Palmilla Golf Club in Los Cabos is still one of Mexico's best courses

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, Mexico -- No fewer than eight world-class golf courses have been christened at the tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula since Palmilla Golf Club opened in 1992.

All were developed with the same ideal -- trying to one-up Palmilla, a place that continues to set the bar high in Los Cabos. The luster of playing Palmilla never wanes.

The club -- which added an Ocean nine in 1997 -- exudes first-class, all thanks to a trio of stewards: Jack Nicklaus, Troon Golf and Mother Nature. The management by Troon assures that golfers receive excellent service and spotless conditioning. Nicklaus' first course in Latin America provides the theater.

The Ocean nine drops 600 feet in elevation during the first six holes with the third green perched on the beach. A three-hole stretch on the Mountain nine starting at the par-5 fourth derails many a round, including the two treacherous canyon-hopping shots at No. 5. The Arroyo nine twists through desert settings that make the region so scenic, yet so demanding for golf.