TOP SPANISH GOLF

Los Naranjos, Puerto Banus, Marbella

This is a very popular course near Puerto Banus and the accompanying stunning scenery. It`s a tale of two courses. The front nine start you off gently with wide open fairways. You just need to take care with the bunker placements and water hazards. However the second nine require much more care as they wend their way through orange trees and hazards. The finale on the 18th is a raised green and the clubhouse, but beware the nearby water. Do not miss the restaurant, it`s excellent.

La Cala golf resort, Mijas Costa, Malaga

One of the biggest golf resorts in Spain, La Cala has no less than three courses of championship standard. Play here and you will be treated to spectacular views and scenery of mountains and the Mediterranean. The resort has a 5-star hotel on site, together with a David Leadbetter Academy and fantastic facilities. An experience your will not forget.

El Bosque Golf, Chiva, Valencia

This high quality club near Valencia is very testing in parts. The Robert Trent Jones design includes lots of bunkers and water, so beware. Pine trees and gently rolling picturesque fairways provide the backdrop to a challenging course. Excellent facilities as you would imagine at a course of this standard.

Javea Golf Club

This 9-hole course is relatively flat, so makes for a civilised round on hot days. It is sheltered by pines and by Cape San Antonio, which helps to create a protected environment even in winter. It is certainly a challenging course with lots of bunkers in all the right places to catch you out. Good facilities for practising in a range, chipping and putting area. To recreate after a game there is an excellent clubhouse with all the usual facilities.

Marbella Golf and Country Club

This is a course of enjoyable contrasting scenery, and has proved very popular since it opened in the early nineties. You will need to brush up on your swing on slopes for the first few holes because it`s hilly. However this is just another feature of the course which makes for an interesting round which takes in olive groves, ravines, water, and excellent fairways. Overall a long and challenging par 72.

Alicante Golf, Playa de San Juan, Alicante

Out of season the enormous San Juan beach is quite deserted but close by is the modern Alicante Golf. Designed by Seve Ballesteros in the late nineties, it has some interesting features such as an artificial lake snaking around the 9th and Roman ruins at the 14th! There is excellent visibility on most holes because of the flat terrain, so don’t expect breathtaking views, but this makes for gentle progression of the game. There are good additional facilities like the 70 bay range and practice areas for chipping, bunkers and putting.

Valderrama Club de Golf, Andalucia

The Par 71 Championship Course of Valderrama club is based near to Gibraltar and has some of the best fairways in Europe. It is a difficult course and not for the faint-hearted or un-wealthy (green fees 300 euros). Seve Ballesteros once described it as `perfect, it`s impossible to imagine a golf course in better condition`. It is a private club but does set aside a small number of tee-times for visitors.

Montenmedio Golf, Cadiz-Vejer-Barbate

If you like your wildlife as well as a first class course, this may be the place for you. During a round here you will encounter rabbits and birds over a course sheltered by a wonderful variety of pine, olive, cork and oak trees in gently rolling countryside. High quality tees, fairways and green guarantee great golf over the 6000 metres Par 72 course. If you want to improve your game, there is also a vibrant golf school with numerous programmes and practice areas for all levels. At the end of a game, you can stay and relax in the elegant andalusian Hacienda next to the course.

Miraflores Golf

The Miraflores Golf course has a number of elevated greens which require a good amount of walking, so a buggy is recommended.

There have been a few recent changes including two new lakes making it easier to reach the 11th hole and two raised tees for the 14th hole.

Mijas Golf

Los Lagos (The Lakes) and Los Olivos(The Olive Trees)

Well established on the golfing holiday circuit, both courses are popular with groups. Its convenient location and flat open fairways make it a good high scoring stableford course. Ideal for high and medium handicap players, though water hazards and good use of bunkers, along with some difficult greens makes both courses a good test for lower handicappers

Platja de Pals Golf Club, Pals, Costa Brava

If you would like to mix a beach holiday with the occasional game of golf, then find somewhere to stay near to Platja de Pals Golf Club. Situated next to the beautiful Pals beach and bordered by green pine forests, it is a pretty tree lined course with stretches of water to challenge your accuracy! It is also close to the Emporda club and Serres de Pals club, which provide for further variation on a longer golfing holiday. The facilities at the club are excellent with a good restaurant and several lounges.

Finca Cortesin, Marbella

Situated on the Costa del Sol this course has stunning views of the mountains nearby. It is an extremely well cared for long course and provides a great variety of different scenery as you negotiate the holes.

Finca Cortesin

Lauro Golf

Great natural beauty and panoramic views surround Lauro Golf Course at an altitude of over 300 feet.

An inland course on flat terrain 300m above sea level, opened in 1992 with holes 1-18 designed by Falco Nordi and later the addition of holes 19-27 designed by Mariano Benítez provide a delightful test of golf among pine, cork, olive and citrus trees , the course is mature with some of the best greens on the coast. The clubhouse is a restored 18th century farmhouse once the scene of the vengeful killing of contrabandistas.

La Manga Club

Over 25,000 agencies from 182 countries have voted the La Manga Golf Resort in Southern Spain a European resort category winner of the prestigious World Travel Award - an award achieved by only the very best. The Annual World Travel Awards were set up in 1993 to celebrate excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry.

Club Golf - Hacienda del Alamo, Murcia

This 5-star resort provides all the ingredients for first class golf experience. The clubhouse is stunning and luxurious and there is an excellent Academy to learn the game. Enjoy a game amidst beautiful fairways, waterfalls and lakes on one of the widest and longest courses in Europe. Located halfway between Murcia and Cartagena.