The Changing Colors of El Camaleón  

- If you haven't yet heard about El Camaleón, chances are you will soon. El Camaleón is home to the highest ranked layout in the Cancun area--where fantastic courses are abundant and amazing--offering more to Riviera Maya tourists than just the familiar famous beaches, enormous tropical jungles and ancient ruins. With picturesque views of the Caribbean Sea, this enticing Greg Norman signature course is terrific and exciting, quickly rising to the forefront of Mexican golf. The Fairmont Mayakoba’s El Camaleon is more than just a spectacular golf course conveniently situated in paradise; it’s an inspiring and fabulous luxury resort capable of becoming the actual catalyst for the changing blueprint of Mexican golf resorts in the future.

Mayakoba might sound funny, but it’s nothing to be taken frivolously. It is in fact the preeminent gated vacation hotspot in the Riviera Maya. This is saying something, since the Yucatan peninsula is certainly consumed with majesty and decadence. El Camaleón is worthy of being in the top five courses in all of Mexico. Though Los Cabos is rising like a rocket ship to the top of the global golfing community, Cancun is not far behind, thanks to outstanding courses like El Camaleón--which forces us to acknowledge that Mexico has two of the greatest golfing and vacation peninsulas on the planet.

El Camaleón is an ideal name for this slippery golfing oasis, with its eclectic ever-changing design and the chameleon-esque nature of this tropical course. This Yucatan treasure opened in 2006 and boasts the honor of being the first course outside of the United States and Canada to host a PGA event--the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Part jungle, part beach, part mangrove forest; the secret to this dynamic course is precision, and accuracy is your best friend. It’s better to play safe and smart than just drive the ball like a barbarian. This course is relatively flat, with minimal elevation change.

Located about a half-hour’s drive from Cancun, Mayakoba is accessible and close enough to all the major Maya Riviera tourist destinations. More than just the Fairmont, Mayakoba will be home to a total of four resorts. For this reason alone, the design of El Camaleón should be considered an architectural triumph. Though Norman did not have much land to work with, he certainly took advantage of every inch and cultivated a magnificent Caribbean style course. El Camaleón sprawls 7,024 yards from the back tees with a 71.1/131 slope rating.

The course definitely starts out with a bang, as four of the most exciting holes are at the beginning, giving you a push forward through a subtle mix of holes. The back nine are laid out the same way, with the best holes first. Sand traps are pervasive, with very soft sand, and they are usually easy to get out of. Limestone is also a dominate force on this unique course, offering a personality and novelty of its own that adds to the overall experience and excitement of El Camaleón.

Lest you agree it sounds like a good course but wonder whether there are better places to stay in other nearby areas, the new Fairmont is as impressive as the course. This luxurious European style resort offers spacious suites and a novel concept. Instead of being one colossal building, like many Yucatan hotels, the new Fairmont is a collection of separated buildings with four rooms each, connected among flowing canals. The Fairmont gets an exceptional grade for creativity.

This is also a green resort and everything is environmentally friendly. The resort is not situated on the beach, but about a mile back. Traveling between the many areas of the resort is most commonly done via golf cart or by boat. The ambiance of the hotel is the most special element of all, as the layout of the Fairmont feels more like a small boutique hotel than the humongous resort it really is. In this regard, the course and the hotel were both designed with a unique layout.

With more than twenty-three million dollars invested in El Camaleón, so far the result seems to be worth every penny. The flora and fauna is impressive, with tropical birds, majestic butterflies, lazy lizards, and many mangroves. Be careful on this course if your ball goes off the fairway into the jungle or one of the numerous canals, or you might get an appendage bitten off by a hungry crocodile. Seriously, that’s no joke, there’s really crocodile here, and no golf ball is worth a crocodile bite. You will probably see at least a few small crocs while playing El Camaleón, but don't get crazy, as they will not attack you unless you scare them (being a horrible golfer does not frighten them, but wearing crocodile golf spikes might).