Las Colinas - Southern Spain - Spain

Whatever you do, don’t take a look at the scorecard online and then take a look at a view of the course on Google maps and confidently predict that this will be a ‘walk in the park’. I can categorically state it most certainly will not! To score well at Las Colinas you must have a very good short game and be a good reader of greens. The complexes around many of the greens ensure your distance control with you wedges must be spot on. The greens are of a lovely pace, about 10.5 to 11 on the stimpmeter and very true. Put yourself in the wrong part of many greens and you can have a putt that can be treacherous; but they are a delight to putt on.

There is plenty of room off the tee but you must be careful not to get too greedy – reaching for the driver is not always the best option. There are multiple holes where there are an incredible number of bunkers (11th hole particularly, probably too many if you wanted to be picky, but staying out of them is crucial to scoring well. There are plenty of bunkers around the greens too but if you find them, the quality of the sand is fantastic to play out of.

There are many elevation changes throughout the course which have been cleverly used. Many of the shorter par 4 holes play slightly uphill and invariably into the prevailing wind too. So, if you lay up short of the traps you will find yourself hitting considerably more club than you thought you would be.

It’s hard to pick out favourite holes on a course of this quality. However, what I will say is that the start is undeniably tough. The first is not overly long but it is very narrow at the landing area if you want to leave a relatively short shot to the green. Lay up further back and you are then hitting over the corner of a bank covered with trees to a semi-blind raised green with bunkers and run offs all around; not exactly a gentle start to anybody’s round! The second is just over 400 yards long but rises steadily to the putting surface, The green is tricky and narrow with run offs especially tricky yo the left of the green. The third is simply a fantastic par 5. You really have to think your way down this hole with water very well placed as you near the green. As I say, you really have to come out of the traps quickly and holes 1 to 3 pose many, many questions.

What is noticeable with the design of the course is that many of the shorter holes play into the prevailing wind. This can get very strong on some day’s making reaching the 5th and 17th holes, both par 3’s very difficult. The remaining par 3’s on the 7th, 10th and 14th are lovely holes.

If the wind is blowing strongly, the finishing stretch from 15 to 18 can be tough too with water coming into play on 3 of those 4 holes. I particularly liked the par 4 16th which asks plenty of questions. The tee shot has to cross a lake; the more you bite off the shorter your second shot can be. Bail out right however and the opposite side of the fairway is protected by 3 well placed bunkers. The approach is none too easy either and has a fantastic three-tiered green: all in all a wonderfully challenging par 4.

I can't write this review without commenting on the 17th. What a tremendously challenging par 3 this is! It is quite long at 215 yards off the yellow tees, however, if the wind is blowing steadily then you have to hit a quality long iron/hybrid or fairway wood to get on the green here which is surrounded by a multitude of bunkers. Get a 3 here and you really do deserve a beer in the clubhouse!

I’ve always been a fan of par 5 finishing holes with water involved somewhere down the hole. The 18th at Las Colinas is, in my opinion, a tremendous hole. A generous fairway off the tee then narrows as it gets within 170 yards of the green with water on the right and a multitude of bunkers down the left. The green itself is fantastic with a huge ridge running through it’s spine:

a wonderful conclusion to a truly testing round of golf.

All in all, you won’t be disappointed if you play at Las Colinas. The course is excellent and with the recent addition of a Miguel Angel Jimenez designed short game area, the practice facilities have been further improved.

Steve Searle

The course and facilities at Las Colinas are around seven years old and whilst there is still plenty to do off-course, the 18 holes are strong and very enjoyable to play but do choose the appropriate tees to get maximum enjoyment. I played twice in August and was +15 from the White tees (6049 metres) and +9 from the yellows (5550 metres) – so advice for mid handicappers would be the yellow tees.

This course has one of the toughest opening holes that I have played in a while; a par-4 (SI-2), 352 metres (Y) with a fairway that ‘pinches’ in after 220 metres and then sweeps left and uphill, this is serious start to a course and maybe too difficult to the round, just make sure you have warmed up. Another strong hole is the 2nd, 378 metres and slowly uphill all of the way to a great protected green that has brilliant run-offs. The 3rd hole is similar to the 3rd hole at Finca Cortesin in the south of the country. This is not a great surprise with both courses having the same designer, Cabell B. Robinson – the hole is a strategic par-5 with bold bunkering at landing point and to the right-side. For most, the key shot is the 2nd, laying up to attack the semi-island green. After that big three hole start, there is a little break at the 280 metre 4th but do not leave the approach shot short – a false front will take no prisoners.

