La Quinta (A & C)

Situated five minutes inland from the fashionable resort of Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol, La Quinta Golf & Country Club opened in 1989 with an 18-hole course that has since been extended into a 27-hole golf complex with the replacement of several original holes and the addition of an extra nine.

Designed by Spanish Ryder Cup stars Manuel Piñero and Antonio Garrido, La Quinta is one of those courses that can be described as comfortable, fun and playable by golfers of all abilities. It ticks the box for both amateur and professional golfers, often with stimpmeter levels that many other clubs can only aspire to.

The Mediterranean Sea and mountain vistas are on offer here at La Quinta, which is located in an area known locally as the Benahavis golf valley. The three nine hole loops are quite individual and have been routed across an ideal landscape that is flanked in part by residential development.

The A course, known as San Pedro, measures 2,884 metres from the back tees with par set at 35. It’s the more open of the three loops with wider fairways that encourage bold driving and long iron approaches.

Known as the Ronda, the B loop is the tight and tricky course with technically challenging greens. It’s the shortest of the three nines at La Quinta, measuring 2,718 metres from the tips.

Combined with the A loop, the Guadaiza course, or the C loop is the tournament layout and it’s the longest of the three nines, measuring 3,058 metres with par set at 36. The C course was the back nine for the Benahavis Senior Masters, which La Quinta Golf and Country Club hosted from 2009 to 2012. Carl Mason certainly likes the course, as he lifted the inaugural title and then added a second victory in 2011. With exciting changes in elevation and numerous doglegged holes, the Guadaiza nine is our pick of the three loops at La Quinta.

La Quinta Golf & Country Club hosted the 2011 Spanish Open on the Ladies European Tour, won by England’s Melissa Reid, and it hosted the LET’s season-ending tournament in 2018.

For those golfers that want to hone their skills, check out Manuel Piñero’s La Quinta Golf Academy. It’s an exceptional facility equipped with the latest technology that will help students perfect their swing.