If you are going to eliminate one of the most scenic par 3s in North America, a hole designed by Jack Nicklaus no less, you better have a good reason. The developers of Cabo del Sol in Los Cabos, Mexico, are confident that’s the case.
That short, yet unforgettable, oceanfront 17th hole was a highlight of the former Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol and helped put the Los Cabos region on the golf destination map when the layout opened in 1994. The course remains, albeit with a new routing and some new holes, but now sitting where that famed hole’s green was is an infinity-edge pool and a gleaming Beach Club, all part of the members-only Cove Club, a luxury real estate enclave within the Cabo del Sol master-planned community.
Nestled halfway between the towns of San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, and just 35 minutes from the international airport (a private airport is even closer), the community features two miles of beachfront. The Transpeninsular Highway, the area’s main roadway, is located further from the water here than at any neighboring community. “Our land plan takes great advantage of that factor, and we are able to have less density along the water as a result of it,” says Erin Dixon, Cove Club’s vice president of sales. “We have a swimmable beach and [an] extremely private feel to the Cove due to the lack of excursion boats anchoring off our shore.”
In terms of real estate options, Crest Homesites start from $3.7 million and Reef Homesites range from $10 to $19 million. Beachfront Villas go from $13 to $20 million, while Four Seasons Estates Homes, which will start construction this fall, are priced from $8.4 to $12.2 million. The first villas and residences at the Four Season Residences, to be completed this fall, are already sold out. Non-homeowners will be able to stay at a 96-room Four Seasons Resort, expected to open in the first quarter of 2024 (a Park Hyatt Resort is also under development), with 90-plus retails stores and multiple new restaurants are also part of the plans.
Membership at the Cove Club, open by invitation only to Cabo del Sol homeowners, currently comes with a $225,000 initiation fee plus $34,000 in annual dues. In addition to golf and the Beach Club, members have access to other amenities, including multiple restaurants and bars, a state-of-the-art fitness center, kids’ club, spa pods, mountain hiking and biking, tennis, padel tennis, pickleball, and water activities.
“We had been to Cabo many times and were very familiar with Los Cabos and San Jose,” says Kelli York, a Paradise Valley resident who purchased a home at the Cove Club in 2021 with her husband, Doug. “It is a compelling story at Cove Club with the Four Seasons building there, as well as the Park Hyatt. Construction has started on a retail/restaurant area, which also adds to the story.”
In addition to the elimination of the famed 17th, multiple new holes were created by Nicklaus as part of a rerouting on what is now called the Cove Club Course, with the current 17th and 18th holes memorably tumbling downhill toward the Sea of Cortez. At the Desert Course, originally designed by the late Tom Weiskopf and located primarily on the higher part of the property, even more changes are being implemented. Now known as the Cabo del Sol course, architects Dana Fry and Jason Straka are creating a new routing (expected to be completed in Fall 2025) by remodeling half of the holes and creating nine new holes within the existing playing corridors.
“What Dana is going to do will feel a lot different than what Weiskopf did,” says Erik Evans, Cove Club’s director of golf and sports. “Everything he builds is just so big and grand. The courses offer a pretty good harmony between the sea, desert, and mountain. The Cove Club course has both desert holes and some that meander down to the sea. Cabo Del Sol is mountain golf with sea views from every hole.” Public play is currently allowed on the latter, but eventually it will be open only to guests at the Four Seasons and Park Hyatt, along with Cove Club members.
“We went to look at the property and also played golf there. We are avid golfers and were very impressed,” says York. “We have played golf in Cabo and there are courses that are ‘tired’ and not well kept. Then there are other courses that are lovely, but not a private club. We had the opportunity to buy in at the Cove Club somewhat on the early side, and that was also a selling point. We wanted to be part of a community, not just have a home there.”
Visit www.CoveClubCabodelSol.com for more information.
Photos courtesy Cabo Del Sol.
This story appeared in the AZ Foothills Innovators 2023 issue. Read the full issue here.
