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Vista Vallarta Golf Club - The Nicklaus Course
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About
The Nicklaus Course at Vista Vallarta Golf Club is one of two championship courses at the club, the other was designed by Tom Weiskopf. The Nicklaus Course is perched atop the property's highest elevation, offering spectacular views of Puerto Vallarta and the Bay of Banderas. The course tumbles across grassy hillsides covered with dense forests of palms and giant ficus trees. True to Nicklaus' style, the wildly undulating greens are balanced by generous driving areas. He also chose to route the holes along the natural contours of the land, giving each hole a unique character. One of the most talked-about holes on the golf course is the par-5 third, which is ranked as the toughest. This 550-yard monster demands three strong shots in order to make it onto the elevated green in regulation, but the tricky part is that the elevation rises a bit more with each shot.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 72 | 7074 yards | 73.8 | 144 |
| Blue | 72 | 6595 yards | 71.7 | 137 |
| White | 72 | 6031 yards | 69.5 | 124 |
| Yellow | 72 | 5287 yards | 66.4 | 117 |
| Red | 72 | 5251 yards | 71.1 | 119 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold M: 74.7/138 | 401 | 429 | 550 | 381 | 213 | 452 | 427 | 534 | 182 | 3569 | 536 | 394 | 580 | 340 | 440 | 177 | 423 | 170 | 445 | 3505 | 7074 |
| Blue M: 72.7/130 W: 78.6/142 | 338 | 408 | 519 | 366 | 192 | 435 | 395 | 499 | 178 | 3330 | 513 | 370 | 558 | 314 | 422 | 149 | 383 | 157 | 399 | 3265 | 6595 |
| White M: 69.7/126 W: 73.5/125 | 294 | 360 | 484 | 338 | 168 | 416 | 372 | 453 | 152 | 3037 | 466 | 356 | 538 | 262 | 402 | 125 | 347 | 131 | 367 | 2994 | 6031 |
| Yellow M: 66.8/118 W: 72.0/121 | 260 | 336 | 443 | 268 | 145 | 331 | 284 | 422 | 131 | 2620 | 433 | 334 | 521 | 236 | 311 | 113 | 307 | 114 | 298 | 2667 | 5287 |
| Red W: 70.0/121 | 258 | 334 | 441 | 266 | 143 | 329 | 282 | 420 | 129 | 2602 | 431 | 332 | 519 | 234 | 309 | 111 | 305 | 112 | 296 | 2649 | 5251 |
| Handicap | 11 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 17 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 10 | 18 | 8 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 13 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 18 | 12 |
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Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by Bea1213 on 02/02/2026
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Photo submitted by tcallaway25 on 06/12/2023
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Photo submitted by tcallaway25 on 06/12/2023
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Photo submitted by tcallaway25 on 06/12/2023
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Photo submitted by u314160452191 on 02/04/2023
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Photo submitted by u314160452191 on 02/04/2023
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Photo submitted by u314160452191 on 02/04/2023
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Photo submitted by u9883322 on 06/12/2022
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Photo submitted by u9883322 on 06/12/2022
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Photo submitted by u397521615 on 02/08/2022
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Photo submitted by browndoodle on 02/02/2022
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Hole 15 Photo submitted by u290742857 on 12/02/2021
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Photo submitted by RTomaselli1 on 11/22/2021
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Photo submitted by RTomaselli1 on 11/22/2021
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Photo submitted by RTomaselli1 on 11/22/2021
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Photo submitted by u778001500 on 11/16/2021
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Photo submitted by u778001500 on 11/16/2021
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Photo submitted by u778001500 on 11/16/2021
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Photo submitted by u000006172924 on 12/15/2020
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No. 16 on the Nicklaus course Photo submitted by greg0000023 on 05/26/2019
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A bunker and the bougainvilleas on the Nicklaus course. Photo submitted by JasonDeeganGA on 04/09/2018
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Pro Ivan Cueva on the Nicklaus course. Photo submitted by JasonDeeganGA on 04/09/2018
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A wall of fame celebrates the players from the 2002 World Golf Championships-World Cup at Vista Vallarta. Photo submitted by JasonDeeganGA on 04/09/2018
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Photo submitted by TroyJames on 01/24/2018
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View of one of the holes Photo submitted by kl3443 on 09/20/2012
Better than I remember
I generally play the Weiskopf course at Vista Vallarta, having played Nicklaus 3-4 years ago and not enjoying it because of so many forced carries over arroyos. That criticism is still fair, but the course is nevertheless a fun challenge and very well designed. I will be back.
Great course!
Amazing layout and pace of play was perfect. Overall great value!
Amazing views
This course was really fun and challenging. Water bottles were included, so that's nice. The staff were amazing- tip!
Vista Vallarta
Played the Nicklaus course yesterday.
Quite a fair test of golf with wide fairways and protected greens. Good conditions with nice green surfaces. Club staff was great.
Enjoyed our round but must say it’s an overpriced experience at VV.
But to be fair, that’s just the way it is during high season in PV.
You’ve got to pay to play anywhere !
One of the best I have played
I went to Scotland and played at Carnoustie. It had lot of history but I didn't enjoy it as it was long and straight and deep bunkers might challenge you sometimes. But this course in Puerto Vallarta was excellent. Very well designed by Jack, challenging but fair and above all it was maintained so well - immaculate. Only criticism I had was that bunkers need more sand. Overall loved it . Paid much less - US$169 due to discount from the resort I was staying in. I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much that I played two days in a row and third day I played Tom Weiskopf course which was also nice!
Fairway
I had a hard time distinguishing the gullies on the gps system in the cart. This lead me to loose three balls because I through my shot would roll towards the green. When in fact there was a deep gully in front of the green
Very Interesting Course
Great layout in the mountains overlooking Puerto Vallarta. We played in December, early in the golf season. The course was nearly empty allowing us to play in less than 4 hours. The greens were in very good condition.
Great first time, great time
My first and maybe my only time playing on this course. Good location and i am glad I booked it thru GP. Staff offered discount off the bat for my companion. Not a busy
day so I played less than 4 hours. Elevation and layout is great. I broke 80 for the first time and in a great course.
Vista Vallarta
The Nicklaus course is a bear! :) The greens were excellent, difficult but fair. The rough is intense!I should have moved up a set of tees.
Back 9th without flags
Everything was excellent, only that we have to play the back 9 without flags since the staff withdraws them at 4:30, even though the course close at 7:00 pm
Unkept Course/Unmanageable Rough
The course is in need of some TLC. The fairways were brown and the rough was completely unmowed. A ball that rolled just off the fairway could only be found if you were standing on top of it. In general, it he course appeared unkept. Were told later that a mower needed to be repaired.
Nicklaus had slightly more character than weiskoff but both course are excellent
With the local rain rough had not been maintained and high than it should’ve been
Pace of greens could have been a bit faster similar to weiskoff but still rolled well
This golf complex and the two courses are the best in the area.
Positive
The greens there are unique to me. I’ve never seen them like that before. They were rolled a little bit slow, but they were as consistent as anything, and played the way they looked. I wouldn’t hesitate to play there again. Booked at the day before to save a ton of money
