The Golden Bear himself and yours truly, at the Grand Opening of the Moon Palace course way back in 2002.

I love the Rivera Maya as a travel destination, and explained why the region is so charming in my last post.

Now its time to look at the golf.

The course that got it all going on down here was the Jack Nicklaus Signature design at the Moon Palace resort. It was not the first course in the Yucatan by any means, but it was the first big time course, conceived not as a mere amenity but rather as an attraction. In short, it was a course designed to lure golfers – and it worked.

Nicklaus makes ample use of water hazards, which keeps the Moon Palace course interesting - and challenging.

I was at the grand opening in 2002, my first of several trips to the region, and at the time, it was what I expected an upscale 18-hole resort course to be. The holes are varied and interesting, with plenty of room to play but thick penal jungle if you stray beyond the ample fairways, and as was in vogue at the time, the greens were flattish and immaculate, often protected by sand or water.

I should mention that the Moon Palace is one of the many all-inclusive mega-resorts in the region, and it skews towards the upscale end of the model, with a wide variety of restaurants and bars, more than a dozen different eateries, and it really is all-inclusive. About the only things you can pay extra for are greens fees and spa services, while you can eat and drink everything imaginable, including wine and top shelf liquor, and even order 24-hour room service without spending an extra dime. And while the golf is sold at a surcharge, it too is all-inclusive: you cannot pay for food or drink at the clubhouse or on the course, and the beverage carts seem designed specifically to get players drunk, showing up every other hole with fresh, cold cervezas. In the US, if you are putting out, they wait for you. In Mexico, they just proactively swap out your half a warm beer for a full cold one. That’s what I call customer service.

All of this makes for a very pleasant golf experience, but the very best thing about the Moon Palace’s golf operation is the newest nine. A couple of years ago Nicklaus returned and expanded the place to 27-holes, adding the “Dunes” nine. Despite its name, you are not likely to mistake it for Scotland or Ireland, but it is noticeably different – and better – than the existing nines. The difference is obvious on the very first tee, and to reach it, you have to drive quite a ways from the clubhouse into suddenly hill terrain where you can see only the one hole flanked by high ridges. The topography on this nine is more dramatic, the landscape more natural, but most of all, in keeping with his new philosophy about limiting the changes technology has made in golf by making tougher greens, the putting surfaces are markedly different the other eighteen, with more severe undulations and tougher pin placements. This is the hardest nine to score on, but the additional challenge is a worthwhile trade for the better quality holes. I heartily endorse any combination of nines at Moon that includes the Dunes.

Everything in the Riviera Maya - including the courses - is conveniently close to the airport, a fact which you cannot forget while play golf.

Along with the new nine, the Moon Palace has opened a luxury enclave of golf villas that offer more sumptuous accommodations than the already well equipped hotel rooms, including in-room bars, whirlpool tubs and large terraces. Because the golf villas are located by the clubhouse and away from the main resort – which is huge – every guest gets his or her own street legal golf cart, which makes for some interesting late night rides to resort restaurants and night clubs, especially since it is really easy to get lost in this several thousand acre complex. Anecdotal evidence did clearly suggests that guests without golf carts are envious of those with, which might be enough reason to spring for the new golf villas.

The day it opened, the Moon Palace course became the best in the region, but almost immediately it attracted stiff competition, and more recent efforts surpassed the quality of the original 18. The new nine puts it right back in the thick of things, makes it a contender, and also offers the perfect option between “just” playing eighteen and a long day of 36. So compromise, play all 27, and get a full dose of golf in Mexico. All three nines end right in front of the clubhouse, and all three have a dramatic use of penal water alongside the greens on the final holes.

NEXT: Palace Resorts, which runs the Moon Palace, recently built a new stand alone Nicklaus Signature Corse about 15 mutes away, Riviera Cancun. It’s the very latest – and highest profile – addition to Yucatan golf and, surprise, I checked it out!

PGA Tour player JJ Henry calculates the yardage for his tee shot at the Mayakoba Classic, the only PGA Tour event played in Mexico.

Just a couple of year ago, before the international financial crisis hit, the Mayan Riviera, as the 100 mile coastal stretch south of Cancun in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is known, has become our hemisphere’s version of Dubai.

