Continental Europe

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South East Spain

Situated in the Albufera Nature Park on the shores of the Mediterranean, not far from Valencia lies El Saler, or Campo de Golf El Saler to be precise. Javier Arana designed El Saler and it opened for play in 1968 to a rapturous standing ovation. In fact, shortly after the course opened, it was acclaimed the No.1 layout in Continental Europe.

Arana built only ten Spanish courses in a design career spanning thirty years, from 1946 to 1975. El Saler, the ninth course that he constructed in a very high-class portfolio, is widely regarded as his crowning glory.

The course is routed across extremely varied terrain with some holes flanked by umbrella pines and others by towering sand dunes with the aquamarine Gulf of Valencia never far away. It’s a very long and challenging course – somewhat links-like in places – and it measures 6,355 metres from the tips.

Well, it’s long and challenging for most people, unless your name is Bernhard Langer. Langer loves El Saler; he posted a course record score of 62 here during the last round of the 1984 Spanish Open… a remarkable 10 under par.

Actually, the two-time Masters champion returned to El Saler five years later to claim his second Spanish Open title, holding off a strong challenge from Spain’s José Maria Cañizares and Englishman Paul Carrigill to lift the trophy again. The Spanish Open has since been hosted by El Saler in 2001 (Robert Karlsson winning with a score of 277) and in 2013, when Raphaël Jacquelin claimed his fourth European Tour title in a record equalling sudden-death playoff that lasted two hours and took nine holes to complete.

Javier Arana has done a wonderful job, fitting the course to the terrain in a very natural and pleasing way. The raised and invariably elevated greens are tricky to locate and they are conditioned quite superbly. El Saler is quite rightly at the top of any visiting golfer’s agenda… it’s got everything going for it.

” by Alfonso Erhardt Ybarra and is reproduced here with kind permission from the author:

The El Saler project brought together a cluster of unique, unrepeatable circumstances that enabled Javier to work without fear of interference. The Ministry of Information and Tourism had no interest whatever in getting involved in the architect’s role, so Javier enjoyed complete freedom. The oblong-shaped plot purchased by the ministry from Valencia city council ran to about seventy hectares. It was a dream property for any golf course architect, bounded by the beach for an entire kilometre and combining an open area of gently rolling sand dunes with Mediterranean pine forest standing on flat ground.

Javier had worked at El Prat and Neguri on ground sharing several of the characteristics of El Saler. In all three cases, the property features an open seaside area combined with a pine forest further inland; and, at the earlier two courses, the front nine adjoins the seashore, while the back nine threads its way among the pines. At El Saler, however, Javier found a different solution, interspersing seaside holes with forest holes throughout the front and back nines. The outcome is a splendid routing that exploits the natural setting to the full, with each loop masterfully combining the sand dunes, the pinewood and the transition between the two.

One of the key features of the of the routing is the ever-present use of triangulation; no two consecutive holes are orientated in the same direction, so the player must continually adapt his game to the prevailing wind conditions, hole by hole. Although El Saler has some brilliant holes, one of the vital features of the course is the solid nature of the whole, with no holes letting down the experience. As Simpson [Javier’s one-time architectural partner] said: ‘It is not individually great holes that make a great golf course. It is rather the relationship that exists between one hole and another’.

The greens at El Saler are without a doubt the finest that Arana has left to us and only the most skilled putters will come away unscathed. They are generally vast in size, at over 700 square metres each, and an average forty metres long. This size lends the course immense versatility, since holes play very differently depending on the placement of the pin, albeit at the cost of demanding greater accuracy from approach shots if overly long putts are to be avoided. Arana used various resources to create challenging green surfaces: false fronts, tiers, convex greens and small promontories surrounded by minor slopes of closely mown grass.

Another highlight is the presence of more than a hundred bunkers, contrasting with Arana’s philosophy of not having more than about fifty. The average size of each sand trap is far smaller than the rest of Javier’s courses, particularly within the area of influence of the greens, where he aimed to emulate British ‘pot bunkers’.

One might say El Saler is a compendium of Javier’s design philosophy, in that it encompasses all his hallmarks as a golf course architect. But the solutions to which he usually resorted are used in subtle ways, with no monotonous resemblance among holes or any sense of repetition. The result is a course that barely lets the player catch breath from the first hole to the last.

