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Golf Courses on the Baja Peninsula
Golf courses in Baja offer a wide spectrum of the sport with diversity equal to that of the magnificent peninsula and offer a golfer's paradise..
Golf is one of the leading recreational activities in Baja. With golf courses from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas the Baja peninsula is rapidly becoming a golfer’s paradise.
Starting just minutes from the US/Mexico border south of San Diego is the Tijuana Country Club. Established in 1948, it is the most established course in Baja and the proximity to the border makes it a favorite with California golfers. Designed by Alistair McKenzie, the course has something for all skill level golfers. When the course was built in the middle of the last century it was well outside of town and frequented by the likes of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. The city of Tijuana has grown dramtically since then and now the course is located in the middle of the Tijuana metropolitan area. The Tijuana Country Club has a long history of international golf tournaments and the club house and ballroom exhibit the flair and style of the glory days of Baja style.
The course is an 18 holes par 72, with virtually no water but more than 100 sand traps, incorporating the desert climate. The total course at the black tees is 6859 yards.
The Baja Country Club represents the much new generation of courses being built in Baja. Part of a mast planned community the course is located at the end of a canyon where the surrounding mountains embrace the Bentgrass greens with a dramatic contrast. The course also features a 12 acre lake which is part of the irrigation system for the development. A constant ocean breeze up the canyon provides the challenge for golfers of all levels. The course has a renowned driving range and putting green to warm up or cool down your game. Several charity and fund raising events have selected the Baja Country Club as a venue for their events. The course is an 18 hole par 72, with a total of 6859 yards from the blue tees.
Real Del Mar is located in Rosarito and claims to be just 20 minutes from the US border. The course is acclaimed as the gem of the Baja California golf offerings, with the Los Coronos Mountains framing the beautiful fairways and greens and embraced by weather beaten canyon walls. The course is hailed as one of the most challenging in Baja California with seven lakes and 51 bunkers on the 18 hole par 72 blue tee course.
Real del Mar Located just 20 minutes south of the U.S. border in Rosarito, Real del Mar is a perfect golf destination, providing some of the greatest golf in Mexico. The Los Coronos mountain range hugs the fairways, and provides a beautiful backdrop to the weather-beaten canyon walls. The Real del Mar Golf Course is challenging yet unrivalled in its natural setting. It has seven sparkling lakes and 51 bunkers, and eleven of the 18 holes overlook the sea—truly a golfer’s heaven!
Moving south, into Baja California Sur, the Nopalo course at Loreto embodies the beautiful vistas of golf on the Sea of Cortez. Just minutes south of Loreto, the oldest city in Baja Sur and the original capital of the state, the course bridges sparkling estuaries of the Sea. The 18 hole par 71 course is a recreational golfers dream with beautiful vistas from the towering Sierra Giagantica mountain range which erupts just miles from the crystal blue waters of the Sea of Cortez.
Further south, golf has come to the city of La Paz, with the opening of the Paraiso del Mar course located on the Magote and part of the master planned resort community being build on the sandbar that shelters the Ensenada de La Paz. Golfers arrive at the 12 completed holes via water taxi from downtown. The additional 6 holes are scheduled for completion in the near future. Although the course offers little elevation change, due to the characteristics of the sandbar on which it is built, the bunkers embrace the dunes and desert terraculture of the natural environment.
The premier course to come to La Paz will be the Gary Player Signature Course now under construction at CostaBaja Resort & Marina, located at the entrance to the Ensenada de La Paz. With dramatic elevation change and beautiful vistas of the Sea of Cortez, ground breaking took place in late 2008 and the first holes should open in early 2010. The first Gary Player design course to be located in Mexico will feature a large lake and embrace the beautiful desert landscape and natural flora of the region.
The Mecca of golf on the Baja peninsula is and will remain the Los Cabos area for years to come. The one and only Palmilla course was the first in Latin America designed by Jack Nicklaus and features 27 holes and four lakes. Built in 1993 the par 72 course offers three course routes. The 6771 Oceano yard course runs along the Sea of Cortez, through the towering cardons and delivers golfers to the beach with a spectacular close to a round of golf. Alternate course routes through eh 27 holes include the 6939 yard Arroyo and the challenging 7036 yard Montana course.
The Cabo Real Country Club was designed by Robert Trent Jones and gained immediate recognition for its beautiful and challenging 18 holes par 72 championship course. Completed in 1994 the 7037 yard course offers three ocean front greens a spectacular view of Land’s End.
Puerto Los Cabos is the youngest of the Los Cabos area courses and is part of a 2000 acre master planned community. Designed by Jack Nicklaus the 18 hole par 72 course opened in 2008, and is a challenging course for the championship level golfer.
Club Campestre in San Jose was also designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus, and opened in 2007. The 18 holes par 71 course offers panoramic views and championship greens along it’s 7055yrds route. .
Cabo San Lucas Country Club was designed by the Dye Design Group and opened in 1994. The 18 holes of this par 72 course offer small greens, 80 sand traps and diverse transitional areas challenge even the most experienced players. At 7220 yards the course will test the long game of experienced golfers.
From Ensenada to Cabo there are a wide variety of additional courses in the offering. An exclusive golf community is in the planning stages with a course designed by the reigning golf legend, Tiger Woods. Additional courses are also planned for residential developments in La Paz and Los Cabos to add to the scope of the game. With the virtually unlimited number of fabulous golf days that the weather and the Baja climate has to offer, the Baja peninsula is certainly a golfer’s paradise.
