Imagine a heat map of golf course development right now.
It would shine in the Carolina Sandhills, home to an explosion of construction stars; high plains outside Denver (see: Dunes Rodeo); and the piney expanses of East Texas, where the Wild Spring Dunes are rolling into shape.
But widen the lens and you’ll see another bright spot.
Mexico.
Or more specifically: Cabo San Lucaswhere the airport continues to expand, direct flights continue to proliferate, and the flow of money and real estate has become so constant that the destination sometimes looks like an annex of LA.
In recent years, the desert meets the sea region has seen the creation of new courses by Greg Norman and Couples Fredalong with a string of high-profile renovations. Tom Fazio has a big one in the works with a second course at Querencia. And don’t forget Tiger Woods, the exclusive Legacy Golf Club at Diamanté – nestled on the rugged Pacific coast – is slated to open later this year.
That same windswept coastline, 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 sharper focus, with new renderings just released.
Oleada, a Spanish word for “wave,” will sit approximately 15 minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas and serve as the centerpiece of Oleada Pacific Living & Golf, an 860-acre resort community spread over 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 ruts that lends itself to a rugged, interlocking style of golf (even if the course won’t be a true links course in the traditional sense). The setting, he told GOLF.com, is what architects dream of: dramatic but not manufactured, offering natural movement that requires little ground movement.
Working with design partner Greg Letsche, Els plans to direct the course so that it begins on higher desert terrain, dotted with cacti, before dropping toward the ocean, where most holes will play closer to the water. As with other Cabo courses, wind will be a factor, and the design accounts for this, with wide landing areas, multiple angles of attack and a strong premise on creativity along the ground.
The larger development calls for three luxury resorts along with wellness and fitness centers, hiking and biking trails, gardens and nursery space, and other lifestyle amenities. But real estate and other infrastructure will be far removed from the game corridors.
Practice times will be available to resort guests and homeowners, with additional limited games hosted through select out-of-stay and gaming arrangements. Pre-play is scheduled to begin in July, with a grand opening planned for mid-November. You can put it on your calendar, even when you mark the location on your map.
