Costa Adeje - Canary Islands - Spain

Having played Adeje many times over the years I thought it deserved a review. Some reviewers see it as a holiday golf course which seems unfair, there’s plenty of challenge for most golfers, fairways are wide but if you miss them the rough or waste areas will add shots to you score. Highlight holes for me are the 4th and 5th with most of par 5’s joy to play. The greens are always fast and course was in great condition even in May when courses in Tenerife often see maintenance after the peak winter season. Pace of play is normally good and the buffet in the clubhouse great value.

For those seeking a golf "activity" while on vacation a visit to Costa Adeje will fill out your agenda. The course is geared towards the holiday golfer. Shotmaking elements are simplified to keep the parade moving. The challenges -- should one call them that -- are purely pedestrian in nature. The weather clearly assists when playing but those looking for something more will need to search elsewhere.

by M. James Ward

Unfortunately only two courses in Tenerife were played this time, the other being Golf Sur and I have to say everything about this course made it a better place to play for me.

The greens for starters are excellent only Hindhead played earlier this year had better greens and of course this meant a few too many three putts. Definitely a course you need to have played before.

The course starts easy with the 1st and 2nd and then from the 3rd it gets really going. The 3rd is a great par 5 with fantastic views followed by a great par 4 4th. 5 and 7 are lovely par 3s and don't be mistaken by the length when we played you needed a lot more club than you think. The course continues in fine form until 11 were it remains enjoyable but in my mind not quite so tough, but then 15 through 18 are really fun again, the 17th in particular stands out as tricky with its length. 18 is a par 5 that gives the opportunity for a long (3 wood in my case) shot to try and make in two.

Be warned you can not chip and run you will end up short every time. Definitely a better course to me that Golf Del Sur. This should be ranked much much higher than it is and of course with the likes of Garcia, Poulter, Olazable etc all having played here there is a little bit of history too. Would like a four and a half here but going to round up not down.

Costa Adeje offers good holiday golf at a reasonable price at this time of year. The fairways are wide enough for anyone to enjoy a round here but if you do somehow miss them your approach shot may well be difficult as the ball usually sits down in the rough. There is a decent amount of variety in the layout and four of the six par 3’s (5, 7, 10 & 16) are very good holes. Of the others, the attractive 4th and par 5 8th were two of my favourites. A number of the fairways were once used as banana plantations and are split into rows of terracing giving an unusual appearance as you look back towards the tee. The course can easily be walked if you prefer to do so and the views of the mountains, sea and islands certainly add to the enjoyment. Ask to play from the white tees if you need more of a challenge (review below), at almost 6,800 yards it’s no walkover. Brian W

If your objective is merely to enjoy a nice walk in the sunshine whilst occasionally hitting a ball, then you won't go wrong with the well manicured Costa Adeje course. If your objective is a challenging round of golf on a top class course - then you'd be best giving this course a miss. Playing off a handicap of 14 at the time, I found this course to be lacking in both challenge and character. Indeed, the only character it seemed to have was an almost endless and frustrating (when in a cart) number of tiers on various fairways. The amount of property around the course is almost overbearing, making it feel as though you are encroaching on other people's property. If it were not for the beautiful weather, you would not pay a visit to a course like this at home. I would add as a caveat, that having played El Chaparral & La Cala on mainland Spain, and Quinta Do Lago in Portugal - perhaps my own expectations were too high.

Played Costa Adeje on Sunday and liked it very much. Since I didn´t see the course with its original black sand bunkers, I can´t comment on that. Definitly didn´t bother me as much. It is actually easier to know, if you are in a bunker or if you are in a waste area by using different coloured sand. Anyway, the course was in great condition. In comparison with Golf del Sur this one was not dried out at all, but all in lush green. Hole 5 even had a sort of Hawaiian look to it. The course has the unique element of numerous terraces along and across the fairways. Most of those are lined up with stone walls. By that feature many fairways are divided into many levels. Very interesting to play. Great value offer - greenfee, buggy + lunch buffet for € 89,00. My favourite holes were 4, 5 and 7.

I’ve played this course several times since it was opened and enjoyed every previous visit. However, I was more than a little disappointed to find out the club have just replaced the distinctive black sand in the greenside bunkers with a snow white equivalent – ay dios mio!!!

What were they thinking of, removing such an integral element of the original design???

I must admit this desecration (along with the encroaching urbanization) entirely overshadowed my latest visit and I don’t know if I’ll return on my next holiday visit to Tenerife.

I’m afraid such acts of folly deserve to be cold shouldered by any visiting golfer with the slightest understanding of what golfing heritage is all about.

Jim McCann