Exclusive golf in Andalusia

This is the first Robert Trent Jones Sr. course built (in 1964) in Europe, It has been altered a bit so it is not really short. It has however the typical RTJ characteristics with mounted greens and super fast run offs. The club is a well respected members club where green fee players are welcome if the members leave some space. The maintenance is amazing and the course is quite friendly from the tee. The trouble begins with your approach to the green, as with a lot of RTJ designs accurate irons are critical to set a score. The greens were almost stimp 12 and playing extremely fast, this combined with hard to see breaks even resulted in my first ever put in a bunker. The practice facilities and driving range almost right in front of the clubhouse are very nice. My favourite part of the course are the last 3 holes, called The Bermuda Triangle by the member who I was playing with. A long par 5 with water all along the right side, a beautiful 145 meter par 3 with no room for error, water on 3 sides! The 18th is a long par 4 with plenty of bunkers with a view of the clubhouse all the way.

Finca Cortesin was designed by Cabell Robinson who also designed Praia D'El Rei, Las Colinas & La Reserva. Finca is famous about the incredible service they deliver and I must say I wasn't disappointed. It's the little things like when you ask to find a water tap and the caddie master takes your bottle and brings it back full. The course is challenging but fair, if you play it from the right tee and are not to aggressive it is definitely possible to set a decent score. If you really hit your ball in the sticks don't bother looking for it, it is probably gone and the bushes are pretty thick and prickly. Just bring some extra balls if you have a wayward shot once in a while. The holes and views are spectacular.......

After coming back you are again greeted by the friendly caddie master who inquires if your round was enjoyable and you can have a drink on the beautiful terrace overlooking the pyramid-stacked driving range. There is also a beautiful hotel where the service is just as great. Finca Cortesin will host the Solheim Cup in 2023 and it will probably skyrocket there reputation around Europe & The US hopefully they will keep the green fee spots and price in sync because € 175 for this course & this service including a buggy is amazing.

San Roque is designed by Dave Thomas, with some input of Tony Jacklin. Later Seve Ballesteros worked on the bunkers. The Old course was constructed in 1990 and was rumoured to have cost a million dollar per hole. In 2003 the New Course was added by Perry Dye (Son of the late Pete Dye). The Old Course was renovated in 2019 and is in excellent condition. The New course will undergo a massive renovation in 2023 to keep up with her older sibling. The Old Course is one of those course thats really fun to play, it is not super demanding of the tee and if you plot your way around well it will be a very enjoyable round.

La Reserva is designed by Cabell B. Robinson. They have a very strong logo, it’s just a 8 pointed star that you see everywhere, even the shape of the tiles in the club house is the same. As soon as you enter the clubhouse you experience the service level, every detail is taken care of. The great Taylormade range balls, the tee’s and water in the buggy, the friendly crew helping you to have a great experience. The course is really nice to play it was so nice that we played an extra nine holes after finishing 18 and a couple of drinks. All though I liked the whole course the back nine wins by a nose length. The buildup to the finish is great and I loved the 17th that we played from the back tee, 187 meters and a 25-meter drop, the feeling to hit (and stay on) the green is awesome. Best baguette Jamon Iberico I ever had, with some tomato pulp and olive oil, just delicious!

Probably the most famous Spanish course in the world, designed by Robert Trent Jones, host of the first Ryder Cup on continental Europe in 1997 and one of the most exclusive member clubs in an area that is packed with exclusive member clubs. Valderrama has a very limited amount of green fee tee times available. It used to be 8 a day but due to covid the average members rounds have increased from 22 to 50 a year, so nowadays you are lucky if there are 2 or 3 tee times available. The green fee is pretty hefty with € 450 per person, buggy € 65 and compulsory caddie € 60 + tip but it is absolutely worth it. The immaculate maintenance, the beautiful cork oaks, the famous 17th green just a couple of memories you will make when you are there. My caddie was Carlos a 6 handicapper at a nearby club. After two drives he spotted a very easy fix to correct something I had been struggling with for a long time and the rest of the day my drives where dead center. If you play from the right tee (I played yellow) and listen to your caddie it is actually quite doable to get a decent score. It gets tricky when you play from white or black you really need skills and your A-game. I also Valderrama is the best in consistently displaying their logo, everywhere you are you see it and I accidentally took a picture in the course that might be the origin of that logo.

Alcaidesa is in the middle of a huge transition. The Links course is currently being thoroughly renovated by American architect Kurtis Bowman. When its done all the bunkers are re-done, tee’s straightened, a lot of trees and bushes cut so you can see the Gibraltar rock from every green and huge undulated greens. So almost an entire new course. I played the Heathland course, not sure about the name if you have played dozens of Heathland courses in Surrey and other places in Northern Europe but it’s more about the undulations then the vegetation. The Heathland course will also be renovated next year, probably not to the extend as the current project on the links but there are some plans to get rid of the nets on the 1st and 18th hole and that would really improve the first and last impression of the course. The course has some really nice holes the back nine was my favorite. Some holes on the front nine like 6,7 where a bit to extreme for me also 10 with head wind can be quite the challenge. The shorter holes 11 and 12 should not be underestimated the tilted fairways and elevated greens can turn an easy par into a nasty triple. The par 5 13th is the signature hole with an elevated tee where a well placed drive can bring you within 100 meters of the green and eagle opportunity. Again beware of the elevated green. If you don’t know where the put is going generally it always goes toward the sea. 14 is a beautiful and thrilling par 3 with a 20 meter drop over water, great challenge. 15 and 16 are to relatively short par 4’s and 17 a monster par 4 especially with the head wind we had. As stated earlier the nets on the tee at the 18th don’t give you a good impression but the houses on the right are extremely close so hopefully the architect will find a solution for that. Inside The Links course they are also building a 5 star hotel and 70 villa’s the total investment in the entire destination is close to a 100 Million euro’s. So I can’t wait to see the finished product what I do know already is that the views on The Links course are unbeatable, I would like to quote the architect Kurtis Bowman; “it’s like Pebble Beach on the Mediterranean”.

The property where the two courses of La Zagaleta are situated is 900 hectares! To give you an idea a regular 18 holes course with parking, clubhouse, driving range etc normally needs about 60 hectares. But there is nothing regular about La Zagaleta with less then 150 members where about half of them have a mansion on the property the clubhouse is the former house of Kashoggy the Saudian armsdealer who was the former owner of the property. After he was arrested and his belongings impounded a clever banker bought the entire property and asked Brad Benz to design the Old Course in 1991. The new course was added in 2005 and designed by Steve Marnoch and Jonathan Gaunt. The old Course is exclusively for members and there guests on the New Course it is easier to get a tee-time.