LOS CABOS, Mexico -- The tip of the Baja Peninsula welcomed three new courses in 2014, headlined by the El Cardonal Course at Diamante and the visually stunning Quivira Golf Club.
After several failed projects, Tiger Woods finally got the chance to show off his architectural chops at El Cardonal. Woods conjured up curvaceous bunkers and a classic look -- despite the surrounding dunes and desert arroyos -- reminiscent of the courses he played in his southern California youth. Quivira, meanwhile, follows an epic path along cliffs overlooking the Pacific, while also twisting through towering sand dunes and cacti-filled desert. There aren't many more visually striking sites on earth for golf.
Tom Fazio's new Chileno Bay course might some day rival his other swanky private club in Cabo, Querencia Country Club. More courses are in the works, too. Jack Nicklaus debuted his nine new holes at Puerto Los Cabos in April of 2018, joining a nine-hole loop by Greg Norman and the original Nicklaus nine. The private Twin Dolphin opened in 2018. Norman's Rancho San Lucas course is scheduled to open in 2019.
So much has changed since the 1990s when Nicklaus designed the original 18 holes at Palmilla Golf Club, the fun Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol and the private El Dorado Golf & Beach Club. For all the hoopla surrounding Nicklaus, Davis Love III gets credited with Cabo's most celebrated course, the world-ranked Dunes at Diamante. Robert Trent Jones II (Cabo Real Golf Club), Tom Weiskopf (the Desert Course at Cabo del Sol), Nicklaus (Club Campestre San Jose), the Dye family (Cabo San Lucas Country Club) and the nine-hole Punta Sur Golf Course offer more choices in Mexico's finest vacation destination.
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The sixth green on Quivira clings to a mountainside cliff along the Pacific Ocean. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfAdvisor
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Tiger Woods makes a good first impression with the backdrop surrounding the first green at his El Cardonal Course at Diamante. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfAdvisor
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The par-3 sixth hole on the Norman nine at Puerto Los Cabos drops 100 feet to the green. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfAdvisor
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The sixth hole of the Diamante Dunes golf course plays like a long par 4, but it's a reachable par 5. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfAdvisor
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An exclusive development of homes overlook the par-3 sixth green at Palmilla Golf Club. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfAdvisor
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The 12th hole at Cabo Real Golf Club overlooks the Hilton hotel and the Sea of Cortez. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfAdvisor
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Although the Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos, features great views of El Dorado Golf & Beach Club; the private course isn't accessible to resort guests. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfAdvisor
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The Club Campestre San Jose golf course is one of six Jack Nicklaus courses in Cabo. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfAdvisor
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A hidden water hazard guards the ninth green at Cabo San Lucas Country Club. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfAdvisor
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Tom Fazio's Chileno Bay golf course opened Dec. 31, 2013. Courtesy of Chileno Bay
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Querencia by Tom Fazio rates as one of Cabo's finest private clubs. Courtesy of Querencia
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The nine-hole Punta Sur was the first golf course built in Los Cabos. Courtesy of Punta Sur
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Tom Weiskopf added the marvelous Desert Course at Cabo Del Sol Golf Club in 2001. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
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The Cove Club at Cabo del Sol is one of three World Top 100 courses in Los Cabos at the tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. It hosted Shell's Wonderful World of Golf in 1996. Jason Scott Deegan/Golf Advisor
