Mar Menor - South East Spain - Spain

20th South East Spain - Best in Area
Mar Menor Village Golf,
Mar Menor Golf Resort,
Intercontinental Hotel,
Torre Pachio,
Spain

  • +34 (0) 968 041 765

Located near Torre Pacheco in Murcia, the course at Mar Menor Village Golf exhibits something of a split personality as Dave Thomas set out the front nine and Nicklaus Design completed the back nine. Water comes into play at three consecutive holes on each nine: 3 to 5 on the outward half and 13 to 15 on the inward half.

The course is now operated by UGOLF, a leading European golf course management company which looks after more than fifty Spanish and French golf facilities, including three in Murcia: Mar Menor, Hacienda del Alamo and Saurines.

Chris Ahern, PGA professional at Mar Menor, was kind enough to provide us with the following comments:

The toughest hole at Mar Menor Golf is the 3rd, a par four rated stroke index 1. From the tee, two fairway bunkers to the left must be avoided. There’s a big lake to the right and short of the green that comes into play for the second shot so the only bale out spot is short and left of the green. There’s also a greenside bunker short of the green which challenges players that attack the flag with their approach.

There are two contenders for “signature hole” on the scorecard, the first of which is the par five 4th, measuring 455m for men and 420m for ladies. This is probably the easiest par five on the course but it looks very pretty as you play up towards the entrance to the hotel. The major trouble at this hole is a hidden lake that lies short and left of the green.

The other hole that vies for recognition as the most memorable on the course is the par four 13th, measuring 323m for men and 285m for ladies. It’s a right doglegged hole with a large lake running down the right side of the fairway. The drive must avoid bunkers on the right, left and centre of the fairway and the green is well guarded with water to the right of the putting surface.
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Reviews for Mar Menor

Average Reviewers Score:
Description: The course at the Mar Menor Golf Resort is rather unusual in that Dave Thomas laid out the front nine and Nickalus Design fashioned the backside. It is therefore genuinely a tale of two halves. Rating: 5 out of 10 Reviews: 2
TaylorMade
jason

I really enjoy playing Mar Menor. Its a well designed course that has wide fairways and lots of bunkers. If you speak with people who play the regions course's often I think this course might not get a mention, but I think a lot of this has to do with it being a course that is very tightly packed in amongst a villa resort and the actual design of the course gets a little forgotten.

For me it is the best and most well balanced of the Jack Nicklaus courses in the region, there are no quirky head scratching holes on here, what you see in front of you is largely what you play to, so be careful with your yardages , plot the good and bad misses and you will do well here.

3 really handy tips here are:-

Play hole 3 as a par 5 unless you are a very big hitter !

On 15 dont be tempted to open up your shoulders, just plot a 7 irons into the fairway and the a 9 iron into the green (you will see what I mean when you play it)

On 16 ... always hit at least one more club than you think into the green... long is not a bad miss... short is an nightmare and you can be in and out of bunkers all day! (I had a 13 here once!)

Facilities great, big hotel as clubhouse, driving range a little battered but ok.

In peak season will be painfully slow, in summer its empty so much more enjoyable for me.

August 12, 2019
6 / 10
Reviewer Score:
TaylorMade

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Han
I have played Mar Menor a couple of times. The two nines are quite different, the first nine are flat and rather uninteresting, while the holes around the large lake on the back nine, particularly the 13th, are much more visually interesting and challenging to play well. You are in the middle of a holiday and residential resort so the holes are framed by housing and apartments, this is more obvious on the back nine when you pass the 3 story apartment blocks framing the holes. The course is longer than it first looks, or maybe I just don't manage to hit it very far there :-) and rather than score as well as I feel I should, I always take a few extra shots than handicap. Generally it is quite busy and the staff will allocate you into a group. It is worth a visit but is not as captivating as some of the other Nicklaus course in the Murcia Nicklaus golf trail.
April 02, 2016
4 / 10
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