We’ve said it before. We’ll say it again. Los Cabos is one of the most remarkable golf destinations on Earth. 
As of 2021, the local portfolio numbers 18 beautiful courses – from Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and their connective Tourist Corridor to the East Cape and beyond – almost all of them world-class, and all built within the last 35 years. Most boast powerhouse pedigrees, with designs from legendary names like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Greg Norman. All showcase a spectacular blend of ocean, desert and mountain vistas.
Summer is traditionally golf season, and although such seasonal distinctions make little difference in always sunny Los Cabos, now is the time when many golfers turn their thoughts to destination golf trips.
So with that in mind, we’ll be previewing all of the local courses this summer, including the latest updates on specials and discounts.
Our first installment starts in San Jose del Cabo.
Golf in San Jose del Cabo
Four of the 18 golf courses in Los Cabos can be found in or just outside San Jose del Cabo, the more traditional and sophisticated of the cape cities. San Jose del Cabo is known as the seat of municipal government, as a cultural mecca and fine dining capital, with a recorded history that dates back more than 400 years. Interestingly enough, a large percentage of the public golf courses in Los Cabos are located in San Jose del Cabo.
For context, there are basically three classifications for golf in Los Cabos: public, private, and playable with some restrictions. The latter category basically refers to courses where tee times are only available to guests at select resorts or residential communities.
Now that we’ve explained it, we should say such complexities don’t exist for the four courses profiled below. They’re public and open to everyone.
Puerto Los Cabos
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
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.
At $160 per round ($120 twilight), Club Campestre is the most affordable of the three courses Los Cabos courses managed by Questro Golf (Cabo Real and Puerto Los Cabos being the others). Three and five round passes are available at discounted rates and allow golfers to play all of Questro’s offerings.
Palmilla Golf Club
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.
Vidanta Golf Los Cabos
The first golf course in Los Cabos was built in 1987 by a Mexico City architect named Mario Schjetnan as a modest 9-hole municipal course. And so it largely remains, although management has shifted over the years, first to the Mayan Palace resorts group and later to Vidanta, which manages resorts and golf courses throughout Mexico. This is the one course in Los Cabos for which no pretensions can be made. It’s not world-class. It’s only 9 holes and 3,153-yards long. Yet, residents and tourists alike continue to enjoy its easygoing charms, as well as its very affordable rates.
For more information about upcoming events, activities and attractions, 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
Upcoming Events Calendar
June
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Jun. 3, 10, 17, 24
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Jun. 4, 11, 18, 25
Pelagic Triple Crown of Fishing Tournament– Jun. 10 – 12
Stars and Stripes Tournament – Jun. 23 – 27
Full Moon Dinner at Esperanza – Jun. 24
July
East Cape Dorado Shootout Fishing Tournament – Jul. 17
Los Cabos Open of Tennis – Jul. 19 – 24
Ladies Only Fishing Tournament at Palmas de Cortez – Jul. 22 – 26
August
Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore – Aug. 3 – 7
Wahoo Gold Cup Jackpot Fishing Tournament – Aug. 21
September
Mexico Independence Day – Sep. 16
October
Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – Oct. 10 – 14
Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore Fishing Tournament – Oct. 14 – 17
Bisbee’s Black and Blue Fishing Tournament – Oct. 19 – 23
November
Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally – Nov. 1 – 13
Day of the Dead – Nov. 1, 2
WON Tuna Jackpot – Nov. 3 – 6
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Nov. 4, 11, 18, 25
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26
SCORE Baja 1000 – Nov. 15 – 20
Revolution Day – Nov. 20
December
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Dec. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
El Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe – Dec. 12
Las Posadas – Dec. 16 – 24
Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) – Dec. 24
Navidad (Christmas) – Dec. 25
Nochevieja (New Year’s Eve) – Dec. 31
Please let me know what you think about this!