The 6th hole, another fairly short par-4 has a theme that you are reminded of so many times at Las Colinas; there are too many bunkers on lots of holes here with a good percentage of them only there for aesthetic reasons, which must be a maintenance nightmare. A lot of these could be removed or combined and the course would still be very strong. In saying that, the ultra-short par-3 7th (105 metres) has no bunkers at all and it is crying out for one!

The 9th is a hole that I like a lot (not unlike the 9th at Finca Cortesin); a slight left to right par-4 to another well protected green.

The back nine starts with a pretty par-3 to a long green and this hole has a similar look to that of the 10th hole at nearby Las Ramblas, so that means there is trouble left and right of the green. The longest hole on the course comes at the 11th, which can play up to 598 metres for the very good players; and like the 3rd , getting in the right position to approach the green is the key part of the hole. The 13th favours a left to right shot from the tee and I quite like the hole but again far too many sand hazards is the theme of the hole with the bunker on the left side of the green just massive for the sake of it.

The final five holes are good and very good in places – the pick of the par-3’s is at the 14th – a good length at 142 metres, a touch downhill, over a small stream and a lake to the left – a very good looking hole and fun to play. The 15th is a 500 metre par-5 that plays into the wind on most days, with water in play from the tee (short and left) and then again at the green – this approach is not un-like that of the 3rd. An elevated tee shot pleases everyone and there is one on the par-4 16th but you need to land between water on the left and three nicely positioned bunkers on the right – advise when playing to the green would be to avoid the short/left area – great pot bunker and a strong run-off here. The penultimate hole, a long par-3 is all about the length and the green. This green has three distinct sections, so make sure you get the correct number to the flag with that laser. The 18th hole delivers and is a delight to play – standing on the tee, there is another Finca Cortesin comparison, their last tee shot is very similar and also semi-blind. Las Colinas’ last hole is the shortest of the par-5’s so does give the longer hitters a chance to go for the green in two but the lake on the right from 140 metres out, asks plenty of questions.

In summary Las Colinas is a very good course for one so young, I would say that during the next few years it can become even stronger and the current Spanish ranking of #41 does not do it justice – on the flipside though, one award for Spain’s Best Course is equally wrong; somewhere in the middle would be accurate in my opinion.

Look forward to returning and with the promise of some extra off course facilities in the coming years, I would say that the future is bright here.

When 16 golfers completely agree on how wonderful this golf course is, this is a sign of something special. This is a modern classic that will thrill you beyond believe. We are a small golf society that has travelled Europe for the last 14 years looking for the perfect golfing weekend, and that’s what we got in here, and more.

Las Colinas has the right mix of demanding holes and strategically placed breathers. The rhythm of the layout and the beauty of the surroundings is incomparable. The transitions are long in certain holes, no doubt, but it doesn’t matter when the course is that good. Every hole has something different, something particular, something challenging. The opener par 4 is a beautiful hole that requires finesse. Position is more important than length in your tee shot. That principle applies to the majority of the holes. The par 5 third hole is a gem. This course constantly teases you to try glorious shots. Your course management will be tested in many occasions. Greens are challenging but fair. Not too fast, certainly not slow at all. I could spend the next page or two describing the course, but I won’t. My advice is simple, go and play the course and fall in love with it as all the 16 players of my society did.

Finally, the management of the course is impeccable, I must say. So are the facilities. The staff is friendly and polite. The beer in the club house is cold and the food delicious, both served with a smile. This course is my favourite golf course in Spain by far. We’ll be back, that’s for sure.

I love Colinas, this is now probably my favourite course in Spain. It demands length and precision of some tees, but the next one may require a lay up. The greens on the times I have played have been slick, you are best to try a few downhillers on the practice green before going out. The practice facility is right next to the first tee. There are plenty of memorable holes, I enjoyed the dog leg par 5 which flirts with water if you are too long and take too much of the corner, but longer left is safe, but does give you a longer lay up over water and before more water.mfor your final shot to a narrow green.my favourite hole is a par 3 probably about a 100 yards severely down hill with waste land all around it, the green slopes down hill from the back to the front so longer is safer if you are on the green but then you have a tricky down hill putt.

The staff are very friendly and professional, my only criticism is that it does get very busy and fees are steady around a €100 per round.

It's the best course in the area, we normally stay at La Manga but this place knocks spots of them.

