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Elea Golf Club is at the heart of a new, luxury residential development that is set in an idyllic spot, only two kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea and the vibrant town of Paphos. Golf in Cyprus was elevated to a new level with the opening of 

 in 2002 but the arrival of the new Sir Nick Faldo-designed course at Elea in October 2010 has stratospherically raised the Cypriot bar.

The vision of Elea Estate is to be a place where people enjoy life. If you like golf then you’re going to enjoy Sir Nick’s Elea. The team at Faldo Design are proud of their achievement and have created a course that “sits comfortably and in harmony with its landscape”. For those who are familiar with Faldo courses – 

 for example – you will notice a theme. There are bunkers at Elea in abundance and covering significant acreage. From now on we’re going to call Sir Nick “Mister Sandman”.

The par four 4th is perhaps the most outrageously bunkered in Europe and this hole, named “Orchard”, tames the famous “anaconda” bunker at Chart Hills. Two irregularly shaped bunkers, which masquerade as gigantic sandy pieces from a jigsaw puzzle, need to be avoided from the tee. If you can find sanctuary on the fairway, you’ll have an approach shot to a bridged green that slopes up at the front and then cants away towards the back. The green is protected to the left by a smaller (but still vast) jigsaw-shaped bunker with a 

-styled grassy mound in the centre. To the right of the green, there’s a more conventionally shaped trap. We think there’s more sand on this hole than an average desert.

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The long par four 17th is rapidly becoming Elea’s signature hole and places fear into the swing of most golfers. Named “Bobby Jones” this is another hole that has dramatic bunkering but also a severely sloping fairway, which seems to be smaller than a postage stamp from the tee box. Assuming you can avoid the bunkers and stay on the fairway, you’ll need to hit a top drawer, all-carry approach shot over native scrub to an island-like green.

So, is Elea all about bunkers? The short answer is no. There are, in fact, three bunkerless holes, including the tempting 10th, a short par four that simply shouts: “come on – give it a go”.

Put on your thinking cap before you tee it up at Elea. This course warrants careful consideration, coupled with a positive attitude and a hot sand wedge.

Elea

Continental Europe

Elea Golf Club is at the heart of a new, luxury residential development that is set in an idyllic spot, only two kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea and the vibrant town of Paphos.

American golf course architect Cabell B. Robinson had been involved in course design for 35 years when Aphrodite Hills opened early in the new millennium and he considered his Cypriot creation to be the culmination of his work over that time.

The 18-hole Aphrodite Hills course is part of a 290-room hotel and residential development just a 10-minute drive from Paphos airport in sunny Cyprus and it’s a very popular golfing attraction for holidaymakers.

Five years in the making and opened in 2002, the course is routed over two relatively level landforms, separated by a deep canyon which Robinson has incorporated into the design to fashion two spectacular holes (3rd and 7th) on the front nine. Indigenous carob and olive trees on the property were supplemented with additional planting to complete a mature Mediterranean landscape.

If typical Robinson design traits like horseshoe greens, cross bunkers, ponds (at holes 10 and 18) and doglegs were not enough, the architect even included an 18th century kiln and an old olive press in the middle of the fairways on holes 1 and 8 to add further character to the course.

Cabell Robinson commented as follows: “If you can carry 200 metres with your driver, you should try the back tee on the 3rd. It looks forever over the gorge, but it is only that far to reach safety. It is a thrill of a lifetime shot if you succeed. The 7th deep within the bowels of the canyon is another dramatic shot, while fantastic sea views are to be had at the 8th and 15th… reaching for the back pin position on the 12th needs the most courage, while the 16th is my pick for the toughest par-4, and the 18th is a reachable and wonderful par-5.”

The European Tour notched up a half-century of countries visited in October 2020 when Aphrodite Hills staged the inaugural Cyprus Open. Englishman Callum Shinkwin claimed the title (his maiden European Tour victory) after defeating Finland’s Kalle Samooja in a play-off.


Aphrodite Hills

Aphrodite Hills is routed over two relatively level landforms, separated by a deep canyon which Cabell Robinson incorporated into the design to fashion two spectacular holes (3rd and 7th) on the front nine.

The delightful Secret Valley holiday course opened for play in 1996 and local Cypriot Iacovos Iacovou originally designed it.

Voted the best course in Cyprus for two consecutive years by Golf Digest back in the late 1990s, Secret Valley Golf Club enjoyed all limelight in those early years when golf was still a fledgling Cypriot sport. At that time, the island only had two courses to choose from and the Cyprus Golf Federation hadn’t yet been founded.

Home course of Nicosia Golf Club (founding member of the Cyprus Golf Federation), Secret Valley is situated not far from Paphos and even closer to Petra tou Romiou, where according to folklore, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, stepped ashore. Not surprisingly, Secret Valley plays through a valley, but this is no ordinary valley. It really is quite spectacular, with brightly coloured rock formations, which change colour in different lights.

The setting really is a delight and it's definitely worth playing Secret Valley early in the morning or late in the evening when the shadows are lengthening. It's also cooler at either end of the day. In the middle of summer Secret Valley can get rather hot and sticky.

It’s true, Secret Valley was a relatively ordinary members course, but everything changed in 2013 when the layout reopened after a complete redesign by Hans-Georg Erhardt and Snorri Vilhjalmsson of Golf and Land Design, with Tony Jacklin as the headline architect.

The new Secret Valley layout is an integral part of the Venus Rock project, which is mooted to include another golf course, a five-star hotel and luxury private homes. The project aims to become one of Europe’s largest luxury beachfront residential developments.

The Secret Valley layout itself is routed thoughtfully using the natural topography of the valley to great effect. Mature trees and shrubs are a feature within the lower valley while the steep hillside terrain of the upper slopes has allowed dramatic tee locations, which afford lovely views over the valley and to the distant sea beyond.

What was formerly a pleasant golfing experience is now a must play golf course. It’s even quite possible that Secret Valley could once again become the No.1 course in Cyprus. Watch out 

Secret Valley

What was formerly a pleasant golfing experience is now a must play course, it's even possible that Secret Valley Golf Club could once again become the No.1 course in Cyprus.

Cyprus is one of the largest Mediterranean islands and it is currently divided into two parts, the occupied Turkish Cypriot north and Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus in the south. Despite the deep division, Cyprus has a long and rich heritage reaching back to the 7th millennium BC, fine examples of which can be seen in the castles, monasteries and ancient ruins. Cyprus is, according to legend, the birthplace of Aphrodite the goddess of love and beauty. She certainly has left her mark on gorgeous Cyprus with its cloudless skies, fantastic sandy beaches and warm, lapping Mediterranean Sea.

There are six golf courses in Cyprus and five are located in the south and one in the north but we need to remember that the 

 was only founded in 2000. We’ve yet to feature Korineum in Northern Cyprus, but we've added three in the south, including the newest, 

. Tsada, now known as Minthis Hills, was the first grass course to be built in Cyprus and finally Vikla complete the southern line up.


A two-phase green renovation at Minthis Golf Club was concluded at the end of 2020, with all the clay push-up putting surfaces rebuilt to USGA specifications. This work follows the addition of new holes at the 10th and 11th, along with remodelling of the irrigation lake to double its capacity.


Our golf course rankings for Cyprus were last updated in January 2020.
