Europe's Original Golfing Playground Has It All... So When Are You Visiting?

Spain’s fabulous Costa del Sol, or Sun Coast, stretches for the best part of 100 miles as the black-headed gull flies, all the way from Gibraltar across to Nerja. It is home to many of the best golf courses in Spain. Starting with the contrasting Links and Heathland courses at Alcaidesa in the west, all the way to Baviera Golf in the east, there are something like 70 courses of varying style and magnitude. Such is the wealth and variety on offer, it is sometimes now known as the Costa del Golf. It is home to some of the very best golf courses in the country including Real Valderrama, site of the 1997 Ryder Cup, as well as former hosts of the Spanish Open such as San Roque and Torrequebrada.

Many familiar names have established themselves since the arrival of the Real Club de Golf at Sotogrande which is still going, stronger than ever, after more than 60 years. The region is filled with golf of every conceivable type, suiting all budgets and tastes.

Not far from Valderrama, the Costa’s western end is home to more top-quality golf at La Reserva, an excitingly varied Cabell Robinson creation, and at Finca Cortesin, home of the tied Solheim Cup in 2023. The Puerto Banus region just to the west of Marbella is a particularly strong hotbed of golf with several excellent courses including the 27-hole complex at La Quinta. This was designed by Manuel Pinero and has panoramic views of the Mediterranean and the Sierra Blanca mountain range. Sloping fairways and deep bunkers add to the challenge but water also comes regularly into play.

Close by are two of the very finest courses in the district; Real Las Brisas where Nick Faldo won the Spanish Open in 1987 and which was revamped by Kyle Phillips just over a decade ago, and beautiful Aloha with its two very different loops of nine and which this year celebrates its 50th birthday. The Costa del Sol is an ideal holiday destination for golf and a great deal more.

Las Mijas

• Lagos - Par 72, 6,897 yards
• Olivos - Par 70, 6,111 yards
• W: mijasgolf.org

Mijas is one of the biggest golfing names on the Costa del Sol as well as one of its oldest clubs. There are two strong and interesting courses, with the Lakes the longer and more demanding. As you would expect from Robert Trent Jones Senior, water features extensively, as does his bold and distinctive bunkering.

The Olives is shorter with the emphasis on accuracy rather than length. It has five short holes and three par 5s, as well as further expansive bunkering and a large double green shared by the tenth and seventeenth.

Real Sotogrande

• Par 72, 6,404 yards
• W: golfsotogrande.com

Back in the 1960s, Sotogrande became one of the very first well-known holiday destinations for sun-seeking golfers. Also designed by Trent Jones Senior, his first creation in Europe, it has constantly reinvented itself to meet the ever-increasing expectations of its visitors.

The course is kept in tip-top condition and benefited from a comprehensive refurbishment a decade ago. Many consider it to be a worthy rival for nearby Real Valderrama, and while not especially intimidating from the tee, its main defence is the elevated and sloping greens which mean that the golfer must plot a route strategically and carefully.

San Roque

• Old - Par 72, 6,590 yards
• New - Par 72, 6,648 yards
• W: sanroquegolfresort.com

This is another of the region’s leading clubs boasting two fine courses. The Old was designed by Dave Thomas and Tony Jacklin, with Seve Ballesteros later adding his flair to the bunkering. It twists and turns through housing and apartments, and a substantial upgrade five years ago has been met with widespread acclaim.

The New, or San Roque II, was designed by Perry Dye, again in collaboration with Seve, just over 20 years ago. This is quite different and has recently been undergoing a significant refurbishment to bring it up to the standards of the Old.