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Course Guide: Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta is a golf destination in the town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Set on the Pacific Coast, Grupo Salinas within their Vallarta resort complex have a number of golf courses, the newest of which is the Norman Signature Course.
Designed by Greg Norman and opened in 2015, it is only accessible via the world’s longest golf cart suspension bridge. Set within a kilometre of the Pacific shoreline, the course itself is set on the Ameca River, with a few holes running alongside, reminding me of Austin Country Club in that aspect. It’s not a coastal links by any means and is definitely resort in its nature, with the course seemingly flat with plenty of lakes and ponds forming hazards around the set-up.
Norman Signature Course, Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Designer: Greg Norman, 2015; Course Type: Coastal, Resort; Par: 71; Length: 7,456 yards; Holes with Water Hazards: 13; Fairways: Paspalum; Rough: Paspalum 2″; Greens: Paspalum; Tournament Stimp: 11-11.5 ft
Course Designer Links: For research purposes other Greg Norman designs include:
- Earth Course – DP World Tour Championship (DP World Tour)
- El Camaleon GC – Mayakoba Classic
- TPC at Sugarloaf – 1997 – 2008 Classic
- Oaks Course, TPC San Antonio – Valero Texas Open
Course Overview: It’s a step into the unknown this week with the Mexico Open graduating for the very first time to the PGA Tour. The Mexico Open, which dates back to 1944 and is considered Mexico’s national championship, has received the status and financial boost which was needed for it, via Grupo Salinas, who brought the WGC Mexico Championship to Chapultepec across 2017-2020. Grupo Salinas will host the tournament at their Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta golf complex.
Set within a kilometre of the Pacific coastline, I was expecting a course with coastal vistas and holes that fronted up to the sea, but that isn’t the case. Built on flat land adjacent to the Ameca River to the north and an International airport to the south, the course is pretty unique in that no buildings or housing surround the property. Indeed access to the course is via a unique suspension bridge over the river.
The par-4 2nd and par-4 16th run alongside the Ameca, with the 6th green and 7th tee also in close proximity. Apart from that, the course is inland and features plenty of lakes meaning water is very much in play across the vast majority of holes. The volume of water actually reminds a little of a Florida-type golf course, although there are far more trees on the property than you would find at say PGA National. The topography, volume of water, Paspalum agronomy and length of the course also remind me of Grand Reserve Country Club where they play the Puerto Rico Open. Naturally with their shared designer and geographical location within Mexico, you can also see elements of El Camaleon where they play the Mayakoba Classic – that course though is over 400 yards shorter.
The Signature Course features very wide fairways, small bunkers, long waste areas and Paspalum greens with plenty of subtle breaks and surrounded by tricky collection areas. I doubt it will put up to stern a test, unless it’s coastal positioning sees strong wind in play. However the most fascinating aspect of the course as I alluded to above is its length. At 7,456 yards and a Par 71, it’s fairly long, especially at sea level. Temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius will negate that to a fair degree, but it’s worth noting that 2 of the par-5s are 603 (6th Hole) and 637 (12th Hole) yards, plus there are 4 par-4s around or slightly above 500 yards in length.
Mexico Open Winners (None Played at Vidanta Vallarta): 2021: Alvaro Ortiz (-23); 2019: Drew Nesbitt (-18); 2018: Austin Smotherman (-18); 2016: Sebastian Vasquez (-16); 2015: Justin Hueber (-23); 2014: Oscar David Alvarez (-17); 2013: Ted Purdy (-7); 2012: Lee Williams (-14); 2011: Erik Compton (-17); 2010: Jamie Lovemark (-12).
Tournament Stats: We’ve published some key player statistics for this week’s event that are well worth a look. Naturally they’ll help to shape a view on players who could go well this week: Current Form | Tournament Form | FRL Stats | Combined Stats.
Published Predictor Model: Our published predictor is available here. You can build your own model using the variables listed on the left hand side. Top 10 of my published predictor are Jon Rahm, Cameron Champ, Gary Woodland, Wyndham Clark, Chris Kirk, Tony Finau, Callum Tarren, Davis Riley, Brendon Todd and Joseph Bramlett.
Weather Forecast: Latest weather forecast for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is here.
Hot and humid is the best way to describe the conditions this week in Mexico. With temperatures at 34-36 degrees Celsius throughout, expect watered and receptive greens. With little wind in the forecast and the ball travelling a mile though the air, I’d expect a resort-level winning score.
