COURSE REVIEW

Find the golf too relaxing in Los Cabos? Trent Jones Jr.'s Cabo Real is the cure

By Chris Baldwin,
Senior Writer

Life is easy if you're on a golf trip in the picturesque seaside resort area of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. But if you're tired of taking it so easy, book at tee time at Cabo Real Golf Course. This Robert Trent Jones Jr. design will shake the vacation daze right out of you.

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (March 27, 2007) - It's easy to eat, sleep and drink your way through a golf vacation in this picturesque seaside corridor. A few days in Cabo and you start to feel like a trust-fund kid, certain someone is always going to make things easy for you, smooth over any troubles.

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The toughest tough guy is liable to catch himself ordering a pina colada from the swim-up pool bar.

About this time you might be tempted to slip one of the happily helpful local workers 50 pesos to slap you across the face. No need. Just book a round at Cabo Real Golf Course instead.

This place will remind you what it takes to be a man. A mighty man's man.

Sure, you have to get past the romance-novel stone courtyard, flower-filled and surrounded by quaint yellow buildings, and the small army of staffers seemingly toiling just for you.

But beyond these creature comforts lies a Robert Trent Jones Jr. torture chamber ... er, golf course that will shake the vacation daze right out of you. Golfers with heart conditions - or double-bogey afflictions - should think twice about entering.

Cabo Real's front nine has long been recognized as the toughest in the region, but that reputation does it faint justice. With its desert-shrunken fairways, uphill climbs and Frankensteinian bunkers, this is one of the toughest front nines anywhere.

The only question is why the USGA hasn't been here for a consult. It could pick up some tips in the diabolical department.

"The front nine has some sting to it," said Federico Vaughan, director of golf for prominent Cabo real estate/golf firm Grupo Questro, as jovial as could be. Picture a man smiling at your funeral.

Cabo Real's No. 3 illustrates the torment. This 493-yard par 5 has you shooting uphill while trying to curve your ball around a turn with colorful desert bushes - and three ominous, supersized pot bunkers - en route to a green on a severely steep hill of its own. Land short on the sides of Cabo Real's slim hill greens and you'll struggle to get the proper footing to take a shot, let alone execute it. This course literally knocks you off-balance.

In other words, it's about the last place you want to play early one morning after a late night of tequila shots, as Los Angeles vacationer Ashley Salisbury did.

"It was a long night, I've never been to Cabo before, I'm the only girl in the group," Salisbury said. "And I don't have money to get back to the course where everyone else is playing. So I'm going to play here. I heard the back nine is nice."

The back nine is stunningly nice, in terms of scenery. The 14th is a go-for-it par 4 with the ocean behind the green. No. 15 is a par 3 that looks longer than its 168 yards because you're shooting over the beach to get to the green.

That's right - a forced beach clear.

No wonder you can hear the surf crashing at Cabo Real. It almost becomes a Zen golf thing.

Not that's much easier than front nine, as shooting up the skinny dogleg hill on No. 11 or down from the high, high tee on the 200-yard 12th makes clear. Cabo Real is a beast, wherever you are.

Cabo Real Golf Course: The Verdict

Some monsters you don't want to hide from. Cabo Real is a virtual must-play on any Los Cabos golfing excursion. Its toughness is matched by its scenic beauty and conditioning.

The flower beds below the eighth tee look like they were lifted from a famous public garden. This course is so well-choreographed, you half wonder if the staff planned the burst of birdsong you hear right after chipping one in for a rare birdie (an endangered species here).

It might fall a wow or two short of Cabo del Sol Ocean Course, but it's coin-flip close to determine whether Jones or Jack has built the best course in this high-end, big-name architect wonderland.

Cabo San Lucas hotels

The courtyard at the Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Resort & Spa gives the illusion that you could walk right over the edge into the sea. The resort itself has a great setup - it's easy to walk from your room to any pool or restaurant. You really feel like you're right on the ocean, even when you're in the pool with a beach between it and the sea.

Westin Resort & Spa Los Cabos has just about everything you could want on its sprawling property, down to a spa massage right on the beach with the ocean waves crashing. The resort's location - close to the more authentic Mexican town of San Jose rather than Americanized party town Cabo San Lucas - is a great plus.

Cabo San Lucas restaurants

Cabo Real Golf Course Km 19.5 Carretera Transpeninsular Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Tee times: 800-880-4655 or 702-851-0839

It's the romantic dinner of all romantic dinners: Sheraton Hacienda del Mar's D Cortez sets up a full table right on the beach, with torch lights lining a path to the white linen cloth and a fire for when the sun goes down. Your personal waiter trudges through the sand to serve you.

The Westin Resort's nightly buffet will erase any images of low-end, old-school Las Vegas spreads. These are elaborate affairs, especially the Wednesday seafood spread, with huge lobsters and tasty little oysters.

Fast facts

Cabo Real's owners originally planned to go with a low-profile designer but contacted Robert Trent Jones Jr. after learning that a nearby resort was going the celebrity-architect route.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.