Gary Player - The Legend

New Gary Player Designed Course In Honduras

Mar 1, 2011 | Filed Under: General NewsGolf Course Design   

Construction on Los Micos Beach & Golf Resort, the first Gary Player designed course in Honduras, got underway earlier this year and looks to be on pace for a grand opening within the next 18 months.  Los Micos is a public/private partnership and is an important part of the Honduran government’s campaign to increase tourism.

Los Micos is located near Tela Bay on the stunning northern coast of Honduras.  It is a multi-faceted project that will feature 5-star hotels, recreation, boating, water sports and sightseeing tours in addition to 27-holes of championship golf.  Tela Bay is an environmentally sensitive area supporting a wide array of wildlife, a large variety of trees and plants, and over 350 species of birds.  The Honduran government has made environmentally friendly building and design a major part of the Los Micos project and has focused on preserving the natural characteristics of the land.

“This is a fantastic project that we are all excited about.  This is our first course in Central America and the land is quite beautiful.  There will be micos (monkeys) living on the golf course, the native mangroves and palm trees will add a wonderful aspect to the overall design and the beach will come into play on many holes.”  said Gary Player. 

“I am especially pleased that the Honduran government has made protecting the land a major part of the design of the entire development.  There is nothing better than using the natural characteristics and contours of the land and ensuring that local flora and fauna flourish in a course design.  Staying true to the location always produces a much better course than trying to force a pre-determined design onto a piece of land.  I really can’t wait to visit the site later this year.”  he added.

“The golf course is taking shape and will be one of our more interesting designs.”  Said Marc Player, CEO of Black Knight International.  “We are designing the course to be very user friendly; not an easy course, but playable for all levels of golfers.  On one stretch of holes players will play towards the sand dunes, the entire time having the Caribbean Sea in view.  We are also incorporating the local vegetation into a series of waste areas which will help reduce maintenance costs and stay true to the land itself.”  he added.

Tela Bay is a small community rich in Honduran culture and tradition.  Visitors can stroll through tropical forests, snorkel a variety of pristine coral reefs, kayak through narrow channels into untouched mangroves on the Rio Platano, take a white water rafting trip down the Rio Cangrejal, or simply relax in a hammock and soak up the peace and quiet.  Stay tuned for more updates from Honduras and maybe Central American can be your next vacation destination.

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