Golfweek’s Best 2020: Top 50 courses in Caribbean, Mexico

Welcome to Golfweek’s Best golf courses in the Caribbean and Mexico for 2020, first published in the print issue of Golfweek’s Ultimate Guide.

Welcome to Golfweek’s Best golf courses in the Caribbean and Mexico for 2020, first published in the print issue of Golfweek’s Ultimate Guide.

These focus on courses throughout several island nations and Mexico, and include both private clubs and public-access tracks.

The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged to produce a final rating for each course. Then each course is ranked against other courses in the region.

We hope you enjoy poring over these rankings, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts on this Golfweek’s Best 2020: Top Courses of the Caribbean and Mexico list.

Each course is listed with its 2020 ranking, its location, architect(s), the year it opened and an average ranking from all the Golfweek Raters who reviewed it.

Top 50 Courses: The Caribbean, Mexico

Rank Course Location Architect(s)  Year opened  Avg. rating
1 Cap Cana
(Punta Espada)
Cap Cana, Dominican Republic Jack Nicklaus 2006 7.70
2 Diamante Cabo
San Lucas (Dunes)
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Davis Love III 2009 7.66
3 Casa de Campo
(Teeth of the Dog)
La Romana, Dominican Republic Pete Dye 1971 7.54
4 Sandy Lane
(Green Monkey)
St. James, Barbados Tom Fazio 2004 7.48
5 Four Seasons
Punta Mita (Bahia)
Punta Mita, Mexico Jack Nicklaus 2009 7.33
6 Apes Hill Club St. James, Barbados Chris Cole, Jeff Potts 2009 7.33
7 Mid Ocean Club Tucker’s Town, Bermuda Charles Blair Macdonald, Seth Raynor 1921 7.24
8 Puntacana Resort (Corales) Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Tom Fazio 2010 7.17
9 Royal Westmoreland St. James, Barbados Robert Trent Jones Jr. 1994 7.12
10 Four Seasons
Punta Mita (Pacifico)
Punta Mita, Mexico Jack Nicklaus 1999 7.09
11 Querencia San Jose del Cabo, Mexico Tom Fazio 2000 7.06
12 Cabo del Sol (Ocean) Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Jack Nicklaus 1994 7.05
13 Chileno Bay Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Tom Fazio 2015 6.90
14 Quivira GC Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Jack Nicklaus 2014 6.76
15 El Dorado Golf
& Beach Club
San Jose del Cabo, Mexico Jack Nicklaus 1999 6.69
16 Vidanta Puerto Penasco (Nicklaus) Puerto Penasco, Mexico Jack Nicklaus, Jack Nicklaus Jr. 2006 6.68
17 Abaco Club
on Winding Bay
Abaco, Bahamas Donald Steel, Tom Mackenzie 2004 6.64
18 Vista Vallerta (Nicklaus) Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Jack Nicklaus 2001 6.63
19 Baha Mar (Royal Blue) Nassau, Bahamas Jack Nicklaus 2017 6.61
20 Mayakoba
(El Camaleon)
Playa del Carmen, Mexico Greg Norman 2006 6.60
21 Albany New Providence, Bahamas Ernie Els 2010 6.55
22 Casa de Campo
(Dye Fore)
La Romana, Dominican Republic Pete Dye 2002 6.39
23 Port Royal Southampton, Bermuda Robert Trent Jones Sr. 1970 6.39
24 Peninsula Papagayo (Ocean Course) Guanacaste, Costa Rica Arnold Palmer 2004 6.39
25 Diamante Cabo
San Lucas
(El Cardonal)
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Tiger Woods 2014 6.37
26 Rose Hall
(White Witch)
St. James, Jamaica Robert von Hagge,
Rick Baril
2000 6.32
27 Vista Vallarta (Weiskopf) Puerta Vallarta, Mexico Tom Weiskopf 2001 6.32
28 Bahia Beach Resort
& GC
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Robert Trent Jones Jr. 2008 6.28
29 Westin Golf Resort & Spa, Playa Conchal (Reserva Conchal) Guanacaste, Costa Rica Robert Trent Jones Jr. 1996 6.27
30 CuisinArt GC Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla Greg Norman 2006 6.26
31 TPC Dorado Beach (East) Dorado, Puerto Rico Robert Trent Jones Sr. 1958 6.24
32 Iberostar Playa Paraiso Playa del Carmen, Mexico P.B. Dye 2005 6.17
33 Tryall Golf & Beach Club Montego Bay, Jamaica Ralph Plummer 1958 6.17
34 Puerto Los Cabos (Norman & Nicklaus) San Jose del Cabo, Mexico Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman 2007 6.13
35 Palmas del Mar (Flamboyan) Humacao, Puerto Rico Rees Jones 1998 6.13
36 Royal Isabela Isabela, Puerto Rico David Pfaff 2009 6.12
37 Ocean Club Paradise Island, Bahamas Tom Weiskopf 2001 6.09
38 Royal St. Kitts Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis Thomas McBroom 2004 6.04
39 Cabo del Sol (Desert) Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Tom Weiskopf 2001 6.01
40 Casa de Campo
(La Romana CC)
La Romana, Dominican Republic Pete Dye 1990 6.00
41 Sandy Lane
(The Country Club)
St. James, Barbados Tom Fazio 2002 5.95
42 CostaBaja Resort
& Spa
La Paz, Mexico Gary Player 2010 5.95
43 Puntacana Resort
(La Cana: Hacienda/Arrecife)
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic P.B. Dye 2001 5.92
44 Lyford Cay Club New Providence, Bahamas Dick Wilson, Rees Jones 1959 5.92
45 Cabo Real San Jose del Cabo, Mexico Robert Trent Jones Jr. 1993 5.90
46 Hacienda Pinilla G&CC Guanacaste, Costa Rica Mike Young 2001 5.87
47 Coco Beach Golf Resort (Championship) Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Tom Kite 2007 5.85
48 Four Seasons Resort Nevis Charlestown, Nevis Robert Trent Jones Jr. 1991 5.85
49 Palmas del Mar (Palm) Humacao, Puerto Rico Gary Player 1974 5.84
50 Rose Hall
(Cinnamon Hill)
St. James, Jamaica Robert von Hagge,
Rick Baril
2001 5.80