Real Sevilla - Southern Spain - Spain

After almost 6 months living here in Spain I finally got out of my area and travelled to Sevilla to play this venue I had patiently had in my waiting list for a long time. Some friends and customers had spoken great words about it so I was really looking forward to it and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

I drove from home 240kms early morning to arrive 11am to the Club and enjoy a very nice breakfast in that elevated terrace facing 1st, 9th and 18th. The views are fantastic and the colors due to violet jacarandas and many flowers gave it an extra very nice touch. I was excited because the course is considered one of the best in Spain and it was my first play on a Chema Olazábal’s Design and I was very glad with what I experienced. And the round was during a Summum Golf Event with a lot of extras which made it even better, including the fantastic Jamón Iberico when enjoyed after the round.

The course has nothing to do with what I have been playing during the past 6 moths at La Costa del Golf, this is a flat piece of land with many flowers and a great creativity for the green complexes which were the best part of the course in my opinion.

This venue is quite generous off the tee, although I had 2 unplayable recovery shots with not that wild misses there is room for missing and the size of the greens which is quite generous also allows to some good saves from the rough. It was set up quite difficult with the pin positions but not with the greens which despite being not soft they were not fast.

As for the design, it is quite good and my only negative observation is that from the tee many crossbunkers are sort of hidden, you can see some mounds but you don’t see the sand properly so sometimes you find what you believe was a good shot in the sand (it happened on 10th). Apart from that, the set of par 3s is very good with 3rd being my favorite from an elevated tee over a pong to a long diagonal green with many different good pin positions. 11th has the smallest green of the four and both 8th and 17th are quite long to big greens.

The par 5s are also good, being 9th the best hole in my opinion with a lake protecting the green front right and back where I decided to lay up. 16th is great, not long but if you hit fairway it is an iron to the green but you have to fly the entire way to it and if just short it will remind you to 15th at ANGC where Chema in 1994 hit that amazing 1 iron on his way to win The Masters.

And one last word to the finishing hole: a brutal 450yds par 4 with water on the left side of the tee shot and short to the green plus bunkers on the right side of the fairway. If you want to get the score, the last bite will not be easy at all.

It was well worth the visit and a course I would certainly encourage avid golfers to play. It ticks every box on what a good golf course and a great experience are. Food at the Restaurant is the final birdie of the day!

A very fine golf course that is enjoyable and challenging. It is not the most exciting site but it is well deigned with an excellent variety of holes and I am glad to say not too much water..

The greens are large and some are well contoured but you expect all aspects of your game to be tested here. An easy walking course as well.

A superb golf course and not visited by the tour companies. Great value (80 euros without a buggy - no buggy needed). Beautifully conditioned with some really wonderful holes. Real Sevilla rivals any course in Spain and I would like to give it 6 balls but only a very few courses should get that accolade. A delightful experience with the joys of Seville waiting in the evening. Don’t tell anybody - it might spoil it!

I’m surprised nobody has reviewed this course given its high ranking position, but its inland location on the outskirts of Seville means it is way off the beaten track for most golf tourists. I played the course over 5 years ago but most of the holes are still clear in my memory which is surely a good thing. The course is delicately pretty, beautifully manicured with lush fairways and bordered with trees and flowers, it gives the impression of playing golf in a garden. Jose Maria Olazabal designed this course, and I could see similarities in the design with Costa Ballena, his other course in the province an hour south down on the coast. The difference is that the budget for Real Sevilla must have been significantly larger, as a lot more earth has been moved to create undulations and changes in elevation on what is otherwise a fairly flat piece of land.The course starts gently but soon gets going when you step on to the 3rd tee - the first signature hole is a 160 yard par 3 from an elevated tee over a lake to a narrow green set at 45 degrees. Distance control is everything. More water comes into play on 6, 9 and 10, but it’s the 5 hole finishing stretch which is really memorable. The degree of difficulty really ramps up, with each hole, apart from 17, requiring a nerve jangling carry over water. The 18th provides a spectacular grandstand finish. A long 440 yard par 4 from the white tees, you need to carry your tee shot over 200 yards to fully take the water out of play. The approach is then uphill to a green protected by water to the front and left, and bunkers to the right and back. There is no room for error! You can see why this course has hosted WGCs and Spanish Opens.Seville is a lovely city for a short break, with history, tradition and a strong culture of tapas and flamenco. Although popular with tourists it very much retains its Spanish feel, and with two big football clubs in the city, it is easy to combine culture and sport. Highly recommended.