With the debut of Costa Palmas, golf has finally arrived on Los Cabos’ less-trafficked East Cape

Forty-five minutes east of Los Cabos International Airport, on the Baja Peninsula of Mexico, the bustle and development of a tourist mecca give way to untouched, white-sand beaches where the desert slopes into the sea.

Welcome to the East Cape of Los Cabos, a tranquil time capsule that calls to mind how Cabo used to be.

Set along the Sea of Cortez, with the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains looming in the backdrop, the East Cape has long been a low-key escape for Scuba divers, fishermen and others with a thirst for out-of-the-way adventure.

Now, golfers have good reason to locate it on the map.

This weekend marks the opening of Costa Palmas Golf Club, the first course on the East Cape. Designed by Robert Trent Jones II, the links-inspired layout is meant for easy walking, a change of pace from many courses in the Cabo region, with seamless transitions between a number of greens and tees, and a robust caddie program to sweeten the experience. The routing also allows for shorter loops, if a handful of holes is all you want to play. 

Working on a contoured, coastal site, Trent Jones II says he conceived of Costa Palmas as a “golf symphony composed of three movements.” From its opening six holes, which thread through dunes, the course moves upland to a six-hole stretch defined by ample fairways and even ampler vistas, before shifting toward an intimate finale that offers glimpse of the coves and harbors that make the region one of the world’s great sport fishing destinations.

The result, Trent Jones II says, is a course “generous to the golfer that takes advantage of ocean views without being right on the water.” 

Costa Palmas is part of a private resort community of the same name, situated on a two-mile stretch of swimmable beach, with a private yacht club, and 20 acres of orchards and farmland.

Developed by Irongate, a Los Angeles-based real estate firm with properties in California, Colorado, Hawaii and Mexico, the community is also home to a newly opened Four Seasons Resort, whose guests will enjoy access to the course. Among the hotel’s amenities are a sports complex, a spa and wellness center, six pools and five dining options, including the first outpost in Mexico of the heralded seafood restaurant, Estiatorio Milos. A second luxury hotel, Amanvari, is set to open within the community in 2021.

At 7,221 yards from the tips, but with multiple tee boxes, Costa Palmas is intended as a flexible challenge. It is complimented by a family-friendly six-hole, par-3 short course and a 30,000-square-foot putting green that illuminates at night. Professional instruction is available, too.

Go west? In Cabo, there’s now good reason to go east.

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