El Manglar at El Manglar Golf Course

El Manglar Golf Course occupies a distinctive coastal setting in Playa del Carmen, designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in the mid-2000s as part of the Mayakoba resort development. The course takes its name from the mangrove ecosystems that define much of the property, with routing that weaves through native jungle, freshwater canals, and protected wetlands characteristic of the Riviera Maya coastline. The design preserves significant portions of natural mangrove forest, creating a layout where golf holes exist within narrow corridors carved from dense tropical vegetation.

The course plays through three distinct environmental zones: jungle-lined fairways inland, transitional areas where limestone formations and cenote-like features appear, and stretches that border mangrove channels and tidal lagoons. Nicklaus incorporated the region's natural water systems into the strategic design, with several holes requiring carries over brackish waterways or playing alongside mangrove edges. The flat Caribbean terrain offers limited elevation change, so visual interest and challenge come from the tight playing corridors, strategic bunkering, and the ever-present vegetation that demands accuracy.

El Manglar forms part of the Mayakoba complex, which includes multiple resort properties and has hosted professional tournament golf. The course serves primarily resort and destination golfers visiting the Playa del Carmen area, offering a jungle golf experience distinct from traditional seaside layouts. The routing returns periodically to views of the mangrove waterways, reinforcing the ecological character that separates this design from more conventional tropical resort courses.