My Three Favorite Holes at Quivira: Antonio Reynante
Quivira Golf Club, recently voted to Golf Digest’s list of the “World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses,” has grown mightily in stature since its 2014 debut. The vertigo-inducing experience of navigating a golf ball along sheer cliffs and topsy-turvy terrain high above the restless sea has captured the imagination of golfers from around the globe. With more oceanfront exposure than any other course in Los Cabos, Quivira, a spellbinding thrill ride, may be the most daring and eclectic course that the legendary Jack Nicklaus has ever built.
Spend a few minutes in the bar in Quivira’s open-air, thatched-roof clubhouse following the round, and a favorite topic will arise among players: What were your favorite holes?
We decided to pose that question to Antonio Reynante, Quivira’s director of golf and an astute student of the game who has toured the course hundreds of times. Reynante, after much deliberation, narrowed his favorite holes to three.
“It’s always tough to select your three favorite songs from a great recording artist’s repertoire, whether it’s Bob Dylan or Bob Marley or the Beatles,” he said. “It’s as if every single song is great and you don’t want to leave a single one off the list.
“The same thing happened to me when I sat down to select my three favorite holes at Quivira, but…I tried my best.”
No. 7, Par 3 - A true challenge for all levels of players. Just when you think you have seen it all on the sixth hole, the short par 4 with a narrow sloping fairway that skirts a cliff and drops to oblivion, you make the turn on No. 7 to face the most stunning, dramatic and isolated golf hole you will ever see in your life. Hidden in a little corner at the southernmost point of the Baja, this breathtaking par 3, carved into the base of a massive dune over 100 feet above the sea, will force you to hit a solid shot into the prevailing wind. When in doubt, take two or three extra clubs to flight the ball on a low trajectory that pierces the wind. The reward of a well-struck shot that lands on the deep, two-tiered green will make your whole vacation. Our seventh hole has to be one of the most spectacular par 3’s Jack Nicklaus has ever built.
No. 9, Par 4 - A pure player´s golf hole, majestic in every aspect. This is a very challenging par 4 embraced by the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. The scorecard yardage—399 yards from the back tees—is very misleading. The broad fairway eventually narrows and climbs straight uphill to a slippery, well-defended green tucked in a cleft of the dunes. Faced into the wind, you can add at least 50 yards to the hole from any set of tees you choose to play. Artfully designed, it is one of the best holes I have ever seen or played. Not only because of its beauty, but because of the illusion it creates of being a straight hole. The key at this strategic right-to-left dogleg masterpiece is to take dead aim off the tee and commit to the shot!
No. 13, Par 5 - Do I really need to say anything about the single most unique hole at Quivira, a double-dogleg par 5 that drops from the top of a dune and zigzags along an island-style fairway bounded on both sides by sand? Probably not, but here are some key words: Favorite…Height…Drama…Length…Dunes…Fun…Pacific Ocean…Pacific Ocean…Pacific Ocean…Sunset. I think No. 13 is a true turning point in the round. Solid play is required to get away with risky shots and still end up with a good score on this colossal 635-yard hole, which plays to an angled, 40-yard-deep green. Whatever the result, enjoy the ride from the elevated tees down to the beach, the same beach featured in the movie Troy.