Courtesy Oleada
For a guy known as “Big Easy,” Ernie Els seems like he’s always on the go.
A global star in his prime, the four-time major winner continues to balance a career as a PGA Tour Champion with countless travel-intensive business interests.
Consider his faraway golf design work.
Since 2000, when he got his start in the field, Els, 53, has built courses in nearly a dozen countries and now has half a dozen projects in the works, stretching from the Caribbean to Croatia.
Last? Its first layout is in Mexico, on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, in one of the fastest growing golf markets in the hemisphere.
Located about 15 minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas, along a mile of ocean frontage, Surge Golf The ties will anchor an 860-acre resort community called Oleada Pacific Living & Golf.
Wave Spanish for wave, the course is part of a wave of development that has transformed what was once a sleepy fishing village into a hotbed of luxury golf resorts and private retreats.
The Els design will take its place on a gleaming stretch of the Pacific Ocean, flanked by a pair of big-name golf destinations—Diamante, home to the designs of Davis Love III and Tiger Woods, and Grand Solmar, where Greg Norman cut the ribbon on a course three years ago.
For Els, this first opportunity in Mexico is also what he describes as a designer’s dream, providing him with a sandy canvas featuring hills and dunes.
“We’ve worked on many different types of sites over the years,” Els said. “Coral and lava in Hawaii and Mauritius”. South Africa on the mud. This is by far the largest sandlot we’ve ever had to work with, and it really is nature’s best site.”
With the guidance, Els said he and his design partner, Greg Leitch, plan to take advantage of the desert-meets-ocean setting, starting at the top, on cactus-dotted terrain, but working the majority of the holes close to the water. Given the coastal winds, Els said he envisions broad drop zones to enhance strategic choices and land-game creativity — like the links you can get on a course that isn’t technically links.
“There are a lot of natural humps and bumps, and I want players to feel that unevenness without doing anything crazy,” Els said. “You’ll be able to play all kinds of shots, and you’ll have to account for breezes, just like we’re going to do in our design.”
Oleada’s development plans call for three luxury resorts, along with a nursery, orchards, fitness and wellness centers, hiking and biking trails, and more. Els said the course itself would provide “basic” golf, with accommodations and other infrastructure away from the fairways.
Development began early this year, but Els’s work is still in its infancy. The course is expected to open in 2026. Visit here for more information.