Costa Palmas in La Ribera, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
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The world may be getting smaller, but its collection of top-shelf golf resorts remains vast. From the American Heartland and the shimmering coasts of the Caribbean to the peaks of Europe and the majesty of Asia and the South Pacific, virtually every region on the planet is home to a sampling of the game’s finest stay-and-play experiences. To learn about the best golf resorts in Mexico, keep reading below.
To browse GOLF’s complete 2024-25 list of the Top 100 Golf Resorts in the World, click here.
Drive about an hour south of Cancun, and you come to Akumal, a small beachfront community packed with the resorts, few of which pack more punch than this all-inclusive retreat. Imagine the amenity. You’ll find it here. Beach bars. Pool bars. Buffets. Tennis courts. There’s a kids-only water park. A nightclub. A casino. And 27-holes of golf at PGA Riviera Maya, a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design that is ringed by jungle and ornamented with natural lakes. As the name suggests, the course has a partnership with the PGA of America and is home to an expansive practice facility, where private or group lessons can be had. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Costa Palmas La Ribera, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Forty-five minutes east of Los Cabos International Airport, on the Baja Peninsula, the bustle and development of a tourist mecca give way to untouched, white-sand beaches where the desert slopes into the sea. This is the East Coast of Los Cabos, a tranquil time capsule that calls to mind how Cabo used to be. Anchoring Costa Palmas, the luxe resort in this resplendent setting, is an artful Robert Trent Jones Jr. course that weaves through dunes and sandy wastes before curling along the coves and harbors that make the region one of the world’s great sports fishing destinations. Accommodations are equally idyllic at a Four Seasons replete with private villas and all the tasteful, upscale comforts that come with the brand. [LEARN MORE HERE]
In early 2020, in what now seems like another lifetime, just prior to lockdowns and more than two years before the launch of LIV, Greg Norman cut the ribbon on a new course in Cabo. The name has since changed, but Norman’s design remains the same. Against a backdrop worthy of a Baja postcard, the inviting routing moves from high-desert terrain with ample ocean vistas to lower-lying, links-like stretches along the water, punctuated by an island-green par-3 17th hole. Though the course itself is not encroached by homes, a luxe resort spreads around it, spliced by hiking trails, dotted with swimming pools and equipped with an array of luxe amenities, including a spa with outdoor treatment rooms. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Grand Solmar at Rancho San Lucas in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico.Courtesy
Formerly a stop on the PGA Tour, and more recently a LIV Golf venue, the El Camaleon course here winds inland through the Mayan jungle before kissing up against the Gulf of Mexico. Among the layout’s striking features is a cave bunker, etched along the 7th fairway. Off the course, there’s also lots to catch the eye. This is the Riviera Maya in all its glory, meaning golden sunsets and turquoise waters, paired with a resort that offers all you’d want in a tropical escape, from soothing spa treatments to artisan cocktails served by the pool. The property offers four stellar hotels: Fairmont, Rosewood, Bayan Tree and Andaz. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Stratospheric views of the Sea of Cortez are a big selling point at the One&Only Palmilla. But they are also a reminder that the One&Only is just the latest “empire” to inhabit this spectacular piece of the Baja California peninsula. This is prime real estate, and prime real estate has to be conquered — just as Hernan Cortes helped bring down the Aztecs. The resort’s decadent history began in the mid 1950s, when it originated as a plush 15-room hideaway for Don Abelardo Rodriguez, the son of the president of Mexico. The palace hosted various notables, including John Wayne, Lucille Ball and President Eisenhower, who rolled in on yachts or private planes. Maybe they enjoyed the privacy, or maybe it was the migrating humpback whales breaching the surface of the sea that kept them coming back. Jack Nicklaus, a conqueror in his own right, designed the course at Palmilla Golf Club in 1992. First came the Mountain and Arroyo nines, then the Ocean loop in 1999. The three nines are carved out of an oceanside canyon that is framed by the stony peaks of San Jose del Cabo, with holes traversing gorges and hills littered with cacti. [LEARN MORE HERE]
About an hour north of lively Puerto Vallarta lies the Riviera Nayarit, a 200-mile stretch of rugged, white-sand coastland that’s home to some of Mexico’s most diverse and beautiful destinations. Punta Mita, home to both a Four Seasons and a St. Regis, is situated within a 400-acre nature preserve on a private peninsula overlooking Bahía de Banderas, in an area that feels lush and tropical without feeling claustrophobic. The golf, all 37 holes, traverses the area, with numerous lakes and bunkers flanking what are regarded as some of Jack Nicklaus’s most dramatic green complexes. The resort’s original course, Pacifico, is an 18-hole sprawler with stunning views and eight oceanside holes. The newer Bahia course is a fun, slightly more playable design with views of Banderas Bay. The showstopper though, and the reason the two-course complex has 37 holes, is the extra hole named “Hole 3B,” the only au natural island green anywhere on earth. You can sometimes walk to it during low tide, or otherwise take an amphibious golf cart when the tide is up. [LEARN MORE HERE]
More than any new Cabo resort, Diamante best maintains the luxury and exclusivity of Cabo’s Hollywood-rich past. No expense is spared in this lavish, private enclave. The amenities are rich, but none can match the marvel that are Diamante’s two oceanside courses. Davis Love III’s Dunes course — a thoughtful links layout that meanders through massive dunes next to the Pacific — is the brains. Tiger Woods’ El Cardonal is the beauty, with panoramic ocean views on almost every hole. On both, the mind boggles at how luxurious Cabo can be — and how a place like Diamante even exists. [LEARN MORE HERE]
Rees Jones is better known as the Open Doctor than he is as a designer of remarkably dramatic seaside holes. But he achieved the latter at the 17th here, a par 3 that calls for a downhill tee shot to tiny clifftop green along the Sea of Cortez. The vistas are so sublime that the spot has become popular with early-morning hikers, who light out from the resort to take in the views. The rest of the course is plenty pulse-pounding, too, a mountains-meet-ocean routing with several fairways carved through canyons and greens backed by rock walls. Jones spent four years working on the project. Given the luxe trappings of this resort, where water is in play at multiple swimming pools, odds are you’re going to want to linger, too. [LEARN MORE HERE]
