Growing up, we were the walkers crossing Bajamar’s fairways for sunrise and sunset, the kids looking for treasure and life in the tide pools. We kept quiet when golfers were teeing off because, when the course had a marshal, they would chase you off.
I played once as a high schooler, but at seventeen I was more interested in the beers the clubhouse didn’t mind selling me. We always heard the tale of a young Tiger Woods and his dad, Earl, staying at the house. Now that I love golf, I understand how special that original guest book is.
These days, our trips down mean going to the beach, exploring the wineries, trying different restaurants, and fitting in as much golf as possible. Golf at Bajamar is the purest form of meditation for me. It’s zero frills, with great views and great holes, and with my regimen I typically have the place to myself.
A jam-packed itinerary usually means Baker and I are at the pro shop fifteen minutes before it opens. Sometimes the staff are there at opening, and sometimes we wait forty-five minutes. The goal is always to be first on the tee box so we can get back to Casa Contenta and keep the day going.
Baker grabs the flag, hunts for balls, and works his way through the snacks. When Romee comes along, they switch back and forth between being loving siblings and bickering, sometimes from one hole to the next.
My ideal day starts on the tee at seven. We play the first nine in an hour to get ahead of anyone starting on the back, then take our sweet time from fourteen through eighteen. We hunt for premium balls in the canyon around the island green, then lose a few on the long stretch along the water from fifteen through eighteen.
Bajamar feels somewhere between its glory days and a revival. The unfinished buildings bordering the course belong to one of a few failed developments intended for an adjacent community. They sit vacant now, though sometimes squatters offer to sell golf balls. Within Bajamar, new homes are going up and fairly large tournaments are drawing golfers from across Baja Norte. Unfortunately, the green fees are going up too.
The course itself has changed. The old eighteenth was an uphill par four, but when they built an event center near the seventeenth fairway, now the eighteenth, they converted a few holes and adjusted the layout. The old eighteenth’s tee boxes and fairway have been lost, but they’ve always kept the green maintained. On days I can’t fit in a round, I wander over there. That three-tier green has become my own personal practice area.
I love bringing my raw clubs down and watching the sea air rust them in real time during a round.
I grew up coming to Bajamar, and now I get to bring Baker and Romee along. Our visits mean days at the beach, time at the tide pools, and exploring together. I love getting to share those days with them.
