Las Americas

The Las Americas golf course is strategically positioned in the heart of the main tourist area adjacent to Playa de Las Americas and Los Christianos, right beside the main road to the airport. Though apartments and villas surround the 18-hole property, the housing never interferes with sight lines enough to cause offence.

Arranged in two returning loops of nine holes, the course measures a relatively modest 6,607 yards with a standard configuration of two par threes, two par fives and five par fours on each nine. The landscape gently slopes towards the coast, offering some pleasant elevation changes, particularly on the outward half. Water hazards are in play at several holes, but never to the extent that they dominate proceedings.

A favourite stretch for many visiting golfers on the front nine starts at the right doglegged 2nd on the lower end of the course, continues at the 3rd, which has a creek running in front of the green, then the short par four, uphill 4th, leading to the intimidating par three 5th, with its small lake to the front left of the green. On the inward half, the 153-yard, par three, 13th is a potential disaster waiting to happen as its putting surface is surrounded on three sides by water.

When the Las Americas and nearby Adeje courses opened in 1998, they doubled the number of courses in the southern tourist trap of Tenerife virtually overnight. Now, with the up-market Abama Resort having opened in 2005, golfers are absolutely spoiled for golfing choice in this part of the island as each of the five golf clubs in the area are geared up for holiday golf of a very high standard.