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El Saler

Javier Arana designed El Saler and it opened for play in 1968 to a rapturous standing ovation. In fact, shortly afterwards, it was voted the No.1 golf course in Continental Europe.

Located close to the well-established Villamartin course (which hosted the 1994 Mediterranean Open, won by Jose Maria Olazabal), Las Colinas is a modern Cabell Robinson design that’s set within an upmarket 815-acre residential development on the Costa Blanca.

Fairways are generally wide and forgiving and they’ve been laid out in two returning nines that twist out and back along the floor of a valley with the back nine somewhat unusually configured with three par threes, three par fours and three par fives.

The forested hills that overlook the course offer a feeling of seclusion with holes routed around a handful of lakes which help to stiffen the challenge, particularly on the closing six holes where only the par three 17th is free of any water hazard.

It’s too early to designate a signature hole for a layout that only opened in 2010, but the 544-yard 18th is a real contender with a fairway that snakes past a small lake short and right of the home green.

Las Colinas

The fairways at Las Colinas Golf & Country Club are generally wide and forgiving and they’ve been laid out in two returning nines that twist out and back along the floor of a valley...

The West course at La Manga Club was nominated by Colin on the 28th March 2007 for inclusion in the “Your Gems” section of the website. Since then the West course has moved from Your Gems and become a ranked Spanish course but we’ve left Colin’s original nomination article intact, as we liked it so much:

The West course is without doubt the jewel in the crown of La Manga Club. It is a beautiful course, well manicured and with marvellous scenery all around. It has an amazing variety of holes, each one presenting a different challenge; only the 11th and the 14th are what one might call ‘samey’.

However, as my playing partners and I have come to realise, ‘the West course giveth, and the West course taketh away’. Whilst being an angel on the eye, it is a brute on the score. You really have to be on top of your game, manage the course well and have a bit of luck on the way as well, any bad shot is punished severely. Buy a Stroke Saver and five extra golf balls before you start.

I could describe every hole to you, they all offer something very different, but I’ll just pick out a few real gems. By the way, each par three bar one has a Stroke Index of less than 10! I’ve not known that at many courses.

The 3rd (par five) deserves a mention for its challenging tee shot, horrendous ravine and tucked away green. The 5th is a brute of a tee shot considering its SI, it really is quite a narrow target. The 6th is the first hole where you can get the driver out. The pearl of the front nine however, is the 9th, with an uphill tee shot (and I mean uphill) the hole then bends at right angles down hill to a huge green protected by a ravine to the front and lake at the back. It’s a real devil of a hole to ‘manage’. But it does present an eagle opportunity.

If you feel a little punch drunk by the turn and deflated by something like just 12 points, beware the back nine, the holes just get better and better… and to some degree tougher. The 10th is a complete horror off the back tees, and then it’s up and down the mountains taking on the tough 12th and a horrid par three 13th that is as pleasing on the eye as it is punishing on the score card. The course concludes with probably the loveliest four consecutive holes I know. The 15th is a gorgeous par five with some well-placed trees along the centre of the fairway making shot selection an interesting task. The 16th is a brute of a par three with absolutely no room for error at all. There is only one place to put the ball, on the green, anywhere else is just a war zone.

The 17th must have been a hole designed by five different people and then glued together. If ever there was a reason for buying a stroke saver then this is it. But nevertheless it’s lovely, and a joy to par. It is merely a prelude however, to everybody’s favourite La Manga Club moment. The 18th tee is a bit of a trek up a hill, and after a slog round the West course one could do without that, but the reward at the end is worth it. You are greeted with a tee at the top of a small mountain overlooking the 18th fairway and the landscape spreads out in front of you beyond the course and out across the La Manga Club complex, the countryside and then to the sea a few miles distant. It is a lovely view and an intimidating tee shot. It’s a place to get the big shiny driver out, tee it high and let rip. A 200-yard carry to a wide, wide fairway beckons. It is a great finishing hole to a great course.

The West course is about a half mile from the main complex and it has its own clubhouse and bar. Without doubt the best of the three courses, but also without doubt the hardest. If you are an 18 plus handicapper don’t go near it unless you can happily exchange a low stableford points score for the sake of some lovely scenery.

The La Manga Club complex presents three lovely courses which all have their own character and each offer a different challenge to suit all handicaps. The resort benefits from a well-run shuttle bus service and an attention to course care that always ensures the holes are in good condition.

