
Los Alcázares, Spain
Serena Golf occupies a scenic stretch of Murcia's Costa Cálida, just minutes from the Mar Menor in Los Alcázares. Designed by former Ryder Cup player Manuel Piñero and opened in 2006, this 18-hole inland layout winds around the historic 6th-century Torre del Rame watchtower, with water featuring on 16 of 18 holes.




Serena Golf
Serena Golf occupies a scenic stretch of Murcia's Costa Cálida, just minutes from the Mar Menor in Los Alcázares. Designed by former Ryder Cup player Manuel Piñero and opened in 2006, this 18-hole inland layout winds around the historic 6th-century Torre del Rame watchtower, with water featuring on 16 of 18 holes.




Why Play Serena Golf?
Serena Golf combines a historically rich setting with precise, strategic design. The layout encircles the 6th-century Torre del Rame watchtower, integrating one of the region's most distinctive landmarks into the fabric of play. Water features on 16 of the 18 holes, and with close to 70 bunkers shaping the approach corridors, the course demands accuracy from tee to green throughout.
History of Serena Golf
Serena Golf opened in 2006, developed as part of the Torre del Rame residential community in Los Alcázares, a coastal municipality on the western shore of the Mar Menor in the Region of Murcia. The course was designed by Manuel Piñero, the Badajoz-born professional who turned pro in 1968, accumulated nine European Tour titles, including the 1977 British PGA Championship, and represented Europe in the Ryder Cup on two occasions as a player. Piñero also participated as Vice-Captain in a third Ryder Cup. His design work is conducted through Target Ingenieros, the company he co-founded, and Serena Golf stands among his most frequently cited layouts in Spain.
The site's defining historical feature is the Torre del Rame, a watchtower that the official club website dates to the 6th century. The tower was built to monitor the sheltered waters of the Mar Menor, which historically provided cover for pirate vessels operating along the Mediterranean coastline. The routing of Serena Golf was deliberately conceived to incorporate this monument, ensuring the tower remains a visible presence across multiple holes throughout the round.
Course Layout & Playing Experience
Serena Golf measures over 6,100 metres from the back tees across 18 holes, laid out over mainly flat terrain immediately adjacent to the Mar Menor. The course follows a par-72 structure comprising ten par 4s, four par 3s, and four par 5s. Despite the largely level ground, the design generates consistent strategic demands through its extensive water network and a bunkering scheme that Manuel Piñero shaped to suit the coastal location.
Water is the primary architectural tool on this layout, coming into play on 16 of the 18 holes. Large lakes form both lateral and frontal hazards across the course, and several holes require carries over water from the tee or on the approach. The Levante wind, which blows in from the east off the Mediterranean, adds a further navigational layer — particularly on approach shots to the smaller, undulating greens. Close to 70 bunkers are distributed throughout, frequently flanking the landing zones on the par 4s and guarding green entrances.
The Torre del Rame watchtower anchors the course geographically and visually, with the routing winding around the base of the structure across the middle section of the layout. Fairways are lined with palm trees and olive trees characteristic of the Costa Cálida landscape, and the lakes provide habitat for local wildlife. The overall terrain is walkable throughout, with the flat ground making the course accessible without a buggy.
Want to know what other travelling golfers really think? Click the Reviews tab to discover the latest ratings and reviews.
Serena Golf: The Verdict
Serena Golf is a well-defined inland layout that draws on the natural and historical character of its Los Alcázares site. The integration of the 6th-century Torre del Rame into the routing gives the course a genuinely distinctive identity that few comparable resort designs in southern Spain can match. Piñero's use of water across 16 holes and close to 70 bunkers creates consistent strategic pressure without relying on length, making the course technically accessible but meaningfully demanding for golfers at every level. As a base for a Murcia golf holiday, the venue's location — minutes from the Mar Menor and within easy reach of Murcia's broader golf corridor — adds further practical appeal.
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
California, United States
New Jersey, United States
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
New York, United States
New York, United States