Palmilla Golf Club - Los Cabos, Mexico
Par-4 3rd, Palmilla Ocean Course, Los Cabos, Mexico
KM 7.5 Carrerera Transpeninsular
San Jose Del Cabo, BCS
CP 23400 Mexico
800-637-2226
Ocean Course
Design: 4.5 stars
Difficulty: 4 stars
Maintenance: 3.5 stars
Value: 3.5 stars
Arroyo Course
Design: 4 stars
Difficulty: 4 stars
Maintenance: 3.5 stars
Value: 3.5 stars
The golf industry is booming in Los Cabos, and each visit seems to bring news of new course openings, with newcomers like Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III joining veteran architects like Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Tom Weiskopf, and Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus was the first to open a course in Cabo, in 1992, with the release of Palmilla Golf Club. The course is a collection of three nines, the Ocean Course, Arroyo Course, and Mountain Course. On a recent trip that I still have a lingering tan from, the boys and I played the Ocean and Arroyo courses.
Typical of Nicklaus designs, the Ocean features at least one forced carry of some length on every hole. Unlike many Nicklaus courses (and more typical of Arnold Palmer designs), a draw is the preferred shot off the tee on nearly all of the most demanding holes.
Palmilla, Ocean Course #4
The Ocean Course is stunning, not only with gorgeous views of the Sea of Cortez, but from a playability standpoint. The nine features the kind of holes where you stand on the tee and wonder how in the world you’re going to play it. Nicklaus employs brilliant visual intimidation that is awesome to behold and a thrill to play. The Ocean Course only actually reaches the beach on a single hole (the par-4 3rd, and the water is not in play), but it doesn’t matter. The Ocean is a satisfying test.
The 4th is a beautifully framed par-3, with deep bunkers fronting the left and right. The trade winds whip across the hole from left to right, and when the pin is cut in the front of the green between the two bunkers (as it was for us) it is a ridiculous challenge to find the pin. Bailing out long, as I did, means having to come back down a steeply breaking green with the potential to putt right off the front of the putting surface. Still, I think it’s the better move than having to play out one of the bunkers as my playing partner did, when he slightly overcooked his draw into the trades. It was almost a perfect shot, but instead a double bogey.
Palmilla, Ocean Course #8
The par-4 8th is a breathtaking challenge. It’s a short one, but it plays steeply uphill. Nicklaus offers two tiers: a lower, safe chip shot off the tee that leaves a dangerous second, or a thrilling upper tier that demands a tee shot that clears five massive bunkers that look like they were blown out from bombers at 30,000 feet. That’s shock and awe!
The Arroyo Course loses most of the view value of the Ocean, and plays through, as the name suggests, a series of dried arroyos. The par-5 7th is an exception, with a lovely view from a high tee box. The towering tee shot to a right-to-left tumbling fairway is fun, and can leave you with a reasonable shot at taking the green in two.
The 8th is a dramatic par-3 with a loooong forced carry to a green perched on the side of a plunging hillside. It’s possible to bail out to the right and play it like a short par-4, but with no guts there’s no glory. My brother-in-law nailed a sweet 3-iron to 4 feet, leaving him a ticklish, downhill right-to-left putt for birdie. Play the video below to see what he’s made of.
My only complaint, and that of my group, was that the sand in the bunkers was inconsistent and nearly unplayable. We collectively wasted many, many shots in the bunkers. Of course, we shouldn’t have been in them, but still…
The facilities at Palmilla Golf Club are minimalist, with a small, hot golf shop and a beer window. The staff was helpful and friendly, but the gas carts need to be upgraded.
Paying rack rate at Pamilla will set you back $250 in the high season, which seems a bit overpriced. However, twilight can begin as early as 11am and drops the price to $160, which is more in line with the value of the experience.
-Bryan Fryklund
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April 21st, 2009 at 1:36 pm
What a handsome guy that sung the putt, damn, he is good.