For years I’ve been hearing about this mythical golf course down on the tip of Baja Mexico.
A course with holes dangling over the ocean, and others carved into the side of a mountain.
A track with looks to kill, and comfort stations that will make you forget about the golf altogether.
I’m talking about Quivira Golf Club, and after years of hearing stories like this, I finally got the chance to see it for myself.
And I’ve got news for you: the stories are true.
Arriving at Quivira Golf Club
This trip down to Los Cabos was only the second time I’ve been on an airplane during the past 20 months. It was a quick trip so I wanted to make every second count.
Unfortunately, many of those seconds were spent on a delayed flight.
Which I then had to deboard, forcing me to miss my connection.
The good news, is that despite missing my first afternoon at the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Resort, I made it in time for my first day of golf at Quivira Golf Club – and boy am I glad I did.
When you pull up to Quivira you immediately notice the unique clubhouse.
It blends inside and outside seamlessly and is perched up with wonderful views of the ocean.
I overheard one of the golfers in our group say to no one in particular “this is the nicest clubhouse I’ve ever seen.”
Once your bags are on your cart (and you will have a cart), you head over to the practice area.
You don’t see many driving ranges with ocean frontage, but Quivira Golf Club isn’t your average place. The views here are spectacular and the range gives you a hint of the special round that’s to come.
Before you finally step out to the first tee, you have one more stop to make: your first comfort station.
Courses in Los Cabos have become renowned for their “comfort stations” dotting the course, and Quivira is no different. Sliders, tacos, brisket sandwiches, margaritas, beer, tequila shots – whatever you want, it’s sitting there waiting for you.
Oh, and the best part? It’s included in the cost of your round.
We teed off at 7:00am on day 1, so I grabbed some coffee and a croissant and we made our way to the first tee.
First Impressions of Quivira Golf Club
I’m going to be honest with you: I expected Quivira to be way…goofier…than it is.
I’d heard so much about the course being an over-the-top rollercoaster with ridiculous cliffside golf holes, that I almost didn’t expect it to feel like a real golf course.
Kind of in the way that Tobacco Road doesn’t feel like anything else you’ll play.
But you know what happened? I got out to the first tee, and guess what I saw:
A great-looking golf hole.
A hole that wasn’t over the top, and featured some great strategic elements to it.
This is backwards to a lot of what I’d heard about the course.
Holes 2, 3, and 4?
More of the same!
Great golf holes that wouldn’t be out of place on any “top 100” course.
Yes, as you’ll see Quivira Golf Club has a little “Vegas” in it. It has holes (and a few other features) you won’t see anywhere else.
But generally, speaking? It’s a really good golf course that exceeded all of my expectations.
Oh, and want to see just how impressive Quivira is? Watch this:
https://youtube.com/shorts/SbZDjSasxRI?feature=share
Quivira Golf Club: The Front 9
Part of the reason you don’t hear much about the opening holes at Quivira is because they aren’t perched up on the hill overlooking the ocean – like nearly every other hole on the course.
One is a great dogleg left par 4.
You’ll want to pay attention to where the pin is, as that will dictate which side of the fairway will give you the better approach.
2 is a beautiful par 3 that features some excellent sucker pin locations above some deep bunkers over on the right hand side of the green.
It doesn’t take long to learn that Quivira is a course that rewards local knowledge. There are a lot of hills and ridges around the greens that can give you a great result if you utilize them properly.
3 was one of my favorite holes on the course.
It was still early when we played it, and the white stucco houses behind the green made it feel like I’d been transported to Greece.
Short par 4s are my favorite type of golf hole, because you can literally hit any club you want off the tee – and things were no different here.
A safe iron over the left bunker gives you a great angle in. But driver is in play if you want to swing for the fences – just don’t end up short right.
Hole 4 is the first par 5 on the course, and gives you a choice of how much you want to bite off on the tee shot. You can carry the right bunkers, but watch out for a pot bunker in the middle of the fairway waiting to swallow up balls.