I like Las Colinas and have played it several times. In general the course is really well maintained, the staff are very customer focused and even the practice facilities great. It starts with a short par 4 dogleg left but take care as often the wind will push your ball right and into trouble. One of my favorite holes is nr 3 the par 5 heading down to the water hazards from an elevated tee. Get the drive right and the green is reachable in two, so long you hit your second well and do not get distracted by the water hazard which loves golf balls (mine at least). But it does have a couple of odd annoyances, including long walks at two places in the course to cross the (empty) housing plots and having to walk back from the 16th green under the ball flight of the long par 3 17th. My only other comment is that it has a typical resort course feel, wide fairways and building some golf holes to suit the architect's vision rather than using the existing landscape.

Stunning doesn't even begin to start describing this course, the layout and the facilities.I played out of my skin here... 5 birdies, 3 twos... and plenty other opportunities to score with the par5 3rd and 18th holes just begging to be hit in two.The facility just oozes class from the moment you turn off the main road to the complex. You are made to feel welcome from the minute you arrive.The course has an excellent layout and although there were more buildings being constructed while we played (June 2015) this did not effect the course or how it played or our enjoyment.Best course in the region... I'd say so, and I'll be back again in 2016, hopefully for another 5 birdies!

Not sure why this course is sitting down at number 40 in the Spanish rankings, it’s a wonderful layout, testing but fair, and very close to 6 balls in my opinion.We played in November 2015, a week after the course had hosted European Tour Qualifying, and the conditioning was magnificent. The fairways are wide and the rough is not too punishing, but clusters of bunkers frame each hole and provide challenge off the tee. The greens are well protected by bunkers and often elevated, with closely mown run off areas to carry your ball away. Once on the putting surfaces we found them quick, firm and true. Water comes into play a few of times off the tee, most dramatically on the 16th, a long par 4 where you drive over a lake from an elevated tee and must decide how much of the lake you can carry and therefore how much of the dogleg you can cut off. 5 greens require an approach over water, including two par threes, and the par 5 18th in front of the club house.My favourite hole, however, has neither water nor an elevated green: the short par three 7th is under 100 yards and plays steeply downhill over rocky ground through a funnel of trees to a narrow green which slopes from front to back. Beyond the green lies a steep run off area. It’s a fantastic hole, testing your wedge accuracy and distance control. There is a price to pay for all these elevated tees and greens: a lot of walking up and down hills between holes, and at times I could have done with a Sherpa to carry my clubs to the next tee. I don’t like buggies, but you have to expect a 5 hour round if you want to walk this course.This is a lovely place to play golf, the setting is peaceful and secluded, with a luxurious club house, and with Troon Golf managing the place visitors are well looked after.

Played Las Colinas along with Campoamor in the first week of August 2014. Las Colinas was superb. The whole setup was very professional; buggies were ready on our arrival, basket of balls to warm up with and courtesy tees and drinks in the buggy and even had a token for a cerveza in the bar after. The GPS system on the buggy was very neat and useful too.The course was great and very challenging from the back tees which were allowed to tee off from.The fairways and tees were in pristine condition. The greens were a little on the slow soft side but were very playable.Each hole presented its own challenge and no two holes were the same, one great hole after another. The green keepers were very respectful of the golfers. Would certainly recommend anyone in the area to play here as it is a fantastic challenge. I would go as far as to say it is in the top 10 courses that I have ever played and I have played quite a few in the world top 100.Hope to return soon!Chris

Played x4 rounds here on a golf trip in 30degree sun shine in April. The course is set in a sunning location & boast some fantastic holes.Quite wide fairways are tempered with numerous & immaculate bunkering for wayward tee shots. The 3rd hole stands out in my mind as the first hole were you get a great view from upon high teeing off down to a beautiful par 5 with bunkers & a lake in play for longer hitters.Another nice touch against some of the great holes was a 90yard par-3 set on top of a rock out-crop nestled in the woods. I’m my humble opinion not enough golf courses have short, fun par-3s like this. It is very short but very tight with trees right & left & rocks short. Great fun! & good practice for your wedge distance control. I don’t normally get buggies when playing preferring to walk the course & take it all in but the distance between holes on Las Colinas can be vast! After the first round we hired a buggy which was very cheap really (10 euros). The 18th is a great finishing hole. A long tee shot gives the brave a chance to carry the lake with their 2nd shot to the green in front of the club house….. because not to go too long or your golf ball might end up in someone’s cerveza. Very classy course. Great grass practice area with taylormade range balls. Nice staff & so so easy to get to from Murcia airport ( 20mins)