As cartel violence raged in Mexico, this golf course designer was in the middle of the chaos

Agustín Pizá does not watch the news. In order to maintain peace of mind, the golf course architect largely ignores the endless frenzy of headlines, continuing to steal select views from social feeds. Sports are different.

“I follow them because they focus on success stories,” Pizá told GOLF.com by phone.

However, on rare occasions, events intervene. Last Sunday morning was one of them.

Pizá was in Puerto Vallarta, where he kept an office and an apartment, covering a work trip that included site visits for two ongoing projects. As the afternoon flight was scheduled, he was in no rush. Getting up from the bed, he pulled back the curtains. From 600 meters away, plumes of black smoke darkened the sky above the city.

“At first I thought it was an accident,” he said. “But it looks like a war zone.”

The erasure of his stories was about to end. Pizá scanned his phone, which was full of worried messages from family and friends, and fumbled for the TV remote.

“I do that often, it took me a while to find a channel,” he said.

The story was starting to come into focus. A military operation killed the country’s most wanted drug lord, prompting the military to retaliate. Buses and businesses were burned. There were clashes between security forces and suspected gang members. Dozens were reported dead. The city was put on lockdown. Pizá’s flight was cancelled.

That was not easy. There was also less of his concern.

“This is one Puerto Vallarta incident,” he said. Anyone who has been here knows that it is one of the coolest, safest, and friendliest places to travel. But it’s sad because in the end Mexico lives for tourism.”

In Puerto Vallarta, the prices are very high. The metropolitan area is home to around 500,000 people and has been a major international hub since the 1960s. Tourism is the economic engine of the region, and golf is one of the pistons.

The coastline along Banderas Bay, running north towards Punta Mita, is a mosaic of forest, mountain and sea, a varied landscape that Pizá considers a particularly compelling canvas for golf. The region’s portfolio ranges from the mountain fairways of Vista Vallarta Club de Golf to the beach resort that hosts the PGA Tour’s VidantaWorld Mexico Open, just across the river in Nayarit.

For Pizá, communication is personal and professional. Born and raised in Tijuana and now based in San Diego with his wife and three children, he has crossed the border in life and work. He opened his Puerto Vallarta office in 2006 in partnership with the commission as project manager for the Bahia Course, a Jack Nicklaus Signature project in Punta Mita. The office now employs eight people and serves as a hub for projects throughout Mexico, Latin America and Europe. Pizá’s San Diego office handles regional projects.

In industry circles, Pizá is considered a genius with a penchant for unorthodox ideas. Among his out-of-the-box projects is the Butterfly Effect, a 24-hole-in-the-making structure in the Coahuila Desert divided into four loops with six holes that can be played independently. Among everyday golf fans, he gained widespread notice for launching TGL, a technology-driven league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

In that virtual arena, her holes stood out of their own accord. One is likened to a cenote, a limestone cave filled with water; its fairway is a sharp, concave field. One, called “The Temple,” looks like what you’d find if Alister MacKenzie had worked with the Aztecs. If you’ve watched the likes of Justin Thomas or Rickie Fowler try to plan their way through those beautiful settings, you’ve seen Pizá’s imagination at work.

On Monday, with parts of the city still on lockdown and its Puerto Vallarta office closed, TGL offered a welcoming venue. Pizá sat inside and watched as the acting league played on television, watching the players tackle the challenges he had helped them find.

“If it wasn’t for TGL,” he said, “I don’t know what I would do.”

By Tuesday, the authorities had lifted the restrictions, the airport had reopened and his flight had been rebooked. The smoke has cleared. In Puerto Vallarta, at least, the current crisis appears to be contained.

Pizá is careful not to dismiss what happened. He sees how amazing it must look from afar, and knows that it will have short-term effects on the locals who make a living from tourism.

“I’m thinking about restaurateurs, hotel workers, caddies,” he said. “I’m sure they will.”

At the same time, Pizá retreats against the ends of a broad brush. When such conflicts arise, he said, tourists are often not the intended targets. Violence is often a show of force between the authorities and gangs before it backfires. Still, images are moving, especially violent images. Context, in contrast, is slower.

Pizá tries to give that to anyone who will listen. When friends ask if Mexico is dangerous, he usually answers the question with his own.

“Are you going to buy guns or drugs?” he said. “If not, you will be fine.”

He said the risk does not exist in any one country. When bad things happen, they are often the exception to the rule. But you also know that opinions can be stubborn, and that opinions matter.

“I don’t want to minimize what happened,” he said. “But Puerto Vallarta will recover much faster than people expect.”

By Tuesday, with his flight rebooked, Pizá could see the city getting back on its feet. His Puerto Vallarta office had reopened, and although he had given his employees the option to stay home, they all came in.

Nearby, at the Marina Vallarta Golf Club, a public entry facility adjacent to the harbor, the fairways told a similar story. Pizá went over and talked to the general manager. They had done 200 rounds that day and were giving away free margaritas.

His journey home was uneventful. The airport was busy but orderly. His midday flight left on time, and when he landed in San Diego, the passengers were delighted.

Pizá said he was happy to be home, too. He stopped quickly at the office, then went to his family. But his thoughts were already heading south.

“I will return to Puerto Vallarta in three weeks,” he said. “I can’t wait.”