I would recommend La Manga Club to anybody who wanted an easy weekend of golf ‘on the doorstep’. It’s probably not the cheapest place to play, then again it’s not the dearest either, but the accommodation is reasonably priced and of high quality.

The resort has a nice driving range and good putting and short game practice areas. The shop is well stocked, and a very pleasant man on a buggy is always whizzing around selling drinks and cheese and ham rolls to a lot of very thirsty golfers. I think it’s a great place.

 is one of our Top 100 Golf Resorts of the World


Real La Manga Club (West)

The West course at La Manga Club is totally different to the other two layouts. Gone are the palms and in come the pines, doglegs and tight, tricky holes.

 and South layouts at this resort are the design of Robert Putman, a Californian professional who was asked by developer Gregory Peters to build two contrasting courses on the 1,400-acre property during 1971-2.

 course followed in 1996 when Dave Thomas extended the former 9-hole La Princesa (first opened in 1986), meaning the resort can now tempt golfers with a choice of three tremendous courses.

Upgraded by Arnold Palmer in 1993 then refurbished in-house during 2004, the South course has changed considerably since the early days when it held the Spanish Open between 1973 and 1977, thanks mainly to renewed investment by different owners over the years.

The course feels fairly spacious (despite the many palm trees that line the fairways) but aquaphobic golfers might think twice about striding the fairways on the South course as only a handful of holes are without some form of water hazard to tease and torment!


La Manga Club (South course) was originally nominated as a Gem by Colin and added to the site on 28th March 2007. Colin's nomination article follows:

A couple of years ago the South course was really run down, but La Manga Club resort has put in a bit of restorative work in recent years, and it is now comparing favourably with its colleagues the West and the North.

The South is the Championship layout and that is evident by its length and the bunkering. When the wind gets up it can be a real test, and whilst in the past it was a little flat and un-inspiring, the holes have been re-designed in some areas to be a little more pleasing to the eye. This is the course you will see most often on TV featuring all those Celebrity Charity events.

The opening holes are a not spectacular but the 4th, which used to be a real testy par four, has been extended to a par five with the addition of an attractive pond in front of the green, which gives the course a little of the charm it lacked in its previous incarnation.

The 6th, which was once the 9th hole, (I think they saved some labour by just turning the flag number upside down), is a terrific par five with a lot of wet and sandy hazards as you near the green, but that is only after a tough blind tee shot onto a wide and downhill fairway.

The 10th is a little ordinary but the 11th has benefited from the extension of the greenside lake, making a second shot a real tester. The 12th, a short par three, is the hole that witnessed the oldest man ever to achieve a hole in one. Beyond that, the 14th, a par four, presents one of the largest sand traps in Spain, running almost the whole length of the right hand side fairway. The 17th is a testing par three, almost all of the par threes on the South course need a good biff, but the 18th is the signature hole, with its tough tee shot (water and bunkers everywhere) and then a really well-protected green. So many bunkers surround it you’ll think the tide has gone out.

Despite its championship status, the South is the least charming of the three courses. However, it does give the most honest test of golf. It’s long, there’s plenty of bunkering and the course demands some solid hitting. You can let the driver out of the bag far more than you can on either of the other two tracks, but somehow it does lack character and it is certainly nowhere near as pleasing on the eye.

Real La Manga Club (South)

The South course at La Manga Club was where the Spanish Open was held during the 70s. It’s a spacious and long layout set on fairly flat terrain. Bring your driver.

Located between Balsicas and Roldán, the golf course at Saurines de la Torre Golf is one of six Jack Nicklaus-designed courses operating within a forty-kilometre radius in the Murcia region.

These new millennium golf facilities were built by the Polaris World holiday resort company and they’re all integrated into small, gated self-sustaining residential communities with their own on-site services.

Formerly known as Terrazas de la Torre Golf, Saurines is now operated by UGOLF, a leading European golf course management company which looks after more than fifty Spanish and French golf facilities, including three in Murcia: Mar Menor, Hacienda del Alamo and Saurines.

The Saurines course extends to 6,473 metres, though forward tees reduce the length to a more manageable 4,914 metres for resort golfers. The course is constructed in the style of a desert layout, characterised by vast sandy waste areas and low-lying dunes, with fairways routed around a couple of sizable lakes. Holes of note include the Redan-style par three 14th and the short par four 15th, which features a tricky raised green.

A new clubhouse is due to be constructed by 2020 and hole numbering will probably be subsequently re-sequenced to accommodate this new building.

