When I first saw pictures of the 17th hole at TPC Danzante Bay, I knew immediately that it was my destiny to play and photograph that golf hole. When I learned that I would be making the journey with Clint Johnson from Triphackr, I knew this was going to be a magical golf weekend.
The prospects of the journey were enhanced even further when I realized that there are an additional 17 holes that go with the 17th hole at TPC Danzante Bay. Unlike other course reviews, I will not be grabbing your attention with the money maker right off of the bat. Instead, we will build up to it. Much like the golf course itself, we will ebb and flow, ascending a gentle crescendo, until we reach the climax. Then your golf brain will explode right out of your eye sockets.
A fancy welcome to Danzante Bay.
The action at TPC Danzante Bay starts before you even get to the golf course. After a 30 minute drive from the Loreto airport, we arrived at the resort. As you can tell from the image above, I was greeted in style when I arrived at my bed for the weekend. Those are tiny colored stones spelling out my name. So much luxuriousness!
Laser beam sidewalk lighting
Getting juiced in the Danzante gym.
The resort has three restaurants, a spa, a gym, a mini market, and five different pools. In addition to the golfing activities there are daily activities, nightly activities, and outdoor activities.
In fact, there are so many activities at TPC Danzante Bay that it has been awarded the 2nd all time winner of the “So Much Room For Activities” award. The only other resort with this honor is Casa De Campo in the DR. You can’t just be some regular type of resort with a normal amount of activities if you expect to earn this coveted GIF.
Things like snorkeling, whale watching, paddle boarding, and ATV excursions are just some of the activities that the resort offers. Additionally, the town of Loreto is also just a 30 minute shuttle away… if you are feeling froggy.
For the purpose of this blog, we will be focusing on the golfing activities and the golf action ramps up quickly with some of my favorite holes on the golf course coming early. The 2nd hole is one of the best par 5’s on the property and provides a compelling birdie opportunity. Framed by the stunning cliffs behind the green, the hole warms up the senses for the visual onslaught to come.
The 3rd hole at Danzante Bay
The drivable 4th hole plays downhill.
Immediately following the 2nd hole, the golfer faces the first real test of the round. The 3rd requires an uphill approach with a long iron to a green perched on the cliff’s edge. You can bail out to the left, but the real glory awaits the golfer who attacks the green. The far right pin location on this green is a deliciously scary golf shot.
After the test on the 3rd hole, the course flips around and offers another chance to score with a short par 4. It’s downhill and drivable for the longer hitters but can quickly put a blemish on your scorecard if your accuracy is off. The birdie chances keep coming throughout the front nine as you play your way back through the canyon. It’s a wildly fun and scenic ride.
The 4th hole is a lengthy par 5 playing back down towards Danzante Bay.
Behind the 11th hole at TPC Danzante Bay you will find a 9 hole putting course that is waiting for the putt party to commence after your round. Course architect, Rees Jones, took inspiration from the Himalayas putting course at St Andrews to provide the golfer with a fun place to putt some putts after the round..
The 9 hole putting course at TPC Danzante Bay
The beginning of the back nine makes its way out to Danzante Bay with the par 5 12th and par 3 13th finishing right on the water’s edge. The greens here are not only scenic but have some great contouring allowing for a number of great pin positions and interesting putts.
The tee box on the 13th showing of some serious stripes.
Directly above the 13th hole
Directly above the 12th hole
The view from behind the green on 12.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the round begins on the 15th hole as you start your initial ascent up the mountainside towards the 17th hole. With only two short par 4’s standing in between you an the 17th, the roller coaster begins to chug uphill. Anticipation mounts as you strike your golf ball up the green slopes. Fortunately, the 15th and 16th are strong enough golf holes to keep you distracted from your fate on 17. As you were informed earlier, your golf brain is about to explode out of your eye sockets.
The 15th hole on the left side of the photograph with the 16th hole in the distance. The 17th awaits the golfer on the other side of this cliff. The 18th on the right hand side of the photograph plays back towards the clubhouse.
As we crested the cliffside after putting out on the 16th green, we arrived at the summit. It was finally time to golf and photograph the 17th hole. Below you will see the physical reactions from our threesome as we arrived onto the 17th tee box and tried to keep our golf brains behind our eyes. That’s me on the far left.
The 17th plays anywhere from 100 to 180 yards and it’s all about distance control if you expect to find dry land. The good news is that even if you do find the Sea of Cortez with your tee ball, you get to play your 3rd from the equally scenic drop zone.
As you can tell from the tweet below, we weren’t the only creatures interested in taking in the view on 17.
Killer drone shot of hole #17 at @tpcdanzantebay pic.twitter.com/j7MIpQySht
— Patrick Koenig (@PatrickjKoenig) December 15, 2019
Out of all the creatures I’ve seen on the golf course, this tarantula sighting at @tpcdanzantebay may be the coolest. pic.twitter.com/tAZJ3od94O
— Patrick Koenig (@PatrickjKoenig) December 17, 2019
The green on 17 reaches out to grab it’s first taste of that early morning sun.
The 17th gets an early morning spritz.
In perhaps my best YouTube video to date, Triphackr, Three Willy Billy and I took on TPC Danzante Bay in a high stakes peso match. The footage below captures all of the action.
If you are interested in scheduling your own TPC Danzante adventure, the journey to the 17th hole starts here. Just prepare your eyeballs.