Vista Vallarta Golf Club - The Nicklaus Course
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 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, Grill, Restaurant, Beverage CartsAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, LoungeReviews
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
Fabulous day at the Vista
Beautiful course just outside P.V. In pristine condition a little challenging on a few holes but well worth it,
Enjoy!!
Great layout
The golf course was very playable. Condition was superb. Greens were easy to read and ran true.
I would definitely play again.
Access to the course was somewhat of a challenge, the last mile and a half of “road” was something to behold. Chuckholes were everywhere and the scenery along side the road was pitiful, trash was everywhere a long with discarded sofas, chairs and the like.
Excellent course! Very fun
This course was very fun to play. It is in great condition and the layout is fantastic. The staff was great; I ordered a breakfast sandwich and they brought it out to me on the second hole. I would definitely play this course again.
Amazing course.. And magnificent views
Lots of rain and had to walk a lot... Great course
Beautiful Course
Even just days after the hurricane and daily rains, the course was in great shape and drained very well. I played the Nicholas course and would definitely like to play the Weiskopf course.
Mediocre course
Course is difficult to get to and only saw 2 other golfers on the course. Not a lot of value for what you pay. Signed up for
Tee times through golf now and no mention of time they closed. Sunset at 8:45 but they closed course at 7. Teed off at 3 and Saw one other group of players on course. Nickel and dimes you for everything. Last group to tee off that afternoon and had security and greens keeper following behind us the entire time. Had high expectations for a Nicklaus designed course and did not meet my expectations. Probably would have a higher rating if we had not been run off the course at 7. Would have been nice to see closes at 7 noted somewhere when we decided to play in the afternoon. Scenery was excellent however.
Earns The Nicklaus Last Name
It is a challenging and fun course at the same time. It is a mountain course with cliffs and dry rivers crossing the fairways. It has uphill and downhill holes.
The weather is very humid I had to play without the glove to get a better grip of the clubs.
There is a drinks cart, I did not see a snack or meal restaurant in the clubhouse.
Great experience
Nice golf course overall!! A bit pricey, should have a better deal for locals.
Great track in the middle of nowhere.
Very playable. Nice layout. Beautiful area. Drive to it is not very nice. Played in 3 hrs.
Great Option for PV
Greens are in great condition. Course is very interesting and lots of fun challenges. No time pressure. N
Best option for golf near the city of PV.
Vista Vallarta-Nicklaus review
I played this course numerous times over the past two months. It is an excellent course with wonderful conditions and surprisingly very limited play. Some of this I'm sure is impacted by the pandemic, but for some reason Pto Vallarta does not seem to be a golf destination. If you like speedy rounds, you will be in heaven here. It is located about 25 mins from most hotel locations in a hilly area. This is definitely a course from Nicklaus' more benign years. The fairways are pretty open, the greens are not overly undulating, there is ample green bunkering, though usually openings for the ground game. The bunkers near the green tend to be deep, but they seemed easier to play than the Weiskopf ones. Like the Weiskopf course, it would have been nice if the greens were a bit faster.. My only negatives are: 1.) for a course charging up to $200+, forcing you to buy drinking water seems a little cheap in my mind, and 2.) do not use your American Express card to pay for your round at any of the VV courses. They charge a 10%+ surcharge (not disclosed) to use these cards due to inflated exchange rates charged when they convert to pesos. American Express cards can only be processed in pesos. Use a MasterCard or Visa which can be processed in US dollars with no surcharge.
Probably the 2 best courses in Puerto Vallarta.
All the courses are over priced, but in a resort area not too bad.
Great views and amenities.