Vidanta Golf The Lakes Course Review

Texas Outside Rating: 9.5

Golf - Public Course · · Par 30
Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
Website

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Vidanta Golf The Lakes Course Review

Review of Vidanta Golf's The Lakes Course Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

The Lakes Course at Vidanta Resort is the newest of the three courses at the Resort.  It was designed by Chet Williams and opened for play in 2017. It's a beautiful 10 hole par three course which provides an excellent way to practice your short game, putting, and bunker shots.  The course is well landscaped with tropical fauna and meticulously maintained. 

We didn't have time to play the Lakes during our vacation to Nuevo Vallarta but talked to several people about it.  We understand the Lakes is very challenging thanks to water on every hole and eleven big bunkers to avoid. Spray the ball and you're wet or lost in the tropical jungle.  Two tee boxes have yardages of 886 from the back tees and 706 from the front.  The greens look big and have plenty of contour. 

It's the only lit course in the region that is open for play until 11 PM.

Here is a link to our review of the Norman Course and the Nayar Course at Vidanta. 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 886
Gold 706

Course Information

Greens Type:
Paspalum
Greens Condition
9.5
Greens Difficulty
9.0
Fairway Condition
9.5
Bunker Condition
9.5
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Yes
Beware of water on 10 holes and the 11 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
9.5 out of 10
Beauty:
10.0
Difficulty:
9.5
Variety:
8.5
Fun to Play:
8.8
Value:
8.8
Condition:
9.5
Front Nine Rating:
Back Nine Rating:
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $59.00 to $59.00

Service is first class, the practice facilities are good, the pro shop is well stocked, and the restaurant is excellent.

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Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this:  links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses! 
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:

  • Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds
  • Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10. 
  • Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box?  That’s right, it gets a 1.
  • Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes
  • Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course.  For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.
  • Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!
  • Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale.  Condition is self-explanatory.  

All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course.  In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40.  We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.