Four Los Cabos Courses Voted To Golf Digest's World's 100 Greatest List

Four spectacular courses in Los Cabos, Mexico's premier golf destination, have been selected by Golf Digest's panelists for the latest edition of the publication's "World 100 Greatest Golf Courses" roster.

Acknowledging the rampant growth and rising prestige of international golf course development, the magazine said its "third biennial ranking of the World 100 Greatest Golf Courses is truly global, showcasing brilliant layouts everywhere from Abu Dhabi to Vietnam." It noted that its World 100 Greatest franchise "uses a single criterion of overall greatness scored not just by Americans but also by international panelists organized by our affiliate magazines around the world."

With four courses on an elite roster published by the sport's leading publication, Los Cabos has reaffirmed its position as the reigning 'Golf Capital of Latin America.'

Diamante G.C. (Dunes) moved up five spots and now sits at No. 47 on Golf Digest's exclusive roster. "Mexico's first true links (was) fashioned by Davis Love III and his design team...from a fantastic set of white sand dunes along the Pacific Ocean, huge portions of which are without vegetation and seem like enormous snow drifts," the magazine's digital edition reported. "Holes hug the flowing terrain with little artificiality. Two holes on the back nine once played around a long lagoon, but have been replaced by (the) new 12th and 13th holes on the beach. Now all of the second nine is adjacent to the ocean, amidst the tallest dunes." Perhaps most significantly, "No other links in the world sports cactus."

Cabo del Sol (Ocean), the course credited with establishing Los Cabos as a world-class golf destination, retains its position at No. 70 on the list. "When Jack Nicklaus first saw this Baja Peninsula site, what can best be described as Scottsdale-meets-the-Sea of Cortez, his thought was: 'This is my chance to design a Pebble Beach,' the report stated. "He took full advantage of that chance, developing an exciting routing that plays from highlands of desert cacti over dry washes and down to the sea on both nines." When the layout opened in 1994, Nicklaus said it had the three finest finishing holes in golf. "That might still be true 24 years later, given that the greens at 16, 17 and 18 are all perched atop rocks above the crashing surf of Whale Bay."

New to the list and debuting at No. 93 is Quivira G.C., the epic Land's End layout grafted by Jack Nicklaus onto a jaw-dropping site marked by huge dunes, sheer cliffs and rolling foothills. "To see photos of Quivira's cliffhanging fifth and sixth greens, one would expect this to be a mountainous golf course," Golf Digest said of Quivira, which opened in 2014. "But a majority of its holes are on Pacific coastline sand dunes close to sea level or along the flank of a high desert plateau dotted with torote and cardon trees. Still, what earns the attention here is the par-4 fifth, its tee at 278 feet above sea level and its green at the far end of a ribbon fairway 107 feet below. Designer Jack Nicklaus calls this location, 'one of the great pieces of property in the world,' and he can be forgiven for requiring long cart rides between several holes. Such is the price to link together 18 truly sterling golf holes."

Moving up a notch to No. 97 on Golf Digest's "World 100 Greatest Golf Courses" roster is Querencia C.C., a brilliant Tom Fazio design opened in 2000 and set within a private 1,800-acre golf community. "The routing wanders the rugged high desert plateau on the outward nine, toward the Sea of Cortez, hopscotching a dramatic canyon on the par-3 eighth," the magazine stated. "After reaching the far point on the par-5 ninth, the course turns for home over similar terrain, via two more outstanding par 3s, the 11th and 14th. Other holes have humpbacked fairways and greens tucked beneath huge rock outcroppings."

In addition to the World 100 Greatest feature, Golf Digest also produced "The Best Courses in 206 Countries" as part of its Planet Golf report. Not surprisingly, Los Cabos dominates the Mexico entry. Ten of the courses on the 16-course list, including five of the top six venues, are located in Los Cabos, the hemisphere's most celebrated golf getaway. Diamante (Dunes) and Cabo del Sol (Ocean) command the top two slots, followed by Quivira (No. 4), Querencia (No. 5) and El Dorado (No. 6). Also included on the Best in Mexico roster are Chileno Bay, Diamante (El Cardonal), Cabo del Sol (Desert), Palmilla, and Cabo Real.