Torrequebrada - Southern Spain - Spain

Back in 2006 while working in the construction of Punta Blanca GC in Dominican Republic I was able to meet José “Pepe” Gancedo who was working on White Sands and had also designed 27 holes at Cocotal which I found pretty good. And during that time I was able to share drinks more than once with Pepe and understood how he approached Golf Course Design, his philosophy and what he liked to create. He was not a conventional designer but I have to say that his courses are not close to be boring!

Many fellow friends had told me to visit Torrequebrada and it certainly matched the expectations I had on it. As in my many visits to this area I had not played much here I was not aware of some good courses and Torrequebrada is one of those to really be enjoyed. My only regret is that on your first time you will pay with at least 3-4 “penalty” strokes for not knowing the course, where to miss and where to aim off the tee. Said this, the course is one of the most fun to play and for match play games it is just perfect with four strong par 4s to finish.

I was matched with 3 Members, 1 from Scotland, 1 from Ireland and 1 from the USA and we played a tight fourball which made it quite more fun than my usual scouting rounds played in 2hs. This is proper golf, walking all 4 and getting to know each other better and maybe make new friends here!

The changes of level here are dramatic and some greens have slopes that can drive you mad if you are playing a medal play game which luckily we were not doing!

Some holes to remark:

- 3rd is an 85 yds short downhill hole where any lateral miss can be disaster. With the ocean far but on the picture, one of the best ones.

- 6th is a hard dogleg right par 5 with an elevated green. I hit a decent 115yds third shot that was just 2m short and rolled back 45 yards! Unfair? Maybe, but this is what I say … hit it past the hole and problem solved!

- 7th is a technical short 4 with a pond in front of the green and the ocean on the other side of the road.

- 10th … a monster tee shot needed to a green hidden after a hill and with a hard left to right breaking green. Loved it.

- 11th is a great 3 where if playing a medal game I would still be putting, he won by KO. A 3 platform green breaking very tough, make sure you get enough strength or she will come back to your feet!

- 12th a very good 5 with a severe back to front breaking green and 2 level changes where making the enough carry is a huge difference.

- 16th is a monster, lake all over the right side and the braver you are with the line taken on the tee shot the “easier” the approach although there is nothing easy here.

- 17th up the hill with a very elevated green which it happens to be the flatter green on the course! And with a view from there which makes the day.

The only issue I found is some light needed on fairways 6-7-10-12, too many trees and shade on the fairways in cold wetter season made fairways not to be carpets as all the other ones where although winter rules allowed there was no need to replace the ball as it was always perfect.

A very good job by Pepe, his first ever course, and one fun round to be ended in that nice terrace with friends. I am happy of being able to discover new alternatives for travelers … when they are allowed back. This is certainly a course worth to be played, maybe the tee boxes selection is important to fit your game and what you are able to carry in the air in order to have fun. Hope to have my rematch soon!!

Great course and can only concur with the previous review. I and the kids are not short from the tees and the challenge of reaching 2 on the par 5s is a challenge due to the fact that the tee shot is extremely challenging either you are out of bounds or in perfect position, play passive and you are a goner. The 3rd and 11th par three are one of the best I f have played from the white tees as technical golf shots come. The only down side is the lack of maintenance in the rough as limited staff thanks to co-vid. Big thanks to Anna the club director for greeting us in a 1st class way.

Torrequebrada was played two times at the middle of February of 2020. Torrequebrada golf course offers 18 holes with very enjoyable. Large and undulated greens, interesting placed bunkers and lakes. Many shrubs and trees besind the fairways. Also nice highlights palm trees, pines and olive trees. Impresive surrounding views overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains. Spectacular is the term that could be use to define the Torrequebrada experience. This par 72 golf course offers a large variety of holes appreciated by players of all levels. The course isn’t excessively long, but my opinion it is one of most challenging golf course in Costa del Sol. Accuracy and smart game are keys as you navigate the fairways. At the first look is not big deal for long hitters to reach few of par 5 greens with second shot, but required risk and very depend on wind direction. First of all here mostly windy and calculate distance include slope is not easy. Greens are wide but hilly & slow – to avoid 3 or more putts necessary attack pin very careful. First round was for warming up and reconnaissance. All rounds was played from white tees.

The first hole par 5 very good for start. The tee shot will have to go above the olive trees to reach the upper part of the fairway, so the ball stays to the right in the valley. Long hitters can take challenge to reach the green with two, but very careful concerning it surrounded by bunkers. Next one par 4 for brave and accuracy. From the high elevated tee, you look down to the fairway, which is situated by a large bunker and out of bounce on the right side. The green is situated in high and is protected by two large cork trees at its entrance and by bunkers on each side. At the next par 3 hole you´ll need to be precise. The hole is downhill, the green narrow but elongated with two slopes at front and back, plus being protected by bunkers on the right and behind. This one could spoil the mood if shot from tee does not go right direction. The hole No. 6 (par 5) require straight tee shot from the high-level tee to be towards the bunker, in the middle of the fairway. Dogleg to the right with an uphill blind approach shot to the elevated green protected by bunkers. Very interesting hole 7: signature hole with marvelous views over the Medi-terranean, playing off a very high elevated tee with an approach shot towards the lake. Dangerous to use driver for long hitters regarding ball easy can reach water. The approach shot is challenging due to the lake and bunkers on both sides of the green. Nice hole 9 with partly blind shot from white tees. Bunkers on the right and behind the green. Water hazard with a large and magnificent group of palm trees behind the green.

