Apologies for not getting this “Spring Break” golf report out until this week, but there were some lost film issues that The Coop had to overcome before I could get these shots into print. At any rate, a group of 20 `ND’s and a token entry from NA (Mike Dobbs) headed to Cabo San Lucas for a week of fun in the sun. We had two houses at our disposal – each with a pool and one with a hot tub – and did not lack for cerveza or tequila. Evenings were for heading out, mornings were for sleeping in, and our afternoons were reserved for SCUBA, deep-sea fishing, beaches, ATV-riding and yes, golf. Expensive golf, as in $120 for a round at Palmilla and $180 at the Mexican Granddaddy of them all: The Ocean Course at Cabo Del Sol. And these were the twilight rates! They would have tagged on another $60 per round for morning tee times. So there it was: $300. The irony was not lost on me that the same $300 last year would have bought me an unlimited play annual membership at the Fort Lewis, Washington military course – the same course selected to host the Washington State Amateur Tournament and one that would hold its own against most public courses in the Northwest. But you only live once, I’m no longer in the service, and we were a long way from Seattle.
What did $300 buy us? Exquisite golf at two of the most famous courses in Latin America. With perfect timing, Golf Digest’s April issue had a review of the Cabo courses we would play and gave Palmilla and Cabo del Sol a 4-star and 4.5 star rating respectively, where 4-stars reflects a course that one should “plan their next vacation around.” From a personal perspective, I’d suggest that Hawaii’s premier ocean resort courses are a better value, with fairways and greens in better shape and fees at roughly half the price. That aside, these courses were impressive. In fact, course designer Jack Nicklaus suggested that Cabo del Sol’s #16, 17, and 18 are “the finest three finishing holes in all of golf” and calls Cabo del Sol “the most spectacular golf course property on earth.”
So without further ado, here are the key takeaways from our rounds – put in the form of the Section D tried and true
Rooftop award form of D’eep Thoughts:
o If Josh Wilson had to remove all “four-letter” words from his vocabulary on the course, could he still manage to get a concept across at any given point during his round?
o If Teddy Cho had the sweetest swing in the group and styled a GQ-esque golf wardrobe that put us all to shame on the course, would he still be compensating for anything specific with the ridiculously oversized head on his Ping driver?
o If Mike Dobbs is teeing off under perfect conditions with a three-iron `for control’ into a wide open landing area, is the safest place to be still anywhere on the fairway?
o If Richard Jennings hadn’t injured his ankle before the trip, would he truly have joined us on the links or would he have continued to juggle his week in Cabo between Krista, Amanda, and Charlotte?
o If Brent Brown were in a forest and a tree fell, would Mike Paley and Davis still hear Brent’s voice in the middle of their backswings?
o If someone finished the final six holes in one-over par at Palmilla – including hitting the pin off the tee on Palmilla’s 180-yard #17 before knocking in the birdie putt – could that person still have possibly finished the round at over a hundred and completely redefine the meaning of “inconsistency?”
o If Andrew Taylor had the course all to himself, teed off at 8:00am, played at his normal pace and left the course at sundown, would he still have finished the front nine?
o And finally, if the round is over for two of the three foursomes, those men are waiting just off the course for the final group to finish, and Brian Davis is seen yelling “Fore” before hitting his approach shot over the green and into that group, what is the chance that anyone should believe his lame-ass story that it was an accident?
That’s all folks. Stay tuned next week for… whatever I feel like writing, and feel free to check out
cabodelsol.com for more information on these courses.