Player Strokes Gained Rankings: These top 25 in the field rankings are based on an 8-tournament window that stretches back to the Arnold Palmer Invitational which includes both PGA Tour and DP World Tour events. Players’ rankings are based on performance relative to the rest of the field:
- Top 25 SG Off The Tee: 1) Jon Rahm; 2) Aaron Wise; 3) Brandon Wu; 4) Anirban Lahiri; 5) Callum Tarren / Adam Long; 7) Cameron Champ; 8) Austin Smotherman; 9) Dawie van der Walt; 10) Chris Kirk / Kevin Streelman; 12) Joseph Bramlett; 13) Tony Finau; 14) Doug Ghim / Trey Mullinax / Sebastian Munoz; 17) Satoshi Kodaira; 18) Matt Jones / Scott Piercy; 20) Abraham Ancer; 21) Alex Smalley; 22) Hayden Buckley; 23) James Hahn; 24) Davis Riley; 25) Lee Hodges / Charles Howell III.
- Top 25 SG Approach: 1) Scott Gutschewski; 2) Gary Woodland; 3) Chris Kirk; 4) Austin Smotherman / Jared Wolfe; 6) C.T .Pan; 7) Brandon Wu; 8) Aaron Wise; 9) Mark Hensby / Kevin Na; 11) Danny Lee; 12) Doug Ghim / Charles Howell III; 14) Cameron Tringale; 15) Brian Stuard; 16) Luke Donald / David Lipsky / Aaron Rai; 19) Robert Streb; 20) Roger Sloan; 21) Nate Lashley / Nick Taylor; 23) Patrick Reed; 24) Tony Finau / Adam Svensson.
- Top 25 SG Around The Green: 1) Aaron Baddeley; 2) Seung-yul Noh / David Skinns; 4) Kiradech Aphibarnrat; 5) Wesley Bryan / Matt Jones; 7) Russell Knox; 8) Jonathan Byrd; 9) Dawie van der Walt; 10) Scott Stallings; 11) Ben Kohles; 12) Charles Howell III; 13) Sebastian Munoz / Pat Perez / Dylan Wu; 16) James Hahn / Andrew Novak / C.T. Pan / Patrick Reed; 20) Brice Garnett / J.T. Poston; 22) Doug Ghim; 23) Davis Riley; 24) Peter Malnati / Max McGreevy.
- Top 25 SG Tee to Green: 1) Chris Kirk; 2) Aaron Wise; 3) Jon Rahm; 4) Gary Woodland; 5) Doug Ghim / Sebastian Munoz; 7) Dawie van der Walt; 8) Matt Jones; 9) C.T. Pan; 10) Russell Knox / Kevin Streelman; 12) Scott Gutschewski / Charles Howell III; 14) Adam Long / Jared Wolfe; 16) Anirban Lahiri / Austin Smotherman; 18) Tyler Duncan; 19) Adam Svensson; 20) Kevin Na; 21) Nate Lashley; 22) Roger Sloan; 23) Joseph Bramlett; 24) Robert Streb; 25) Brice Garnett / Aaron Rai.
- Top 25 SG Putting: 1) Aaron Baddeley; 2) Brandon Wu; 3) Scott Gutschewski; 4) Scott Brown; 5) Jared Wolfe; 6) Callum Tarren; 7) Kiradech Aphibarnrat; 8) Vincent Whaley; 9) Patrick Reed; 10) Abraham Ancer; 11) Adam Long; 12) John Huh / Satoshi Kodaira; 14) Sebastian Munoz; 15) Brendon Todd; 16) Ben Martin / Kevin Na; 18) Jonathan Byrd; 19) Patrick Rodgers; 20) Bill Haas / Graeme McDowell; 22) Luke Donald / Scott Piercy / Michael Thompson; 25) J.T. Poston / Martin Trainer.
- Top 25 SG Total: 1) Scott Gutschewski; 2) Sebastian Munoz / Jon Rahm; 4) Brandon Wu; 5) Aaron Baddeley; 6) Jared Wolfe; 7) Patrick Reed; 8) Adam Long; 9) Kiradech Aphibarnrat / Chris Kirk; 11) Kevin Streelman / Aaron Wise / Gary Woodland; 14) Tony Finau / David Skinns; 16) Kevin Na; 17) Abraham Ancer / Doug Ghim / Charles Howell III / Scott Piercy; 21) Matt Jones / Richy Werenski; 23) Adam Svensson; 24) Nate Lashley / C.T. Pan.
For the record, here’s the breakdown of Paspalum PGA Tour victors in the field since 2008:
- 2 – Graeme McDowell, Pat Perez.
- 1 – Scott Brown, Tony Finau, Brice Garnett, Charley Hoffman, John Huh, D.A. Points, Chad Ramey, Brendon Todd, Martin Trainer, Johnson Wagner.
With so many unknowns this week it will be a limited line-up for me this week. There is plenty of guess work around this Mexico Open so I will have a bigger priced selection of players who I like on this first view of the Norman Signature Course.
