit you can see more of the right side fairway though in my mind neither side offers sufficient width to be preferred over the other though the right side may well allow some errant shots to be found in good position though most, with the aid of the wind, will sail off into the dunescape.


Approaching the central hazards you get a sense of the relationship of the larger first bunker and the smallish second, no real playable area between


Having crushed my tee ball some 210 yards I am left with about 160 and an absolutely beautiful approach... again my bugaboo here is just let people get to this point without beating them up, let them enjoy THIS!



Of course after hacking out of the scrub and having this left as your 3rd, or perhaps 5th, isn't all bad either.

[Greg Tallman]

#8 - Par 4 - 399/377/318/306/245

Following the awesome approach at 7 is pretty tough but the tee shot at 8 is just as cool. Similar look as the tee shot on 6 at Diamante the 8th is solid and beautiful from start to finish and among my favorite holes on the course. Again playing much longer than the yardage due to the wind one is at least afforded plenty of width on this hole. That said the average "retail golfer" is going to find the junk on the right frequently as the wind is from roughly 10 o'clock on the tee shot before you turn back into the face for the approach.

You can make the green out just beyond the round front bunker.



Challenging and attractive approach to a green some 30+ feet above 


Plenty of room for approaches hit shot and right, a theme repeated throughout the course

[Greg Tallman]

Hmmmmmm, very pretty though
I look forward to seeing it later in the year.

#6 looks alot like that hole on Mahogany Run in St Thomas, hit the green or else.

Somewhat like the 13th at Mahogany Run though the green here is 3 times the size and this hole plays parallel along the cliff whereas at Mahogany you are playing over a chasm and back into the hillside a bit more.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

those two holes look great Greg

[Jay Flemma]

Tiger's Course at Diamonte?

Bart

No...that will be called Diamante Cardinal.  This is Quivera.  Difft altogether.

[Greg Tallman]

#9 - Par 3 - 222/201/181/155/145

Having climbed to the top of the dunes at the 8th green the per 3 ninth is the first of two holes along the backside of the dune. Surely the back side of the dune cannot yield the beauty and cool holes like 7 and 8, right?

Wrong. The 9th is a great looking, strong one shot hole. The wind now coming from the left complicates the play on eth longest par 3 on the course. Again there is room provided for the short right miss though you will be tested from there to certain hole locations, as we will see in a moment.


Misses to the right, while given plenty of opportunity to find and play the ball leave a tough pitch over the spine coming off the bunker into the right half of the green...


...though shots falling left may find a worse fate, bounding down the slope into the junk with Diamante in the distance.

[Greg Tallman]

Tiger's Course at Diamonte?

Bart

No...that will be called Diamante Cardinal.  This is Quivera.  Difft altogether.

For the sake of correctness that would be El Cardonal (as in cactus not bird) at Diamante and this is Quivira. 

[Greg Tallman]

Pressing on to the back side.

By the way for those following along that is a front side of 3051 from the tips playing to a par of 34. Played MUCH longer than that... MUCH!

#10 - Par 5 - 554/529/499/475/435

The inward nine gets off to an interesting start with a tee shot that will challenge your nerve and penchant for risk. Risk/reward in the truest sense this 90° dogleg right may lull you into thinking the only play is safe, left of all trouble. This is not the case as my tee shot, pushed some 15 yards right of target happily found out. The line for those who can carry it at least 250 or so is over the junk on the right with my unintended line being just over my playing companion's head in the second photo... I let him move before swinging away if you were wondering.




A well executed tee shot or in my case lucky miss is left with a straightforward downhill plunge to a small, narrow green guarded only by a bunker some 40 yards short. Again dead into the wind one must decide if the risk is worth the reward as a simple lay up to 50-100 yards is all but given while not too far off the green is junk from which par is would not be easy.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

So this is the hole taht comes closest to the Diamante property?

[Greg Tallman]

So this is the hole taht comes closest to the Diamante property?

Yes, the 10th green is near the property line and just behind Sunset Estates in Diamante. From here we turn around and head back up the dunes on the ocean side at 11 before zig-zagging our way back to the water on 12.

[Greg Tallman]

#11 - Par 4 - 375/362/341/235/210

Completely blind tee shot to a split fairway where only an errant shot would find the lower right portion. Hitting up and over the side of the massive dune is intimidating and made tougher by the fact you really have no idea what is on top. Preferred line is just right of the tree/shrub you can see if you follow the slope of the lighthouse hill to its base. Straight at the tree could be slightly left of safe for longer hitters. A tight tee shot made easier by the strong tailwind.


Zoomed in


Looking back down toward the back tees from the white tee which is 140 yards forward and probably 35 feet above with the new 12th fairway of Diamante floating amid the dunes in the distance.


Looking back from position A off the tee. From here you see the lower portion of the fairway that you cannot see from the tee.


Back to the shot at hand, a 40-80 yard pitch up the hill from a well  struck tee shot. Not too daunting to the hole location seen here but no bargain to some of the tougher back right locations as the green falls away from left to right. Front left would also be tricky.


You get a sense of the green movement from the 12th tee

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