The back nine is more difficult but also have some very challenging and interesting holes. My favorites holes are 10, 11 and definitely 16! The challenging hole 10 from a narrow tee, a precise shot down the fairway is recommended. The longer hitters can play their approach shot above the olive trees on the left. Another way is blind shot through the trees. Next par 3 tee shot above a large lake. Large green with many slopes and undulations, protected by bunkers in front, left and behind. Hole No. 16 from white tees is really challenge for all types players. Long hitters must choose correct line and for average hitters is challenge to reach fairway through water hazard. The tee shot needs to be directed to the olive tree in the left center of the fairway. The approach shot is towards a highly elevated and very undulated green with a frontal lake and bunkers. Enjoy the views of this hole!

It‘s not boring course definitely. Maintenance and quality of the fairways and greens in high level. I guess they really take care about surroundings. Prices biting, but on the other hand the price is worth the quality. Staff very friendly and kind. Clubhouse wide and well equipmented. Clubhouse wide and well equipment with acceptable range of all necessary items for golfers. Club carts is new and well prepared. Actually buggies is not necessary if you are ready to walk a bit hilly course.

As every golf course rating is always a subject with a lot of subjectivity, depending on various criteria and personal point of view to importance things, my personal opinion depends on following criteria: course complexity or challenging, fields condition (especially greens & fairways), service (only what you can get: buggie, club rent, condition of clubs, the amount of choice and etc. except staff and other subjective things that depends on your or staff mood), surrounding views or pleasure to the eyes and definitely value for the price. All criteries will be rating from 1 to 5 stars. My priority is challenging and value for price criterias. Torrequebrada golf club gets:

1. Challenging - 5*

2. Condition - 5*

3. Service - 4*+

4. Surroundings - 4*+

5. Value for the price - 4*

Definitely looking for back next time.

Superb course, really surprised me, had no expectation and was really amazed after the round. It's a proper park course with a good layout and good condition. The staff here are super friendly! I'll be playing here again, no doubt!

I have been playing courses around this area for many years however Torrequebrada has somehow slipped the net. What a mistake. We played here in October 2019. The course was in superb condition, certainly superior to most in the area, with slick greens and well defined fairways/rough. The course itself is a delight, interesting but fair holes, with elevation changes and beautiful views. All of this without the ‘tricked up’ nature that seems to plague some Southern European Courses. An excellent test of golf and a genuine delight at the end of our trip. We will certainly be returning.

Played last Sunday morning and pretty much had the course to ourselves for most of the way. Fun to play with some really oblique dog legs and interesting drives off the back tees. Some of it feels very tropical. Sadly let down by conditioning; a lot of rain 2 nights before and several holes down by the road were clearly the worse for that. Could be a really good course to play with some love and attention.

When you go to the Málaga-Marbella region, you expect most of the courses to be built on undulating terrain, but maybe not as much, or not as “wild” a design as Torrequebrada, which occupies the heart of the town of Benalmádena just south of Málaga. Already, finding the entrance of the club is not easy, even with a GPS: it is located in a severely downhill, winding lane, and the only sign visible when driving is… when you go uphill, whereas most first time visitors come from the highway way on up. Just the first reason to qualify the course as a “hidden gem”!

Torrequebrada is a course which is best played with a buggy, there is no doubt about that. The hills between and around which the fairways meander are steep, and many. This makes for some unusual holes, pretty much throughout the course. It takes a bit of strategy thinking to go round, rather than length off the tee. Take the first three: The 1st hole is an uphill par five, not long at all at 435 meters from the tips. You face a big hole, and the fairway seems to start only 100 meters away. In fact, you see a tree, and a big bunker, because after these “markers” there is a big dip. Driver is not an option here because the fairway continues uphill in a narrow corridor toward the elevated green. The par-four 2nd seems to lack a real fairway because of the hill on the left, which one should carry, and the trees on the right at the foot of the hill, and the second shot is again to a sharply elevated green, a blind one therefore. And then the third is a “pocket” par-three, 90 meters from the back, barely over 60 meters for ladies! Here, precision with the wedge is the master word as the green is far from flat and is surrounded by deep bunkers. And on from there to new adventures!

Other scenic and unusual holes include the 7th (313 meters par-four), the tee is very elevated, the tee shot is over a city street to a somewhat narrow fairway and using the driver is probably not a good idea as there is a lake barring the hole well within the range of long hitters. The green is tucked into the left corner of the hole behind the lake, and you can barely see a third of it from the tee. The final hole is also a grand view: the tee is located to the left of the fairway, at the top of a hill, which allows the player to see both the eighteenth and the sixth fairways, then the clubhouse and the mountains in the background. The tee shot is across a ravine, with a sharp slope on the left if you miss the fairway on this side, and bunkers on the right. Then the approach shot must be precise, as anything left of the elevated green may dribble down the steep hill into a very deep set of bunkers, and anything right into another large bunker running the length of the green. The only real option to miss the green is long, but your ball will be caught in the rough on a steep incline.

Despite all of the hill climbing, there is a lot of water on the course, as nine holes include water hazards around their greens.

Playing this surprising course was a lot of fun, a bit dampened however by the condition of the greens at the end of the season: the drought had damaged some of them quite a bit and many had to be resurfaced with new “tiles”. This affected the putting a bit, but not to the point of spoiling the game as the flags were placed accordingly. Another visit when the course is in optimal form would be most welcome. In the meantime, we certainly enjoyed cool drinks and good food at the reasonable Spanish prices on the terrace of the clubhouse, overlooking the 18th green and fairway.

Nice course played April 2015. Very poor welcome,very poor front of house/receptionist. Be prepared to be ignored for a while whilst checking in. Visitors are unwelcome but once you get on the course it's worth the trouble.