Marbella Golf Country Club

Marbella Golf Country Club have endured some torrid times since Robert Trent Jones first designed the course in 1989 – the original club went bust and then a motorway was built through part of the property so it’s pleasing to see the course come through such trauma largely unscathed.

Laid out on a difficult, hilly site just outside the fashionable resort of Marbella, the course routing makes the very best use of the available landscape, setting up many spectacular uphill and downhill shots across a number of ravines.

Throw into the mix some excellent bunkering, fabulous green complexes, well placed water hazards and – along with many marvelous scenic views – you have a heady golfing cocktail that almost overpowers with its intoxication.

Apart from the 8th, a lengthy short hole set in an olive grove, the par threes are something of a let down in comparison to the others. To balance against this disappointment, the 2nd is an excellent, double doglegged par five and the nine holes from 7 to 15 (par three 10th excepted) are great examples of the old master architect at his best.