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Put another notch in the design belt of Ernie Els.
GolfPass has learned that Els will lay out the brand-new Oleada Golf Links Los Cabos, the latest golf course in Los Cabos, the premier golf-and-fishing destination at the tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula.
Els' first course in Mexico has already broken ground and is set to debut in early 2026, allowing public play for the first year before it goes resort-private, accessible only for property owners and resort guests at Oleada Pacific Living & Golf, a developing 860-acre oceanfront resort community.
Located 15 minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas, this new 7,336-yard links-style course will unfurl across a one-mile stretch of golden sand beach along the Pacific Ocean. Els, winner of 75 professional tournaments worldwide, including four majors, is best known as an architect for designing Albany, the course on New Providence Island in the Bahamas that hosts the Hero World Challenge and The Els Club in Dubai.
“Our goal at Oleada will be to build a core golf course that harmonizes with nature,” Els said. “We envision a compact design that drapes naturally on the land, steps lightly on nature’s toes and functions as an environmental steward of the site’s indigenous flora and fauna. With its rolling dunes, elevation changes and majestic desert-meets-ocean setting, I believe we can produce a versatile test that will rank among the best and most beautiful courses we’ve ever built.”
More about the Oleada Golf Links Los Cabos
Oleada, which means "waves" in Spanish, will feature 79 acres of irrigated turf good enough to rival the best resort courses of Cabo - Diamante Dunes, Quivira and Solmar Golf Links.
Fifteen holes will be built in or on the oceanfront dunes, according to Federico Gaxiola, the project director at Oleada Pacific Living & Golf. Three holes - the par-3 third and a pair of 542-yard par 5s running in the opposite directions (nos. 6 and 16) - play closest to the beach. The routing will be a fun combination of five par 5s and five par 3s.
"Every hole will feature a spot with an ocean view, providing golfers a stunning landscape where they can catch sight of whales breeching in the Pacific Ocean during their migratory journey," Gaxiola added.
Gaxiola touts the course as the only true "links" in Cabo, although Els has yet to choose the grass, which will go a long way toward determining if the course plays similarly to a traditional links. Seashore Paspalum is a popular choice in Cabo, but it's sticky and doesn't necessarily lend to bouncy conditions.
To keep up with the competition in Cabo, all-inclusive comfort stations will be built around the course to provide golfers all the food and drink they could want. Full resort development plans include real estate offerings; three resorts; a nursery, orchard and garden; nature, fitness, hiking and biking trails; and much more. The three on-site resorts have yet to be named.
Cabo has been a hotbed of work for player-architects for more than three decades. It started with Jack Nicklaus at Palmilla in 1992 and The Cove Club in 1994 and has expanded to Tom Weiskopf (Desert Course at The Cove Club in 2001), Davis Love III (Diamante Dunes in 2009), Tiger Woods (El Cardonal at Diamante in 2014), Fred Couples (Twin Dolphin in 2018) and Greg Norman (Solmar in 2019). Is there room for even more golf? Gaxiola believes so. A second Nicklaus course at Quivira is already under construction.
"Demand is growing and, at the same time, more courses in Cabo are becoming private, so there remains room for more new courses," Gaxiola said.
What's your favorite course in Cabo? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments (1)
Quivira is our favorite course in Cabo.