By Chuck Kinder   M azatlan is at the northern tip of the Mexican Riviera, in the state of Sinaloa. At one time, while many other areas in Mexico grew and prospered, Mazatlan had only a limited number of developments and branded hotels. The city has awakened from a period of a standstill or neutral tourism growth. Downtown has seen a renaissance of some sort with the restoration of its colonial buildings and historic sites. A sense of a golf destination is emerging once again, giving the golfer more courses to choose from in this seaside village area.

El Cid, the mainstay, is an oceanfront mega resort with more than a thousand rooms to meet your budget needs. Home to a Lee Trevino 27-hole golf course, it offers vacation ownerships in their hotel towers, marina villas, and country club residences. It is the host site of an annual Canadian Tour Golf event stop for one of four tournaments held in Mexico.

Estrella del Mar Golf and Beach Resort is located down the beach and conveniently close to the international airport. It boasts a Robert Trent Jones Jr. masterpiece, with 11 holes touching the water. According to managing partner Patrick Butler, plans call for an upscale hotel, residential community with a vacation ownership component, and another 18-hole course.

The course layout is parallel to the 3.5 miles of pristine beach in the gated community of Estrella del Mar. Six of the holes and fairways are situated right off the beach where spectacular views abound. The tropical landscaping is all you would imagine in a great golf course, with clusters of palms lining the fairways, strategically placed bunkers, and well maintained tees and greens. This is one of Mexico undiscovered treasures.

Grupo Echavarria, owner of several residential golf developments in Mexico, is ready to open a David Fleming-designed golf club called Marina Mazatlan, with tee to green Paspalum grass, which makes for great contrasts with the beautiful views to the ocean and the marina.

Another David Fleming course ready for play in 2009 will be San Antonio Hills Golf Links, a residential golf resort with a different face. This golf links design with sandy dunes and pot bunkers will challenge golfers of all levels. This will be a residential community loaded with amenities and housing built in traditional Mexican architecture.

Several more projects are taking shape in this area including Netto Coppel’s Pueblo Bonito, which will have a Jack Nicklaus design course near the Emerald Bay Resort. Come to Mazatlan, where golf is waiting for you year-round with great values and down to earth pricing.