Luxury hotels could not open fast enough, including such high end Asian chains as Mandarin Oriental and Banyan Tree, which interestingly chose this are for its first venue into the Americas. Not to be outdone, companies closer to home like deluxe Rosewood jumped in, joined by Fairmont and Viceroy. Then there are a handful of the most exclusive all-inclusive resorts on earth, including one of two outposts of Grand Velas, the first all-inclusive ever to garner AAA’s 5-diamond rating.

Even the PGA Tour got caught up in this fever, bring Mexico’s first and only Tour stop, the Mayakoba Classic, to the region, where it was contested again last week.

In short, the Riviera Maya was sizzling, and it has long been one of my very favorite destinations, offering plenty of golf and a whole lot more. Last time I was there was when I was down for the grand opening of Greg Norman’s high profile El Cameleon course, and at least half a dozen new golf courses were on the drawing board, including a 36-hole TPC complex, Mexico’s first. So after the economy tanked and investment hit the skids, I went back to see how things were going.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Sure, some projects are on hold, and while the billboards for the TPC community are still up, it seems impossible to get any info on the project. Likewise, a new resort from Capella, a new ultra-luxury brand form the guy who ran Ritz Carlton, complete with a high-end Rees Jones course, is taking a very long time to open. But the existing golf courses are thriving, one has expanded from 18-27 holes since the last time I was there, and one notable new one, a Jack Nicklaus Signature course which has gotten very little attention but deserves more, opened in the last year.

The ruins at Tulum, the only city the Mayan civilization ever built on the coast, are just one of the many spectacular sites in this part of Mexico.

What makes the Rivera Maya, I my humble opinion, one of the world’s great tourist destinations?

For starters, it is easy to get to, with lots of flights to Cancun’s modern international airport from all over the US and especially from the entire East coast, easier than anywhere in the Caribbean.

Secondly, it truly has something for everyone, and these are its major charms:

- Incredible Mayan ruins, including towering pyramids. This is the kind of thing you would normally have to go to Peru’s Machu Picchu or Guatemala or Cambodia to see, really impressive stuff with several sites to choose from. The biggies are Tulum, Chichen Itza and Coba, but there are plenty of smaller ones.

Carved from the jungle, the Mayan city of Coba features towering pyramidal structures rivaling any in the Western Hemisphere.

- The word’s second largest barrier reef (after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef), just offshore, offers superlative snorkeling, plenty of cruises, and truly world-class SCUBA diving. In particular, the drift diving off of the island of Cozumel is the stuff of legends.

- An incredible assortment of hotels and resorts of ever style and at every price point: lots of all-inclusives, holes in the wall, lavish resorts, on the beach, in the jungle, in town, truly something for every taste and budget.

- Great attractions and activities: Mayan themed eco-adventure parks like Xcaret are fun rather than hokie, there are ATV trips, horseback riding, zip lines, parasailing, all sorts of activities.

- The towns of Playa del Carmen, the heart and soul of the Riviera Maya, and Tulum (near the ruins) are wonderful beachfront towns that despite the crowds still have real Mexican charm, lots of shopping, eating and nightlife, and are very much worth exploring – or staying in.

- Cenotes. You kind of have to see them to understand, but the entire Yucatan Peninsula is made of thick limestone, and there is water in the form of underground rivers leading to the sea beneath much of it. Cenotes are basically giant round sinkholes in the limestone, some dry, others reaching all the way to underground rivers. These make the ultimate swimming holes, and there are many with rope swings and ladders you can cool off in, often teeming with fish, sort of like swimming in an aquarium. Divers can even travel underground for one cenote to he next. It is definitely worth taking a dip in one, and golfers will encounter dry – but still penal – versions on many area golf courses.

The Yucatan's cenotes are the ultimate fish-filled swimming holes!

-Food and drink. I happen to love food everywhere in Mexico, and the Mayan Riviera is no exception. Not as fish-centric as the west coast, it still has plenty of good seafood, plus lots of the dishes us Yankees are familiar with, tacos and fajitas and the like. Food is fresh, good and cheap. The going price for four beers – we always order four – is 100 pesos, or about $7.70. Try that from the beverage cart in Scottsdale!

Next post, I will visit the Mayan Riviera’s golf in detail.