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octubre_2020
Quivira Ranked Among the Best Jack Nicklaus Golf Courses

Quivira Ranked Among the Best Jack Nicklaus Golf Courses

Golf Digest recently posted a feature story naming the 10 best golf courses built by Jack Nicklaus’ design firm, as ranked by the publication’s course-ranking panelists.

To no one’s surprise, the epic Jack Nicklaus Signature course at Quivira, which tiptoes along sheer granite cliffs on a breathtaking site at Land’s End, was on the list. Already ranked seventh on Golf Digest’s 2020 ‘Best in Mexico’ roster, Quivira isn't short on views. As senior editor Ron Kaspriske put it, "The quirky, fun design is like playing golf inside a Salvador Dali painting."

The story noted that Nicklaus, who by 1966 was a career Grand Slam winner, partnered with Pete Dye as his player consultant, collaborating on the creation of Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, site of an annual tour stop since 1969. “Fast-forward almost four decades, and Nicklaus' design company has eight offices in six countries, with Jack designing more than 300 courses and growing his business into one of the most successful design firms of his generation,” the report stated.

Nicklaus, who first visited Los Cabos in the 1960s to escape the competitive pressures of the PGA Tour and angle for trophy marlin, put the tip of the Baja Peninsula on the international golf map with his early course designs in the region. Quivira, his crowning achievement in Cabo and arguably the most daring, eclectic course he’s ever built, is an aesthetic tour de force and an unforgettable test from any set of tees.

Nicklaus intimated as much shortly before the course opened in 2014.

“Quivira is loaded with really, really good golf holes and unique golf holes,” Nicklaus said during a Q & A session. “There is good golf even before you get to the ocean holes, which are unlike anything else in Cabo or many other places. I’ve never seen any place that has three holes hanging out over the ocean like this golf course does. They are unbelievable. This is a diverse golf course with inland settings, it’s got desert, it’s got ocean, it’s got rocks, it’s got a little bit of everything. And it’s not a hard golf course. We’ve made the course very user-friendly. It will look difficult because of where it is, but I think you’re going to find that the course is very playable.”

“I think the pleasure (of playing Quivira) will come from the fact we tried not to make it really long and difficult,” Nicklaus continued. “We tried to make it so the average golfer not only has the same holes (as the pros), but they have the same experience which, although probably challenging and difficult, will be pleasurable because they are so beautiful and so unique.”

Asked how he thought Quivira would impact his legacy, Nicklaus came right to the point. “I think some people will think it’s the most spectacular golf course and the best golf course they have ever seen,” he said. “I think other people will say, ‘You have got to be kidding.’ I don’t think there will be a lot of middle ground. I think you will either love it or hate it. It will depend on how you look at the game of golf. If you look at the game of golf as having a fun experience, playing in an exciting place, you will love it.”

Throughout the world, golf’s greatest champion is known as the Golden Bear. Based on what he’s built in Los Cabos and especially at Quivira, he is and always will be the Golden Amigo.