Travel File: Los Cabos

Golf Digest, April, 2001 by John Strege

Land and sea are not particularly compatible on the tip of Baja Cali-fornia, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez 1,100 miles south of Los Angeles. It's a geographic beauty and beast.

Look in one direction and you will see a panorama of pristine coastline. Look the other way and you will see harsh, dry desert scrub that ostensibly only snakes and lizards could love.

Unless you're a golf course developer.

The Los Cabos (cape) region of Mexico once was nothing more than fishing villages and arid wasteland. Then someone realized the scenic coastline, coupled with 350 days of sunshine each year, represented a vein of golf gold waiting to be mined. Dirt was moved, water imported and, presto! From desolation, a destination.

Today, Los Cabos can compete with any golf stop in terms of scenery, service and shot values. It features a cluster of world-class courses from which the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California) is visible from nearly every hole.

And Jack Nicklaus' signature is on the majority of them. He has designed and built three impressive facilities here: Cabo del Sol, Palmilla (which features 27 holes) and Eldorado. Robert Trent Jones Jr. broke the Nicklaus monopoly, with a first-rate effort, Cabo Real.

Yet, for all the exceptional golf, it's hard to escape the fact that fishing remains the recreation of choice here. More ice chests and rods seem to emerge from baggage claim than do golf clubs. Los Cabos is among the best sites in the world for billfishing (sailfish, marlin and swordfish), with 40,000 catches said to be made in these waters each year.

For those making the trek, here are a few points to consider:

[C] Bring either a passport or a copy of your birth certificate. After all, you're entering a foreign country.

[C] Water in the better hotels is potable, though bottled water is in plentiful supply. So is tequila.

[C] The currency of choice is the Mexican peso, though the U.S. dollar is acceptable.

[C] Spanish is the native language, but English is spoken in the tourist centers.

[C] Many major airlines from around the world fly into Los Cabos International Airport, which is 29 miles from the golf resorts that connect the towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Taxis and rental cars are readily available.

[C] Bring sunscreen. Although the average temperature is 78 degrees, the sun is brutal in the spring and summer months. It is not unusual to spend several days without seeing a cloud. The winter is the best time of year to visit. The heat in the summer can be stifling.

One hot tamale

....11/42 The Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol. $171-$268 (800-386-2465). This course is an exceptional design in concert with breathtaking views of the Sea of Cortez. Nicklaus called it "the best piece of golf property I've ever seen." That's impressive, considering his long resume of course designs. Cabo del Sol is both long (7,103 yards from the black tees) and difficult, with many forced carries over desert ravines or scrub. The front nine meanders down to the Sea of Cortez, where Nicklaus put back-to-back par 3s on the beach. The back nine winds its way back to the sea, with the 16th green and the 17th and 18th holes on the waterfront in a spectacular three-hole finish. In all, seven holes are on the ocean. Two additional courses will be built here, including a Tom Weiskopf design scheduled to open this fall.

More Nicklaus options

.... Palmilla Golf Club. $100-$195 (800-637-2226).

Palmilla now features 27 holes, with the Ocean nine joining the original Arroyo and Mountain nines. Palmilla is more user-friendly than the Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol, though still a challenge and an exceptional layout that features dramatic elevation changes and a routing that gives golfers a taste of mountain, desert and coastal golf all at the same time.

Eldorado Golf Course (unrated), San Jose del Cabo, $138-$225 (800-393-0400). This is the newest entry in the pantheon of memorable courses here, opening in January 1999. It is a Nicklaus design similar to its Cabo del Sol brethren in that it ends with a memorable par 4 at the seaside. Five of its holes are adjacent to the ocean, including the ninth. The course spans both sides of Mexican 1 Highway.

Jack's competition

.... Cabo Real. San Jose del Cabo, $120-$190 (800-393-0400).

This is a Robert Trent Jones Jr. course that starts in the hills and works its way down to the sea, with a par 3 on the beach. As are all the courses in Cabo, this is an exceedingly scenic layout. It features sometimes severely undulating greens that, depending on pin placements, often are befuddling. The Senior Slam has been held here.

... Cabo San Lucas Country Club. $120-$160 (888-328-8501).

This is the course closest to the town of Cabo San Lucas and the only course with a view of the Land's End rock formations, a rare display of giant odd-shaped rocks that have been molded by erosion. The course features gently sloping terrain. Though it is a country club, it's also open to the public.

..11/42 Campo de Golf San Jose del Cabo. $35-$75 (011-52-114-2-09-05).