Imagine a heat map of golf-course development at the moment.
It would glow in the Sandhills of the Carolinas, home to a starburst of construction; the high plains outside Denver (see: Rodeo Dunes); and the piney expanses of East Texas, where Wild Spring Dunes is rounding into shape.
But widen the lens and you’d see another bright spot.
Mexico.
Or more specifically: Cabo San Lucas, where the airport keeps expanding, direct flights keep multiplying, and the flow of money and real estate has become so constant that the destination sometimes feels like an annex of L.A.
In recent years, the desert-meets-sea region has given rise to new courses by the likes of Greg Norman and Fred Couples, along with a spate of high-profile renovations. Tom Fazio has a biggie in the works with a second course at Querencia. And don’t forget Tiger Woods, whose exclusive Legacy Golf Club at Diamanté — perched on the rugged Pacific coast — is slated to open next year.
That same wind-buffetted shoreline, which also claims SolMar and Quivira among its tenants, is about to get a little more crowded. Announced last year, Oleada Golf Links, the first design in Mexico by four-time major champion Ernie Els, is now coming into clearer focus, with fresh renderings just released.
Oleada, a Spanish word for “wave,” will sit roughly 15 minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas and serve as the centerpiece of Oleada Pacific Living & Golf, an 860-acre resort community spread across a mile of oceanfront.
Els describes the site as one of the best natural properties he’s worked with — a sandy canvas marked by ridges, dunes and rumpled ground that lends itself to a rugged, linksy style of golf (even if the course won’t be a true links in the traditional sense). The setting, he told GOLF.com, is the kind architects dream about: dramatic but not manufactured, offering natural movement that requires little earth-moving.
Working with design partner Greg Letsche, Els plans to route the course so that it begins on higher desert terrain dotted with cacti before tumbling toward the ocean, where most of the holes will play closer to the water. As with other Cabo courses, wind will be a factor, and the design accounts for that, with wide landing areas, multiple angles of attack and a premium placed on creativity along the ground.
The larger development calls for three luxury resorts along with wellness and fitness centers, trails for hiking and biking, orchards and nursery space, and other lifestyle amenities. But real estate and other infrastructure will be set well back from the playing corridors.
Tee times will be available to resort guests and homeowners, with limited additional play expected through select outside stay-and-play arrangements. Preview play is slated to begin in July, with a grand opening scheduled for mid-November. You can put that in your calendar, even as you mark the location on your map.
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