Moon Palace (Lakes & Dunes)

Cancún, on the east coast of Mexico, was an isolated little fishing port on the Yucatán peninsula until the late 1960s. Fast-forward some forty years from then and – after some serious financial input over the decades – it has become one of the main tourist destinations in the country.

The enormous number of new hotels and resorts in the area has been the catalyst for the construction of over a dozen great golf courses, enabling visiting golfers to play on top tracks designed by a wide range of the great and the good in American course architecture – from Robert Trent Jones II to Robert Von Hagge, Jack Nicklaus to Tom Fazio.

Moon Palace is one such Nicklaus design and its Jungle and Lakes 9-hole courses were augmented by a new 9-hole loop named Dunes in 2004. The Nicklaus team that laid out the original 18 holes was again responsible for these additional holes but the Dunes are distinctively different from the old resort-style design of the Jungle and Lake in both looks and playability.

Golfers wanting a carefree round of golf should stick to the Jungle/Lakes configuration which delivers a very pleasant parkland round of golf in relaxing surroundings. If, on the other hand, you want something more than the usual holiday game of golf then head for the Dunes nine where its tight fairways, forced carries over water and undulating sandy waste areas will provide a surprisingly tough test of your golfing ability.