Los Cabos is the top golf destination in Mexico — indeed, in all of Latin America — with 18 currently operating layouts from a who’s who of famous course designers, ranging from Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to Greg Norman and Tom Fazio. And it continues to burnish its world-class bona fides, with several more high-profile courses in the works, including new designs from Woods (his third at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas) and Fazio (his second at Querencia), as well as the first local effort from four-time major champion Ernie Els, a new 11-hole short course and an expansive renovation at one of the courses that originally helped to establish Los Cabos’ reputation for world-class golf.
RENOVATIONS
One&Only Palmilla Golf Club
After Southern California real estate mogul Don Koll bought the iconic Hotel Palmilla (now One&Only Palmilla) in 1986, he launched Los Cabos as a golf destination in the early 1990s by bringing in Jack Nicklaus — the greatest champion in the game’s history and, by then, already a respected course designer — to craft layouts at Palmilla and Cabo del Sol.
Although the first local course (a modest 9-hole Fonatur layout in San José del Cabo, now Vidanta Golf) would open in 1987, Nicklaus’ attempt to create “Palm Springs by the sea” at Palmilla Golf Club became the first 18-hole test — and the first course of exceptional quality in Los Cabos — when his nine-hole Mountain and Arroyo courses opened in 1993. Another nine, dubbed Ocean, would debut in 1999, bringing the total at Palmilla to 27 holes.
The work currently underway at One&Only Palmilla Golf Club, however, is the most comprehensive in several decades — a “significant investment in the complete transformation of the golf experience at Palmilla,” according to Lloyd Walton, the club’s director of golf.
Upgrades and additions
“We are working alongside Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design,” he said, “with the objective of respecting the character and legacy of Jack Nicklaus’ original design while comprehensively modernizing the courses, infrastructure and overall golf experience.
A brief history of golf in Los Cabos
“The project includes the transformation of all 18 championship holes across the Mountain and Arroyo courses, including all new premium turfgrass (Tahoma 31 Bermuda grass), completely rebuilt greens to modern USGA specifications, new bunkers and tees, reshaped playing corridors, new cart paths and landscaping, together with a complete replacement of the irrigation and drainage infrastructure. Much of the existing infrastructure, including the irrigation system, dates back to the original development of the golf course more than 30 years ago.
“The Ocean course is also being completely reimagined, creating a new nine-hole Par 3 experience together with an eight-hole short course, adding a completely different dimension to the golf offering at Palmilla. Construction is now underway. During the first phase, the Mountain and Ocean courses are closed, while the Arroyo nine remains open for play. Members can play nine holes or complete the Arroyo twice for an 18-hole experience.”
As part of the extensive renovations for One&Only Palmilla Golf Club members and registered guests at the luxurious One&Only Palmilla resort, the practice facility will also be rebuilt, with target greens and dedicated short-game areas added. The current timeline is for work on the Mountain and Ocean nines, plus the revamped practice facility, to be finished by the end of 2027, with the Arroyo Course completed by the end of 2028.
NEW COURSES
El Once at Palmilla Reserve
This will be the second Par-3 “short course” in Los Cabos. But whereas Tiger Woods Oasis Short Course at Diamante, which opened in 2017, features 12 holes, El Once, as its name suggests, will have but 11.
El Once is being designed by Agustín Pizá, the Mexican course architect best known locally for his redesign of flood-damaged areas of the original Roy Dye-crafted course at the Cabo San Lucas Country Club following Tropical Storm Lidia in 2017.
A signature amenity for Reserve Club Members in upscale communities like Valley Estates, Mountain Residences and The Summit, El Once’s Par-3 pleasures will extend across 1,017 yards on 17 acres at the western end of Palmilla Reserve, with two pins on every green.
“We are reimagining golf with a one-of-a-kind experience with multiple elevated tee areas, target greens and a variety of ways to experience the more casual, social side of golf,” Pizá said. “El Once is the epitome of exciting, ever-changing challenges for every level of golfer, and Landscapes Unlimited is executing construction with trust and precision.”
The first six holes are expected to be ready for play by the end of this year, according to a recent press release.
Campo Alto at Querencia
Tom Fazio’s first course design outside the U.S., Campo Bajo at Querencia, was lauded when it opened in 2000, and its stature has only continued to grow in the years since, with Golf Digest ranking it one of the World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses in 2016.
Fazio has returned in recent years to design another highly anticipated course at Querencia, Campo Alto, which will likewise be playable only by resident members and their guests at the private upscale community near San José del Cabo.
Campo Alto at Querencia: How a golf course is built in Los Cabos
Notable for its elevated ridges, dramatic canyons and stunning vistas — from desert landscapes to the nearby Sea of Cortés — Campo Alto will open soon, with a grand opening event for members planned for Nov. 6.
Oleada Golf Links
Set at Oleada, an 860-acre resort and residential development on Cabo San Lucas’ Pacific Coast — between Diamante and Rancho San Lucas (home to Solmar Golf Links) in what, over the past decade, has become a hotbed of world-class golf — El’s Oleada Golf Links will offer the sort of links-style challenges (like exposure to the Pacific Coast’s windy conditions) one might expect of the two-time winner of The Open Championship.
The goal at Oleada is to “build a core golf course that harmonizes with nature,” Els has said. “We envision a compact design that drapes naturally on the land, steps lightly on nature’s toes and functions as an environmental steward of the site’s indigenous flora and fauna. With its rolling dunes, elevation changes and majestic desert-meets-ocean setting, I believe we can produce a versatile test that will rank among the best and most beautiful courses we’ve ever built.”
Preview play at Oleada Golf Links began this summer and according to Forbes, the course is expected to formally open for limited public play in November, before ultimately becoming a private course for members, albeit with access for guests at on-site resorts like Grand Hyatt Los Cabos, Golf and Spa and Conrad Los Cabos.
The Legacy Club at Diamante
The most acclaimed player of his generation, 15-time major champion Tiger Woods transitioned to a new stage of his career when his first completed course as a designer, El Cardonal, premiered at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas in 2014. El Cardonal has since become the site of the only PGA-sponsored tournament in Los Cabos, the World Wide Technology Championship, which returns Nov. 5–8.
But Woods’ impact on Diamante, also home to a superb Davis Love III layout (Dunes Course), was only just beginning. After opening the Oasis Short Course in 2017, he opened a signature restaurant (The Woods Cabo) at the Pacific Coast community in 2023, before beginning work on what may be his most ambitious project yet: The Legacy Course at The Legacy Club.
With membership capped at 250 families, and like all his designs at Diamante (but not his restaurant), private, the Legacy project has been billed by Woods’ TGR Design as “a course that transports golfers from the open desert landscape of southern Baja into a new, secluded environment of lush vegetation—truly an oasis in the desert.”
It’s expected to open by spring of 2027, per Golf Digest.
Chris Sands is a writer and editor for Mexico News Daily, and the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He has also contributed to numerous other websites and publications, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise and Travel, and Cabo Living.
