Mexico Golf Course Reviews
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course ReviewLos Cabos, Mexico
|
|
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Review Summary: The less famous of the two golf courses at Cabo del Sol was designed by Tom Weiskopf. It plays up away from the beach on the desert-based hillside and offers ocean views from most, if not all, the holes. The front nine is rather short and gives the player a good chance to score well if they can execute accurate shots. Then the back nine rears its ugly head and punishes that golfer all the way home with lots of long, tough, tight golf holes. The best golf holes are reviewed below: |
|
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 4: The first of two short par fours on the front nine is also downhill and downwind (usually). This invites the golfer to have a go at the green from the tee box. Of course, there is trouble pretty much everywhere, but the layup short of the wash really is almost a harder shot as it is truly a tiny landing area. So, Mr. Weiskopf almost forces the golfer's hand to at least be a little aggressive.
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 5: This long par three is truly challenging as the green is only 25 yards deep and is surrounded by four bunkers. Short and right is water along with about 20 yards over the green. Any pin right of center will require an almost perfect golf shot.
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 6: Standing on the tee, the golfer's eye must be drawn to the rock pile and desert pinching in on the right. The green is tucked slightly right of the desert so the best drive is actually to the semi-blind portion of the left third of the fairway, over desert. The approach is uphill to a long, skinny green.
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 8: This is just a good, long classic, downhill par four that happens to have a great backdrop of the Sea of Cortez and the surrounding desert landscape of Los Cabos.
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 9: This sweeping dogleg left is at the top of the property and the inside of the dogleg is a lush desert arroyo waiting to gobble up an errant effort. The perfect drive will clear the bunker at the inside of the dogleg (quite a poke though at about 270 yards from the back two tees) to leave only about 200 yards into the par five's green complex. A safer tee shot to the right will allow this to be played as a relatively tame three shot par five. The green is very long and has a big false front and bunkers on three sides.
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 10: Lots of ocean views present themselves from tee to green on the relatively short, and strategic downhill par four tenth. The bunkers are place so that the best tee shot flies the second one on the right, but if pushed, there is desert and if pulled, that distance will plop the tee shot into the bunkers on the right. The layup tee shot, however, leaves a mid iron at best to a very narrow and wide green where the bunkers are short, long and right, but the left third is essentially a "false left" and will send any shot careening down about 10 feet below the putting surface.
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 13: This par four is downhill but usually into the breeze, and it is very long and exacting. The approach must clear the desert wash short of the green and avoid the deep bunker right of the green and the mammoth bunker to the left. Any pin placement left or back is really tough.
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 14: The author is a sucker for drives where there is an obstacle to avoid in the fairway (pot bunkers, trees, etc) when it is well done. This one is one of those as the fairway has a small desert "oasis" to avoid dead center, but it is not big and can easily be bested as the fairway is wide, which I like. The hole does, however, dogleg right around more desert to a relatively open green complex.
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 15: This is the only easy hole on the back nine, which is why it is included. it is short, wide and usually downwind, allowing for a great chance at birdie, if shots are executed (unless you are only 5 years old and can only hit it about 75 yards: like the next generation GolfTop18 author pictured here).
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 16: After the one breather hole on the back, the golfer gets an extra dose of punishment on this very long par three here. The green is enormous and there are bunkers and desert both to snag any shot that is on line but not long enough (or too long). There is, however, a large bailout area right.
Cabo del Sol - Desert Course Hole 18: The last two golf holes have water and this one has better views and is a good way to the end the round, unless of course the tee shot finds the creek left or the approach finds a watery grave in the lake down the right side of the green.
