It’s no secret that Los Cabos is one of the world’s great golf destinations, with well over a dozen world-class courses (18 to be exact, including 3 
which have ranked in the world’s 100 best) from a who’s who of legendary players and designers, including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Fred Couples, and Davis Love III.
But golf in Los Cabos also has its complicating factors. Many of the best local courses are associated with luxury resorts or real estate developments, and thus may be private or difficult for visitors to access. Others are just downright expensive, costing upwards of $300 per person for a single round.
With these factors in mind, we’ve put together a list of the best courses this summer which are publicly playable – that is, open to anyone, regardless of whether you’re staying in a resort, villa, or vacation rental – but that are also attractive in terms of deals or discounts. These five courses listed below won’t break the bank, in other words, allowing destination golfers to play as often as they like without worrying about the budgetary consequences. But despite the affordability of play, all five offer exceptional playing conditions and breathtaking views.
And since summer is the season when Los Cabos’ best golf courses schedule maintenance, we’ve added some notes on the maintenance schedule at these five courses so you won’t schedule a round on a day when, for example, the back nine is closed for the aeration of greens.
Cabo Real Golf Club
Greens Fees: Summer rates as low as $125 per person. Questro Golf, of which Cabo Real is a member, also offers multi-day discount packages which allow play at Cabo Real, Club Campestre, and Puerto Los Cabos.
Maintenance Notes: Closed June 27 – 28 and Sept. 19 – 20 for aeration of greens.
Robert Trent Jones Jr. helped to put Los Cabo on the golfing map in 1996, when television cameras picked up whales breaching near seaside greens in a Senior Slam at his newly designed Cabo Real course. Cabo Real is now one of three local courses managed by Questro Golf (Club Campestre and Puerto Los Cabos are the others). Questro offers excellent two, three and five round passes, which allow guests to sample all of these golfing treasures at reasonable rates.
Cabo San Lucas Country Club
Greens Fees: Summer rates from as low as $70 per person. Driving range is open in the evenings, with $20 specials for buckets of beer and balls.
Maintenance Dates: The front nine will be closed for maintenance June 21 to July 11 and Aug. 30; Back nine closed July 12 – 31, Aug. 30 and Sept. 1.
Don’t let the name fool you. This long-time local favorite, originally called Campo de Carlos when it opened back in 1994 as a collaborative design between Roy Dye and his son Matt, is open to the public. Damage from Tropical Storm Lidia in 2017 necessitated a facelift, which was unveiled by renowned Mexican golf course architect Agustín Pizá in 2018. This is the only area course with views of Land’s End, and its driving range, which is open at night, is an attraction in its own right.
Puerto Los Cabos
Greens Fees: Summer rates as low as $150 per person for single rounds. Discounted multi-day packages are available through Questro Golf.
Maintenance Dates: There are three nine-hole layouts here which can be put together as 18-hole courses. So even during maintenance days full 18-hole rounds are available.
For 10 years, the luxury Puerto Los Cabos development just outside San Jose del Cabo hosted the world’s only collaborative design between champions turned designers Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman. The plan all along was for the two nine-hole efforts to be expanded into their own 18-hole layouts. Norman has yet to design the second nine for his course–he’s been too busy with Rancho San Lucas, his drop-dead design on the Pacific Coast of Cabo San Lucas–but Nicklaus did return to finish his original conception, with the now 18-hole course debuting in 2018. So for now, anyway, golfers have access to 27 beautiful holes, including the most recent nine unveiled by Nicklaus. Norman’s par-3 6th hole, however, remains the most memorable hole, with an elevated (very elevated!) tee box that shows off miles of magnificent coastline.
Club Campestre
Greens Fees: Single day rates starting at $100. Discounted multi-day passes available through Grupo Questro.
Maintenance Dates: Club Campestre will be closed Aug. 29 – 30 for aeration of greens.
Club Campestre, one of six Jack Nicklaus designs in Los Cabos, opened in 2007 in the heart of San Jose del Cabo, with a location not far from the Los Cabos International Airport. But although Club Campestre is the first course likely to be glimpsed by new arrivals, the only way to truly get to know this 6,966-yard gem is by playing it. The course features many signature Nicklaus elements, from abundant bunkering and sloping fairways to undulating multi-tiered greens. Yes, this course has teeth. It also, of course, has spectacular views…not only of the Sea of Cortez, but the foothills of the Sierra de La Laguna mountain range that runs up the center of the peninsula between Los Cabos and La Paz. As at many Los Cabos courses, the fairways are covered with seashore papsalum, a disease resistant tropical grass that fares well in local conditions.
Palmilla Golf Club
Greens Fees: Summer rates from as low as $130 per person.
Maintenance Dates: Like Puerto Los Cabos, Palmilla has 27 holes (3 nine-hole layouts), so even during maintenance days on one of them, full 18-hole rounds are available.
Palmilla was the first truly ambitious golf course in Los Cabos, and the first of Nicklaus’ many memorable designs in the area. It was Southern California real estate magnate Don Koll, who owned the Palmilla Resort at the time (before it acquired the One&Only imprimatur), who convinced the Golden Bear to take on the challenge. And boy did he! Like Puerto Los Cabos, Palmilla Golf Club offers 27 holes of world-class golf, allowing destination golfers to pick and choose their favorite 18-hole experience from the 9-hole layouts they like best. Nicklaus completed the Mountain and Arroyo portions in 1992, returning to add the stunning 9-hole Ocean layout in 1999.
For more information about events, activities and villa rentals in Los Cabos, call us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com.
Photo credit: Questro Golf
June
Pelagic Triple Crown of Fishing – Jun. 2 – 5
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Jun. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Todos Santos + Pescadero Culinary Experiences – June 3 – 5
Gay Pride Parade – June 19
Stars and Stripes Golf and Fishing Tournament – Jun. 22 – 26
Cabo Cocktail Festival at Comal – Jun. 23 – 25
July
East Cape Dorado Shoot Out – Jul. 16
Ladies Only Fishing Tournament – Jul. 20 – 24
August
Los Cabos Open of Tennis – Aug. 1 – 6
Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore – Aug. 2 – 6
East Cape Gold Cup Wahoo Jackpot – Aug. 20
September
Mexican Independence Day – Sep. 16
October
Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – Oct. 16 – 20
Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore – Oct. 20 – 23
Bisbee’s Black & Blue – Oct. 25 – 29
November
Day of the Dead – Nov. 2
WON Tuna Jackpot – Nov. 2 – 5
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24
Todos Santos Film Festival – Nov. 3 – 8
IRONMAN Los Cabos 70.3 – Nov. 6
SCORE Baja 1000 – Nov. 15 – 20
Revolution Day – Nov. 20
December
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Virgin of Guadalupe Day – Dec. 12
Start of Whale Watching Season – Dec. 15
Nochebuena – Dec. 24
Navidad – Dec. 25
Nochevieja – Dec. 31
