There are golf courses and great golf courses and Playa Grande is, without doubt, one of the greats! Designed by Robert Trent Jones Snr. it was the last course he planned and many consider it to be his finest. Playa Grande utilizes 
over five miles of the rugged coastline and is enhanced by the surrounding farms and forests. More than half the holes run alongside the 100 foot cliffs so no chance of recovering lost balls here, however, Playa Grande’s fairways are wide, and the greens are large, varied in shape and although steeply sloped have few tricky undulations. Jones incorporated many of his signature leaf-shaped bunkers here as well and made full use of the natural undulating terrain to ensure every hole offered a new challenge.
Many golfing aficionados who know their courses have compared Playa Grande to Pebble Beach. Some might consider this irreverent but Pebble Beach has only six holes on the cliffs whereas Playa Grande has ten. Add to that the spectacular views, a choice of tees enabling the course to be played from 4,488 yards all the way back to more than 7,000 and a design, which is a challenge for the best players but playable by everyone, and you really have the best of everything here.
Playing from the back tees at Playa Grande the shortest route requires a shot over the ocean on six of the holes, (3-4-7-12-14-18) but from the front tees the wide fairways are inviting and on all the holes, bar one, a “run up” shot onto the green is available. Most players will find that if they play conservatively at Playa Grande they can post a score better than their handicap which would not be usual on a course of this quality.
Playa Grande Golf Course is only some 15 minutes away from Cabrera and as yet remains largely undiscovered so the course is never overcrowded in fact, for much of the year, it is not even necessary to book a tee time although this is always advisable. Vacationers staying at one of the villas in Cabrera may well find the owners have negotiated discounted green fees at Playa Grande and those looking for a partner or guide will easily find someone to join them for the day.
There are currently plans to remodel Playa Grande Golf Course with Robert Trent Jones’ son Rees as the architect as well as the construction of a 30-suite Aman Resort together with a beach club, a new Aman clubhouse and a limited number of golf, beach and cliff-side Aman villas.
