Golfing in Spain

mccutchie

Guys,

I'm heading off to Spain soon, playing a bit of golf. I'll be staying close to Marbella and have noted the following courses. I'm hoping to play at least 3 of these during my stay.

Torrequebrada Golf
Parador Golf Málaga
Mijas Golf
Santana Golf
El Chaparral
Rio Real
La Cala

I've played La cala before so will probably try some others. I would appreciate some recommendations or views if any of you have played any of the above. Cheers Lads.

callaway92

Santa Maria Golf,,,Its in Elviria just outside Marbella
There is a course at Fuengirola aswell..

DubGF

Torrequebrada Golf = Stay Away, in crap nick this time last year, and over priced, friendy staff etc but not my cup of tea

Mijas Golf - Again not in great nick, very open and 1 of the courses is hilly, expensive as well

El Chaparral - Excellent course, holes go thrrough tree lines, and then some great sea views from some holes. Greens were the fastest I have ever played on, thought it was a great place.

I have not played any others on your list, but heard Santana is good.

As you said La Cala is ok, played twice there and although a bit short, it is a great place...

Hope this helps..

PS I am going to Girona soon, any experience of golfing there?

Gary

mccutchie

Cheers for the reply Gary, I appreciate it. Thinking of defo playing El Chaparral after that review, thanks for the updates on the others.

I have no experience of playing Girona though

scout353

If you get a chance play Santana - I think it's one of the best courses in the area.

Some great holes once you get out into the course.

Hobart

I agree with Gary on Mijas, very dissapointing. La Cala, as you know, is quite tough and picturesque (I think I played the South course). I also would reccomend Santa Maria. It's not too challanging but has a nice clubhouse and the staff were excellent.

brousuka

The real good courses in the Marbella area are; Las Brisas, Sottogrande and of course Valderrama which is very expensive even if you could get on it. San Rocque is also very good. Los Flamingos is also good the rest are questionable.

ErinGoBrath

DubGF wrote: »

Torrequebrada Golf = Stay Away, in crap nick this time last year, and over priced, friendy staff etc but not my cup of tea

Hmmm, I was there last year in June and thought it was in fantastic condition. Really enjoyed it and had a group lesson with the pro beforehand. Couldn't give it enough praise!

DubGF

You are an Arsenal fan after all...Obviously have other faults as well

JOKE

d2ww

Parador is the one at the end of the runway in Malaga, and the only flat course in Spain!!! It's just about ok, but a bit boring. If you are down near Sotogrande, you should try Almenara(27 holes) one of the nicest courses I've played down there. Check out www.golf-service.com for the current green fees.
d2ww

rigal

Torrequebrada Golf - Haven't played it but it's my dad's favourite course in CDS and he is fussy. He played it again two weeks ago and is still raving about it.

Parador Golf Málaga - I played this course two years ago in May and it was a disaster. The facilities were poor and the course was in awful condition. There was no marshalling and we were held up on every tee. Avoid this place.

Mijas Golf - Played Los Olivos and wasn't overly impressed believe Los Lagos is supposed to be a bit better.

Santana Golf - Played twice and out of the courses I've played down there it's my favourite. Has some cracking holes.

El Chaparral - haven't played

Rio Real - Nice course. Old style and a bit quirky. The place is very well run. My friends love it but it's a bit tight for my liking.

La Cala - haven't played

mccutchie

Well Guys, Just back from Spain, played both Santana Golf & El Chaparral. Santana is just different class, a fantastic course. We actually played it off the back tees. They have 3 tee positions for men, blue, white and yellow. The whites were out of play as they were working on them, so it was either yellow which looked a bit forward, so we said we travelled all this way, so we played the course at its longest off the blues. What a challenge it was. Any poor drives left very tough & long seconds in, good drives were well rewarded but you still had tricky pins and greens to contend with. A fabulous course I would recommend to anyone, as its very fair and a real test and one of the most beautiful courses you'll ever play.

El Chaparral was fantastic too. A real picturesque course with some fantastic holes. Many elevated tees toward tight fairwarys. Alot of doglegs, great Par 3's and Par 5's, some very long, others very short. Fantastic variety. One of the most scenic I've ever played. Required tactical well placed tee shots, you could blast it but could run into severe problems. I loved it and would also recommend.

I spoke to some guys who played Torrequebrada, they said it was in great nick for this time of year, as normally it is not. They said the greens were in the best shape ever. Unfortunetly I ran out of time and could not play it.