Ever Wonder What it's Like to Play in a Pro-Am in Mexico?

When you get the call asking to participate in a pro-am in Mexico...you don't hesitate, you just say yes. No Real I.D. needed, grab your clubs and your passport, ask questions later and worry about everything after the flight home. At least that's what I did.

I've had the pleasure of playing in one other pro-am before, and I can tell you that it's one of my favorite rounds of golf ever. It's one thing to watch golf in person. It's another to be inside the ropes at tournaments, but being able to tee it up alongside the most elite golfers in the world, getting a front row seat to their process and picking their brains is the most unreal experience for any golfer of any level.

I don't mean to brag, but rather bring this one-of-a-kind opportunity of playing in the LPGA's Riviera Maya Open Pro-Am to life, like you were right there with me.

Here's the low-down on LPGA pro-ams in case you're unfamiliar. Usually, pro-ams occur the Wednesday before a tournament. Four amateurs (these typically are representatives of tournaments sponsors or partners, members of media, etc.) get paired up with two pros, one pro for your first nine and another for your back nine.

On the LPGA, pro-ams are not meant to serve as practice rounds for the players (though it is a way for players to get in reps), but rather an entertainment experience utilized as a chance for the tour's best ambassadors to be themselves and showcase their games to those who may not be able to see it on TV. There's something invaluable that happens when you put a player in a one-on-four situation, the organic conversations that are fostered on a golf course are unparalleled.

Pro-Ams can also serve as a way for the LPGA to engage with the local community and promote the sport. Our group was a mix of media, industry and a stunning local golfer—more on that later.

The LPGA returned to Mexico for the first time since 2017 to the stunning El Camaleón at Mayakoba, a Greg Norman designed course that sits about 40 miles south of Cancun. Here are my biggest takeaways: it's extremely tight—some fairways are merely a few paces wide. If you miss the short grass, there's no retrieving those balls so bring a case (not a box, a case) of balls. The greens are small, fast, and have a surprising amount of slope. Water is a factor, not on every hole but definitely some. Oh, and beware of wildlife, because a pack of spider monkeys may sit in any given fairway and take your ball!

The course is highlighted by its signature 7th hole that has a huge bunker cave. It's literally a cave that you can go in and basically feel like you've been transported to the underworld...it's wild.

Photo courtesy of El Camaleón Golf at Mayakoba

(Pro tip: the bunker cave is very much in play off the tee, so think smart.)

But man...it is stunning. The course itself feels like Mexico and Mexican golf. It's relatively flat, some holes run along the water where you have a perfect view of the beach and the ocean—and yes, drinks stations are situated on several holes for your hydration needs, and you're gonna need 'em.

It was a sweltering 92-degree day with over 80 percent humidity—but what else can you expect in Mexico during the summer? There were wind gusts up to 20mph, which added to the difficultly to an already demanding course in terms of ball-striking. If you're not accurate...good luck.

But that's what your teammates are for! Our pro-am format was a scramble, where each player hits and the group decides the best ball to hit from until the ball is in the hole, resulting in your score for that hole.

I was fortunate to play alongside a group of some real ballers.

We played our first nine with Dewi Weber, who joined the LPGA Tour in 2019. Weber has been finding her form as of late, playing really great golf but explained to me on the par-3 15th, that she feels as though her results are necessarily reflecting how well she's been playing and feeling. But Weber and I bonded over our love for style, both in golf and just fashion culture at large, the best eats in New York, and things that felt light and airy—she was the heartbeat of the team, truly.

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We then played our back nine with Arpichaya Yubol aka "Piano". Her father gave her that nickname because that's what he thought she should play—but instead the 23-year-old from Thailand is in her third season on the LPGA, with 13 career top-25 finishes to her name. She has nine career victories on the Thai LPGA Tour.

Piano and her caddie Michael fell in with our group seamlessly, understanding our rhythm and flow and providing great insight on how we should feel hitting certain shots. I was unfamilair with her game, but I quickly learned that she has one of the best tempos I've ever seen (move over Jake Knapp) and is kind of a killer with dangerously accurate ball striking. She stuffed a 164-yard iron shot to like 4 feet for eagle for us like it was nothing.

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The rest of our group was comprised of my new friend and fellow media member, Todd Kelly of Golfweek, Donna Mummert of the LPGA who heads Tournament Business Affairs (who we coined "Hot Donna" because she was simply on fire), and a shining star who I hope to see on our TV screens soon, a local Mexican golfer, Paloma Ibarra Ambia. She's 16-years-old and has a game that I'd pay a lot of money for, but what impressed me the most is that she knows exactly who she is and who she wants to become. When I asked her what her biggest dream in life was, with zero hesitation she said, "World No. 1 and in the Hall of Fame". Sound familiar?

Lorena Ochoa, the winningest Mexican golfer, was ranked the top player in the world for 158 consecutive weeks and was inducted into the hall of fame.

Ibarra Ambia is a student of the Xuntas—a non-profit performance golf program that Ochoa oversees that is geared towards developing young girls in Mexico and giving them the resources to compete.

Seeing her comfort level on the course, casually talking to and walking with Dewi and Piano was remarkable to witness, and was truly the best part of the day. I mean, I knew it was going to be an insane day that I'd think about probably forever, but I never anticipated walking away from the day feeling so connected to a group of strangers.

The ultimate purpose of the game comes out in full force during pro-ams, and that's simply connecting people to one another all for the sake of having fun and making core memories.