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Vidanta Riviera Maya
Rating Snapshot
About
Located between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, Vidanta Riviera Maya (formerly known as El Manglar Golf Club at Vidanta Riviera Maya and Nicklaus Par Three Experience at Vidanta Riviera Maya) is a par 3 Jack Nicklaus masterpiece. The contrast that exists with the colors of this course gives it a natural Caribbean beauty - its bunkers with radiating white sand, the lakes surrounded by natural stones, area part of the game, and the type of green used on this course’s greens blend your target with the outlying weeds, making it a challenge to make par.
The beauty, the nature and the timelessness of this golf course will not only challenge, but inspire you. Lakes accompany you throughout twelve of the course’s holes, the native vegetation of the Mayan Jungle is your natural enemy and spectator and will distract you. This is all part of the challenge to win and determines the time you spend in the game. Also the design of the greens reflects history since it is constructed with styles found half of century ago.
Donut hole description. The spectacular 17th hole is characterized by its great degree of difficulty. Besides having two bunkers, one at each end, it also has a bunker in the center of the green which makes it unique to its kind. Additionally, the green is in the middle of the lake which makes it very difficult to make the covered par.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 54 | 2923 yards | ||
| Blue | 54 | 2438 yards | ||
| Red (W) | 54 | 2141 yards |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 53.0/102 | 121 | 174 | 142 | 223 | 158 | 145 | 146 | 116 | 177 | 1402 | 160 | 129 | 103 | 276 | 195 | 175 | 156 | 132 | 195 | 1521 | 2923 |
| Blue M: 52.3/101 | 98 | 148 | 131 | 190 | 137 | 116 | 130 | 106 | 152 | 1208 | 145 | 104 | 77 | 214 | 158 | 141 | 124 | 108 | 159 | 1230 | 2438 |
| Red W: 54.1/104 | 93 | 137 | 105 | 163 | 132 | 106 | 119 | 85 | 145 | 1085 | 132 | 95 | 69 | 181 | 129 | 129 | 115 | 103 | 112 | 1065 | 2150 |
| Handicap | 17 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 4 | |||
| Par | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 27 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 27 | 54 |
Hot Deals at The Nicklaus Design Course at Vidanta Riviera Maya
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Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by u314163626548 on 08/13/2025
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Photo submitted by Nightwalker on 01/18/2024
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Photo submitted by u000007421160 on 05/16/2022
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Photo submitted by u3424511 on 11/10/2021
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Photo submitted by Kurt4399554 on 07/04/2021
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Photo submitted by Kurt4399554 on 07/04/2021
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Photo submitted by Kurt4399554 on 07/04/2021
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Photo submitted by Kurt4399554 on 07/04/2021
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Photo submitted by Kurt4399554 on 07/04/2021
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Photo submitted by vasbinderd on 12/06/2020
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Biggest lizard I’ve ever seen! Photo submitted by Darbyd0g on 12/25/2019
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Photo submitted by u000007421160 on 05/20/2019
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17 green. Don't get on the wrong side of bunker Photo submitted by u000004034511 on 03/18/2017
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14 green. Tough hole, great view. Good luck. Photo submitted by u000004034511 on 03/18/2017
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#5 ...watch the wind Photo submitted by u000004034511 on 03/18/2017
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#13...276 yards! Why you need driver on a par 3 course Photo submitted by u000004034511 on 03/18/2017
Great par 3 course
Done longer holes mixed in with water and sand gives me ch variety. This is a great paced course for vacation moves fast.
Parr 3 course not worth playing
Terrible staff, once we arrived to the course. We had to wait 40min to get a shuttle once we were inside the resort. Upon departure it was the same. The course is cart path only and was never posted anywhere. The layout was also more like put put golf than a course that charges that kind of money. Won’t be back
Very could considering very wet weather for the last few days.k
Good par 3 challenge
First off, booking through Golf Now previously saved me money at this course. Not this time. Even with booking the “hot deal” it was more expensive. Found that out when I got there. GN without the hot deal was charging $160 not including all the booking fees. The course was charging around $100 with club rental included. This should be fixed by GN to reflect actual course cost.
The course itself is great. Some of the holes are easy but there are some legitimately tough par 3s. Some plays over 200 and 14 and 18 are quite tough with water carry and not a lot of green to work with. Overall tough but fair
Worth it and memorable
Playing all par 3 is a nice change of pace. The course was in perfect condition and dried fast despite heavy rains that morning. Each hole is interesting and challenging. The 276 yard hole is unique and scenic. Course was quiet when we played so we had no pace of play issues at all. Got a great rate with GolfNow.
Good for the kids or wife
We were staying on the resort which made it easy. The unfortunate part was that they were airating the back. and the front had just been done so the greens were just another bunker. We were given 20% the original price which was ridiculous. Taylor made sim golf set was included, which was nice. Don’t recommend playing barefoot as there are red ants all over. Good course for wife or kids.
Challenging
My son and I played the tips. Greens were in excelllent condition. Practice your bunker shots as the greens are well protected. Bring Pesos if you want to buy something from the cart. No credit cards or USD accepted.
great place to get your quick golf fix in on a trip
This is 18 holes all par 3. It is in the Vindata "complex" which consists of 5 resorts. However you dont need to be staying there to book a tee time. If you tell security youre playing golf they will allow the taxi/car to drive to a dropoff location. From there you will need to take a 10 minute golf cart ride to the club house (the place is huge). Hope you brought some golf balls becasue the cheapest 3 packs available to buy are $15 and I needed more than one with all the water on this course. Pretty cool design on most holes but there were several that were very... mehh.. Service in general was exceptional. OVerall a good place to go if youre not wanting to spend all day golfing. THere was almost no one on the course and we finished our round in under 3 hours.
Poor Conditions
This description of the trip to Vidanta should acknowledge that the green fees were $55 on a hot deal from Golf Now. Even at that low price, I was surprised at the overall condition of the course. Aeration had taken taken place a week ago so that left the course a bit beat up and slow. But there is no excuse for hard, wet packed bunkers and the general messiness of the course - no leaf blowers in use lately. Lovely staff and a good design means this could be a little gem but the lack of focus on course conditions was disappointing.
Golfers surprise
Found this course on my GolfNow app a couple of years ago and it has become a must do when we visit the Riviera Maya! First of all the staff is very helpful and friendly. They transport you to the course once you arrive at the resort. I DO WISH they could provide transportation from my resort. We always rent clubs and they are always a great set in wonderful condition. For the fee well worth it! The course itself is well layed out. It is challenging but doable! I will continue to make time to golf here each year because its always such a fun experience!
Par 3
This is a nice Par 3 course, except it was just punched and sanded on the greens and around the greens, so conditions were pretty bad for the day. However, the course itself is very nice.
Iberostar Paraiso Beach Stay & Play Package
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Wow! This poster is way off base. Just played this course for the 3rd time within the last month (today is Jan. 31) and the comments are way off base.
I can't comment about the shuttle, but all 3 times we've used the shuttle - back & forth was in less than 10 minutes.
Sure it's a Par 3 course, but what a nice layout. Conditions are excellent. Staff is excellent. Post game meals in the restaurant is excellent.
I hope nobody skips this course based on the posters comments.