Roda - Southern Spain - Spain

I would say Roda is ok not great. I have played here probably half a dozen times and like it less each time I play it. Its one of the courses that the first time you play it you feel you may have a got a little unlucky and didnt get the rub of the green. However the more you play it the more you find out that a lot of the holes are poorly designed and a good result is more good luck than good judgement mainly on the drives. To be fair there are some great driving holes and some amazing approach shots on the course, its just seldom that the good drive hole has a good approach and vice versa. If the others courses in the area are busy then occasionally I will play Roda, but its not on the top of my list. Las colinas 25 mins north is a no brainer, or Mar manor 10 minutes south west is preferable to me.

I like to play Roda once each trip to the Costa Blanca for a change in challenge. I usually score well because of the wide and quite flat fairways, and their good condition which means you usually get a good lie and hit fairway woods. The course starts in a welcome manner with an open wide hole. Most of the greens are fairly big so the challenge is in getting the pace right when you are not close to the hole. Although many people think the par 3 7th with the island green is a challenge, the green and surrounds provide a large landing area with bailout to the right. For me the par 4 12th with the green hiding the fact that the lake is also behind the green is a tougher approach as you have less depth than the 7th (I know as I played over and in :-( the first time to avoid being short.). So long you are happy hit longer second shots, the course gives you fair options into the well paced and consistent rolling greens. Overall an enjoyable course, with a great clubhouse and friendly staff.

An average course, pleasant enough but nothing special.Roda is routed over a flat piece of land, with man-made mounds sculpted between the fairways to offer definition to each hole. The design ticks all the clichés of modern courses: signature par 3 over water to an island green, par 5 finishing hole with water in front of the green. None of this means it is a bad course… just a little unimaginative. The course features 3 lakes, which brings water into play on 6 holes (I think the guy who said there is water on 14 holes is confusing this with another course).The downsides for me are that the course is located next to a motorway which means the noise of traffic intrudes on a few holes, and housing is a little too close on a few holes… I certainly wouldn’t contemplate buying a property in range of a sliced tee shot!Conditioning was good in November 2015, the fairways were narrower than typical for a resort course and the rough more punishing, which increased the test. The front 9 is significantly tougher but you can make a good score on the shorter back 9, and everyone in my 4 ball picked up birdies on the back 9.

We are a party of 8 who stayed at the apartments on site and played on 4 different courses in the area (very well known courses). This was our 4th time here and I can say once again that the course was by far in the best condition of all those played. We love the layout of the course with the front nine being more challenging (especially trying to par the island green on 7) and the back nine are more forgiving. The staff at the proshop are all very friendly and helpful (nothing is a problem), the restaurant on the first floor serves some awsome snacks and Ice cold beer, all on a sun drenched terrace which overlooks the island green.... Apres Golf, the local nightlife is also grand as Roda is very well located. We cant think of any other better venue and are already looking into going back next spring!

Even after only 5 years of playing golf I have played many courses in several different countries and so when I first played Roda the bar was set high. Despite this, Roda did not disappoint in any respect. The pro-shop is well-stocked and the driving range is positioned perfectly between the clubhouse (a marvellous contemporary design which has a bar, terraces and a fine dining restaurant), a perfectly manicured putting green (for that all-important pre-match fine tuning) and the first tee. The greens are all built to USGA standards, with good roll maintained to the highest standard by meticulous greenkeeping. The course design is, as one might expect from Dave Thomas, challenging and yet rewarding for players of all standards. The island green on the 7th being a great hole for the accurate or brave golfer! There is a surprising amount of shape to this course and whilst it is relatively new, the course is maturing well already, promising to be the best in the area for a long time to come. One not to be missed!!!