Villa Padierna (Alferini)

Located in the hills just outside Marbella, the Villa Padierna resort boasts three 18-hole layouts, the most challenging of which is the Alferini, host venue for the LET’s season-ending Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de España in 2022.

The short Tramores course (par 63) plays to 3,468 metres, the Flamingos course (par71) measures 5,714 metres and the Alferini course (par 73) extends to 6,641 metres, with water coming into play at several holes as they skirt around four lakes.

Holes 1, 2, 17 and 18 are positioned on the south side of the Autopista Ap-7 which runs along the coast between Malaga and Guadiaro, with the remaining holes laid out – side by side in opposite directions – along a series of valley floors on the other side of this motorway.

Feature holes include the 206-metre 8th (with a large pond protecting the front of a shallow green); the 179-metre 14th (played to a peninsula green); and the long, slender par five 16th which snakes along an arroyo before narrowing as it rises slowly to a sand-protected green.