Real Club de Golf Las Brisas

There are many golf courses in the Malaga area of Spain’s Costa del Sol, but there is no doubt that Las Brisas is one of the best and it’s also one of the eldest. It’s a 1968 RTJ masterpiece and Robert Trent Jones was obviously freshly inspired having just completed Sotogrande. His creation at Las Brisas is just as good, especially following its facelift in 2014 by former Robert Trent Jones Jr. associate, Kyle Phillips.

Las Brisas was one of the first courses in Europe to use bent grass and the brave decision was quickly rewarded by being chosen as the host venue of the 1973 World Cup of Golf, which saw the USA (Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller) as the winners just ahead of South Africa (Gary Player and Hugh Baiocchi). More recently in 1987, England’s Nick Faldo won the Spanish Open here at Las Brisas.

Perfectly maintained, Las Brisas oozes quality from beginning to end. With strategically placed bunkers, plenty of water hazards and tricky raised green sites, Las Brisas is as much about position, both off the tee and with approach shots, as it is about length. The course opens up with a cracking series of holes and many on the back nine sweep left and right to through stands of trees. You cannot help but enjoy Las Brisas and if you manage your way successfully through the many risk and reward decisions, you might even card a good score.

In this edited extract from the book Golf Courses of the World author Geoffrey Giles writes: “The course begins gently with a straightforward par 4, but it steps up a gear for the 2nd, a difficult driving hole with a narrow fairway turning to the right past a pond before climbing to a raised green, one of several that will be encountered during the round.

At the 8th we encounter a quite unusual challenge. A water hazard runs most of the length of the hole before crossing in front of the green. For the last 100 yards or so there is an alternative fairway on the far side of the water. It lies along the axis of the green and is the safer route, but for those chasing birdies, the more daring route over the water must be taken.

Another par 5 calling for heroics is the 12th , the birdie seeker having to carry a long stretch of water to find the green in two. In the World Cup, Nicklaus solved the problems of the 15th by eliminating the dogleg completely, driving over the trees and out-of-bounds nonchalantly, necessitating a clear carry of over 250 metres.”