honduras Monkey Time

It took more than seven years, but construction has finally begun on Gary Player’s first golf course in Central America.

The 27-hole, $5 million complex will be the centerpiece of Los Micos Beach & Golf Resort, a “sustainable” vacation destination that’s taking shape near Tela Bay, on the northern coast of Honduras. At build-out, Los Micos –- “the Monkeys” -– will consist of more than 450 villas and condos, several beachfront hotels, a marina, an equestrian center, a shopping area, and a beach club.

“This is a fantastic project that we are all excited about,” Player said in a press release. “I am especially pleased that the Honduran government has made protecting the land a major part of the design of the entire development.”

The Honduran government is developing Los Micos in partnership with a private group that calls itself Desarrollo Turístico Bahía de Tela. Player, who’s based in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, was hired in 2004, and construction was supposed to begin in 2005. But Los Micos has been beset by controversies, mostly because it’s being built on environmentally sensitive land.

The golf complex is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013, and, to Player’s credit, won’t feature tournament-quality golf.

“We are designing the course to be very user-friendly -– not an easy course, but playable for all levels of golfers,” said Marc Player, the CEO of Black Knight International.

Incidentally, Player’s company now offers three “tiers” of design service: “signature” courses, Black Knight courses, and Player Design courses. I suspect that Los Micos will be one of the latter.