Costa del Sol’s best golf courses: Valderrama is still the no. 1
Costa del Sol’s best golf courses as a curated list have an unbeatable no. 1 status for now many years. We mean of course, Valderrama.
Undisputedly the best golf brand in Spain and on the top of the list of best European golf courses very often. Super hard course with almost magnetic cork trees that swallow your golf ball and spit it out behind 20 other tightly crowned thick old cork trees so you can hardly see the fairway, but Valde among friends is a top-class golf course in incredibly good condition with the old beautiful cork trees as signature instead for rough. And it has the history and style on top of the quality as a golf course.
Valderrama is a very private, luxurious, and expensive golf course to visit. Expect approx. 300 Euros. in golf fees alone, and a suitably low handicap to be allowed to pay for the round. You can play three to four good golf courses for the same price as a round at “Valde.” But you’d rather play Valde, right? It is a course that must be tried at least once in a golf life and it is a round of golf you will never forget, regardless of the golf score.
Bonus info: Has hosted 15 Volvo Masters Cups and a Rider Cup. Tiger Woods has played it several times.
Valderrama official site
And so on to one of our undisputed favorites in Spain.
Costa del Sol golf courses: Sotogrande is the most elegant of them all
The list of Spain’s top golf courses contains 5-6 courses, which are always on top, and Soto Grande is one of them and is a safe second on the Costa del Sol golf courses list. Some say Sotogrande is just as good a golf course as Valderrama. Sotogrande is not so merciless, but not easy either. No one on this list is “easy”. Sotogrande is a beautiful park-like course, very close to Valderrama with generous space everywhere on the course, but also in the restaurant and in the changing room. Here is nothing spared on anything. Extremely elegant and relaxed conditions all the way.
It was the famous course architect Robert Trent Jones’ first course in Europe and it is clearly on the list of the Costa del Sol’s best golf courses. And no less than 45 years old in 2019. It is thus the oldest real golf club on the Costa del Sol, which always keeps a high level. Everything is casual and elegant and has an indefinable exclusive quality without being snobby. You will feel welcome. The course has been recently renovated and is more beautiful than ever.
El Saler is within a reasonable distance from the Costa del Sol
Here we move outside the list of best Costa del Sol golf courses, but at an affordable distance and for good reason. It is a completely different kind of golf course but is just as stunning, and El Saler is comfortably at the top of the entire Spanish golf course list: El Saler is a seaside course just off the Mediterranean 20 km from Valencia in a protected area. Several times rated number 2-3 in Europe and approx. number 60 in the world, so how does it end “only” as No. 3 on this list of southern Spain’s best courses? Only because it is further away from Malaga, and this is a list of 10 fantastic golf courses in South Spain. El Saler is long and demanding and the perfect version of a Spanish links golf course. It is also much cheaper to play than the two above it on the list here, so the fuel money is almost covered. Let’s just say it: the best buy on this list!
Finca Cortesin is on the list of Costa del Sol’s best golf courses
This golf course is among Spain’s top five courses and thus also on the list of the Costa del Sol’s best golf courses and has hosted the Volvo Cup 3 times. Very beautiful, really long, and contains 100 bunkers, so remember your sand-wedge if you want to go out on the fairway again, or train long bunker strokes with 7 iron or rescue, because they should preferably be far ahead. Rebuilt in 2017, but is playable and mature now.
Las Brisas is clearly on the list of the Costa del Sol’s best golf courses
Ok, it is not certain you can access to play the golf course, although it is self-explanatory on the Costa del Sol’s best golf courses It is a Members Only Club and Marbella’s most exclusive, but it is included in the list Because of its excellent quality, then you will play Brisas, find a member who will invite you. There are many international members, so maybe it will succeed. Or join an open tournament. Las Brisa was designed by Robert Trent Jones in 1968 and redesigned in 2015. The Las Brisas golf course is also known for its amazing trees, shrubs and flowers from most of the world. Botanical golf anyone?
Real Club Sevilla Golf is near the top of the list of golf courses in Spain
Real Club Sevilla Golf also manages the qualification for both the Costa del Sol’s best golf courses and is one of Spain’s top golf courses and indeed one of Europe’s best golf courses. Then it doesn’t get much better. Real Club Sevilla Golf has put its name and course to international tournaments over the years like the World Cup 2004, the Andalusia Open in 2009, the Spanish Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012. The course is designed by legendary Spanish golfer Jose Maria Olazabal. And on the 61 ha, there are more than 10,000 trees, 90 bunkers and 9 lakes that are in play. Welcome to a championship course.
La Reserva, the name alone qualifies on the list of “Costa del Sol’s best golf courses”
The latest in a 4 clover (there are actually several courses nearby) of excellent golf courses in Sotogrande and on the list of the Costa del Sol’s best golf courses. The other largest here are Valderrama, Sotogrande and San Roque. With undulating wide fairways and heavy greens, La Reserva lives up to its name and its beautiful location. Pricewise still at the upper end.
La Manga is a new entry to Southern Spain´s best golf courses
Europe’s leading sports resort – situated in Murcia East of Malaga – for more than 40 years, the allure of Spain’s La Manga Club remains as big as ever for golfers and the famous venue has won new acclaim after being named in Golf World’s benchmark ‘Top 100 Courses in Continental Europe 2015/16’ rankings.
The newest of La Manga Club’s three 18-hole layouts, the 6,347-yard, par-72 West Course was created by Dave Thomas and opened in 1996, and the tree-lined design provides the ideal contrast to its older siblings at the resort – the South and North.
La Manga
San Roque (Old course)
This course consists of both the San Roque old course and the new course in a wonderful, relaxed and beautiful area with the most exquisite service and a host of amenities from hotel to a lovely restaurant.
This old course is the pride of the club, the enjoyment of it is reserved for members only except for the daily public periods when the general public can make use of this amazing fairways for a premium rate of 160 € per green fee.
At the foothills of the Sierra Bermeja, where the mountains meet the sea, is a legendary home for European golf Created in 1990. Designed by Dave Thomas with bunkers redesigned by Seve Ballesteros, The Old Course is rated amongst the finest in Europe and a natural member of our own informal list.
San Roque (New course)
This course, designed by Perry Dye with the collaboration of Severiano Ballesteros, has all the prerequisites to be part of the European golf elite circle for its high technical quality, its beautiful layout and the impeccable finish. It was the scene of the 2006 Spanish Open, won by Niclas Fasth, and also hosted the final of the European tour’s classification school. Without a doubt, it is a field that is far above what we usually find in Spain and Europe, without any construction around it and, in short, a challenge and an exceptional golf course.
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I 2018 Ryder Cup is played in the US.
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