Quivira Golf Club at Los Cabos, Mexico, a clifftop hole high above the Pacific Ocean

Ranked · 7 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf for a Buddies Trip in Mexico

Mexico has quietly become one of the great buddies trips in golf, and Los Cabos is the reason, a desert peninsula where a cluster of oceanfront courses by Nicklaus, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods sits beside direct flights, beach bars and a genuinely lively town. Add the Pacific drama of Punta Mita and the Caribbean polish of Mayakoba, and a group is spoiled. Here are the seven courses we would build a Mexican trip around, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to play it.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Quivira Golf Club, via Google

How we chose them

A Mexican buddies trip is really a Los Cabos trip with options. Nowhere else on earth packs this many world class courses into a half hour drive, and the desert meets ocean setting at the tip of Baja gives the golf a scale and drama that photographs do not quite capture. Diamante's Dunes Course is the critics' number one in the country, but the joy of Cabos is that the supporting cast, from Quivira's cliffs to the ocean holes at Cabo del Sol, would headline most destinations. Beyond Baja, Punta Mita on the Pacific and Mayakoba on the Caribbean give a group a beach resort alternative with a PGA Tour pedigree.

We weighed the quality and drama of the golf, how readily a visiting group can actually get on, and the strength of the wider trip each course anchors, because a buddies trip needs a base, a bar and an easy tee sheet as much as it needs great holes. Some of the very best Cabos courses sit inside private residential clubs, so we have flagged access where it matters. The order is our editors' view, so reorder the resort courses to taste. If you want any of these built into a costed trip with the tee times secured, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

Diamante, Dunes Course

Cabo San Lucas · Davis Love III · 2009

The best course in Mexico and a fixture on the world top 100, the Dunes Course at Diamante runs through enormous natural sandhills on the Pacific at the western edge of Cabo San Lucas, a Davis Love III design with the firm, sweeping feel of a great Scottish links transplanted to the desert. Wide fairways and huge greens make it playable for a group while the wind and the scale keep it serious. Access is through Diamante membership or a stay, so plan ahead, but it is worth every effort.

Read the Diamante Dunes profile

Quivira Golf Club

Cabo San Lucas · Jack Nicklaus · 2014

The most spectacular round a visiting group can readily book in Cabos, a Jack Nicklaus design that clings to the cliffs, beaches and granite ridges at the very tip of Baja. Holes drop hundreds of feet from clifftop tees to fairways far below, the par 3 over the ocean is one of the most photographed holes in the country, and comfort stations stocked for groups keep the round festive. Played from the Pueblo Bonito resorts, it is the Cabos course your group will talk about first.

Read the Quivira profile

Cabo del Sol, Ocean Course

Los Cabos · Jack Nicklaus · 1994

The course that started the Cabos golf boom, a Jack Nicklaus design on the corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo whose closing stretch of ocean holes Nicklaus himself called the best three finishing holes in golf. Recently reinvested in and back to its best, it blends desert arroyos inland with crashing surf by the green, and its central location and ready access make it one of the easiest marquee rounds to slot into a group itinerary.

Read the Cabo del Sol profile

Puerto Los Cabos

San Jose del Cabo · Nicklaus and Norman

A 27 hole resort facility above San Jose del Cabo with nines designed by Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman, combining mountain, desert and ocean holes with sweeping views over the Sea of Cortez. Generous and resort friendly, with a famous on course comfort service that keeps a group well fed and watered, it is the most relaxed of the Cabos heavyweights and a natural choice for the quieter, more traditional San Jose end of the strip.

Read the Puerto Los Cabos profile

El Dorado Golf and Beach Club

Los Cabos · Jack Nicklaus

One of the finest Nicklaus designs in Baja, El Dorado runs from the mountains down to a long stretch of beachfront on the Sea of Cortez, with several holes hard against the sand. A private Discovery Land community, it is harder to access than the resort courses, but a stay or the right introduction unlocks one of the most complete rounds in Cabos and the most exclusive entry on this list for a group that wants to play where the members play.

Read the El Dorado profile

Punta Mita, Pacifico Course

Riviera Nayarit · Jack Nicklaus · 1999

The headline course on the Pacific peninsula north of Puerto Vallarta, a Jack Nicklaus design wrapped around a Four Seasons and St Regis resort, famous for the optional par 3 known as the Tail of the Whale, played to a natural island green reached by an amphibious cart at low tide. Beyond the gimmick is a genuinely strong, beautiful round by the ocean, and a beach resort base that makes Punta Mita the best couples friendly buddies trip in the country.

Read the Punta Mita profile

El Camaleon, Mayakoba

Riviera Maya · Greg Norman · 2006

The most accessible great course in the country and the long time host of a PGA Tour event, El Camaleon weaves through mangroves, limestone canals and jungle to the Caribbean beach at the Mayakoba resort complex near Playa del Carmen. A Greg Norman design with a cenote sinkhole in the middle of one fairway, it is forgiving enough for all handicaps and pairs with the all inclusive Riviera Maya beach scene, making it the easy choice for a Cancun side group trip.

Read the Mayakoba profile

Designers, opening years and rankings verified June 2026 from the clubs and recognized course databases; access, conditioning and green fees vary by season and year. Several Los Cabos courses sit inside private communities, so always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Plan your Mexico buddies trip

Tell us the group, the rough dates and whether you want the full Los Cabos lineup, a Punta Mita beach base or the Riviera Maya, and we will build it. One concierge secures the tee times, including the private clubs where access allows, sorts the lodging and transfers, and costs the whole trip to the head, with no obligation.

Mexico buddies golf questions

What is the best golf course in Mexico for a buddies trip?

Diamante's Dunes Course at Cabo San Lucas, the Davis Love III design through towering oceanfront dunes, is widely rated the best course in Mexico and a regular on the world top 100. Quivira, the dramatic Jack Nicklaus clifftop course, is the most spectacular round a visiting group can readily book. Los Cabos, with ten of the country's top courses in one resort strip, is the natural base for a Mexican buddies trip.

Where should a group of golfers go in Mexico?

Los Cabos, at the southern tip of Baja California, is the heart of Mexican golf, with a tight cluster of championship courses, direct flights, lively nightlife in Cabo San Lucas and a desert meets ocean setting. Riviera Nayarit near Puerto Vallarta, home to Punta Mita, and the Riviera Maya near Cancun, home to Mayakoba, are the two Pacific and Caribbean alternatives, each pairing fewer courses with all inclusive beach resorts.

When is the best time for a golf trip to Mexico?

The prime season runs from November to May, with warm, dry, sunny days and comfortable evenings, which is also the peak rate window. Los Cabos is a desert climate and plays year round, though high summer is very hot. The Riviera Maya and Riviera Nayarit are humid and see more rain from June to October. Always confirm conditions and tee times before booking.

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Mexican golf, the Los Cabos tee time windows and the trips worth taking. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designers, opening years and rankings verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.