By Visit Los Cabos Tourism
WHEN golf legend Jack Nicklaus first visited Los Cabos in the mid-1960’s, he was drawn to the best deep-sea fishing in the world along with the welcoming locals. Nicklaus saw Los Cabos had the potential to be a truly unique golf destination, with fairways and greens in the desert foothills that led from the mountains to the sea. Decades on, Nickaus has designed an array of spectacular courses in Los Cabos which have helped shape the destination into the golf capital of Latin America.
If your idea of golf heaven is a diverse array of golf courses woven into a dazzling seaside landscape, Los Cabos is the destination for you!
Situated at the place where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean at the tip of the Baja Peninsula, Los Cabos boasts a mountain-desert-ocean environment unique in the western hemisphere. Only in Los Cabos can golfers tee it up on world-class courses built by design legends such as Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Greg Norman and Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
Many golf travellers choose Los Cabos because the blue skies, brilliant sunshine and cooling sea breezes allow players to enjoy great golf and perfect weather year-round. And with 18 courses currently open for play (and more on the drawing board), it’s easy to see why Los Cabos continues to dominate the golf scene in Latin America.
Here are a few of Inside Golf’s top picks to get the ball rolling on your next golf getaway.
Quintessential Luxury at Quivira Golf Club
Recently voted into Golf Digest’s elite roster of the “World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” and designed by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, Quivira Golf Club is the natural first stop on your golf bucket list. This 6,478 metre, par-72 course is set at the tip of the Baja Peninsula and marked by windswept dunes, sheer cliffs and desert foothills. Opened to acclaim in 2014, this magnificent facility continues to impress. An aesthetic triumph and engineering marvel, Quivira’s flagship course has garnered numerous golf media awards since its debut. It’s also about to get some company: Nicklaus is set to build a second course (his seventh in Los Cabos) at the club’s dazzling Land’s End site.
If you’re looking to be dazzled off the greens as well, then a stay at the adjacent Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Golf & Spa Resort is a must! Widely considered the world’s most romantic resort, this luxury all-inclusive, adults-only property caters to travellers seeking a tranquil oceanfront hideaway. Even better, it is located just steps from the course, the sand and minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas.
Pristine Putting at Puerto Los Cabos
Only in Los Cabos do emerald green fairways tumble down from cactus-studded foothills to meet the sea, and this is certainly evident at Puerto Los Cabos, a 27-hole golf resort. With a newly completed 18-hole course by Jack Nicklaus and an additional nine-hole course by Greg Norman, Puerto Los Cabos offers one of the most unique golf experiences in all of Los Cabos. You might have a hard time staying focused on the challenge at hand with stunning views of the Sea of Cortez from 70 percent of the golf course.
There are also two comfort stations every nine holes, each serving food and beverages. Therefore, you’re never more than a couple of holes away from your next taco or margarita at Puerto Los Cabos, adding an authentic taste of Mexico to your round.
Rest your head at JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa to enjoy tropical luxury and beachfront accommodations.
Picturesque Pars at Palmilla Golf Club
For golfers looking to give their cameras (as well as their clubs) a workout, Palmilla Golf Club is a must-see. Palmilla was Jack Nicklaus’ first signature course built in Latin America. Opened in 1992, this 27-hole layout consists of three nines: Arroyo, Mountain and Ocean. The course design features five sets of staggered tee boxes, four lakes and deep shifts in elevation, treating golfers to challenging play and stunning ocean views from each and every fairway. With its exquisite palm-fringed seaside green, Palmilla’s Ocean No. 3 is one of the most photographed holes in golf. Palmilla Golf Club has been rated as one of the “Top 100 in the World” by Great Golf Resorts of the World, and is recognised among the “Best Golf Courses in Mexico” by Golf Digest.
A short five-minute ride from the course will see you stepping into the stunning hacienda-style One&Only Palmilla, the ‘grand dame’ of Los Cabos resorts. Here you can indulge in luxury intertwined with Mexican charm at One&Only’s exceptional spa, four onsite fine dining restaurants and bars, and accommodations with sweeping views of the peninsula best enjoyed from your private terrace or patio in your oversized daybed.
Coastal Caddies at Costa Palmas East Cape
For a course that’s designed to delight, players simply can’t resist the world-class 18-hole golf course at the Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas. Costa Palmas Golf Club is a masterpiece designed by Robert Trent Jones II that sets the golf experience apart in Baja´s East Cape. This course features desert and ocean views, plus dunescapes and fairways that unravel down hillsides. Here you can also enjoy one of the only walkable courses in Los Cabos with a personal caddie to give you on-course advice and putting reads.
Artfully mimicking the gentle rise and fall of the coastal landscape, the course takes advantage of Baja’s distinctive topography. Designed to create a novel golf experience, it is comprised of three movements – the ‘Dunescape’, the ‘Upland’ and the ‘Marina’ – and two transitions, ultimately ending with views of the marina.
Opened in 2019, the resort is nestled on 3.2 kilometres of untouched Sea of Cortez beachfront and can fill your non-golfing hours with swimming, snorkelling, sport fishing, desert adventures and relaxing beach days. If you’re hungry after all of these adventurous options, eating at the chic seaside beach shack, El Puesto, offers an exclusive spot for fresh sushi, sashimi and sake.
With 18 courses, 84 resorts, and an array of exhilarating activities and spas to enjoy in your downtime, it’s time you started planning your tee time in the Los Cabos sunshine!
How to get there?
Los Cabos is only a 2.5hr flight from L.A., with many direct flight options from cities around the U.S.
What to do off the course?
Enjoy a Private Sunset Cruise
Step on board a luxurious yacht, French-made catamaran, or sailboat in Los Cabos and set off on a one-of-a-kind excursion that you create! Savour the picturesque views of Cabo as you and your guests explore famous destinations like The Arch and Land’s End with Cabo Adventures (www.cabo-adventures.com).
Dinner at Flora Farms
In Los Cabos, you can choose from an eclectic mix of traditional and fine dining restaurants. Los Cabos offers a delicious culinary landscape for those who love authentic Mexican food and also for those who want to try new specialties as a result of the cultural mix that Los Cabos has experienced since the beginning. For an authentic farm-to-table feast, Flora Farms serves delicious meals using farm-fresh ingredients from the onsite farm.
Book a Spa Treatment
Add an extra level of indulgence to your golf getaway with a treatment at one of the many award-winning spas in Los Cabos. At the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal’s hotel spa, step into facilities meticulously imagined by renowned spa designer Sylvia Sepelli and book yourself one of the many tranquil treatments inspired by nature.
Fantastic Fishing
In the hearts of fishermen around the world, the ‘East Cape of the Baja’ conjures visions of some of the world’s best big-game fishing. And in Los Cabos, sport fishing is a year-round activity! Flanked by the sprawling Pacific Ocean on one side and the Sea of Cortez on the other, Los Cabos fishing holds the promise of a bountiful catch. Book a private fishing charter or group tour to experience for yourself why Jacques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez the “Aquarium of the World”.
Accommodation:
Whether you’re looking for a private villa or beachfront resort, from boutique hotels to all-inclusive retreats, Los Cabos has accommodation options to suit every traveller’s style. Some of Inside Golf’s favourites include; JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa, Grand Solmar Land’s End Resort & Spa Los Cabos, and Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas, to name a few.
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