Saurines de La Torre

Opened for play in 2002, the course at La Finca is a Pepe Gancedo layout of distinction. Dubbed “the Picasso of golf” by golf journalist Peter Dobereiner, Gancedo is perhaps better known for his work at 

 on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, or at 

 on the Costa del Sol, but the artistic talents of this revered Spanish golf legend shine through here for all to see.

The panache of Gancedo’s design is evident early in the round, where the par three 3rd plays to a wide, shallow green that’s shaped as a Biarritz, with a deep gully in the middle of the putting surface separating the plateau on either side. The par four 7th is another memorable hole, doglegging right and uphill to a large, square green with a deep L-shaped bunker positioned in the rear right corner of the putting surface.

On the back nine, the par five 11th is another rather unique hole with an unusual green complex that’s fronted by a cascading stream which cuts across the fairway fifty metres in front of it. Starting out from a high vantage point, the tree-lined hole heads toward a really challenging two-tiered green with a steep bank guarding the front and a large bunker circling almost the entire area of the putting surface.

The final par five on the scorecard returns golfers to the impressive clubhouse, positioned high on the hill overlooking the home green. Tee shots must avoid the water hazard that crosses the fairway at the landing area then approach shots have to steer clear of the large bunker running along the right side of a long, three-tiered green which slopes from back to front. It’s rated stroke index 12 but this hole presents a testing finish to the round.

La Finca

Opened for play in 2002, the course at La Finca is a Pepe Gancedo layout of distinction. Gancedo was dubbed “the Picasso of golf” by golf journalist Peter Dobereiner...

El Bosque is one of several courses designed by Robert Trent Jones during his most prolific spell in Spain from the mid-60s to mid-70s – others include Sotogrande (1964), Las Brisas (1968), Mijas (1976) and Las Naranjes (1977).

Club de Golf El Bosque opened in 1975, the same year as another RTJ creation, Sotogrande New (which became Las Aves before Jaime Ortiz-Patiño subsequently gained control and transformed it into Valderrama) so Mr Trent Jones and his team were at one time very much in demand in Spain.

The course is located in a residential estate, some 20 kilometres to the west of Valencia, on pine-clad foothills to the north of Chiva and the terrain can be tricky in places with golfers occasionally facing hanging lies on some of the fairways, despite the earth moving that was carried out during construction to level parts of the landscape.

The toughest hole on the course is the 540-yard par five 7th which slopes gently from left to right and doglegs to the right. Two bunkers lie on either side of the fairway to pressure the tee shot then another three sand traps await errant second shots further along the fairway. To crown it all, the long, narrow putting surface has a very tight entrance and is protected by another three greenside bunkers.

The 6,900 yard, par 72, course is laid out in classical style with two par threes and two par fives on both the outward and inward loop of nine. Most fairways are tree-lined and water comes into play in front of the greens on the 8th, 12th, 13th 14th and 15th holes. Several holes are doglegged (including the first three on the card) and there is an average of five bunkers per hole on the course. No holiday golf here, then!

Don’t imagine El Bosque is always played in picture-perfect weather conditions either. A good bit of ball shaping will be demanded if the summer Levante, a southeasterly warm wind, is blowing. The recommendation? Plot your way carefully round the property.

In 2019, the club commissioned Cabell Robinson to update the course. The layout was re-grassed with Bermuda 419 and all bunkers rebuilt using the Better Billy Bunker method. Work on the front nine completed in October 2020 and back nine renovations (including the reconstruction of all nine greens) finished in November 2021.


El Bosque

El Bosque is one of several courses designed by Robert Trent Jones during his most prolific spell in Spain from the mid-60s to mid-70s.

 courses at La Manga Club are the creation of Robert Putman, a Californian professional engaged by developer Gregory Peters back in the early 1970s to construct two complementary 18-hole layouts on the 1,400-acre property.

Another course came along in 1996 when Dave Thomas reworked the old 9-hole La Princesa (originally opened in 1986), creating the 

, which means the resort now offers golfers a choice of three terrific tracks.

Completely refurbished in 2001, the North course is a good deal shorter and hillier than the South. Palm trees line most of the fairways and putting surfaces (which are often multi-tiered) are well proportioned with imaginative greenside bunkering in evidence throughout.

Concentration must be retained for the full eighteen as water, in the shape of half a dozen ponds between holes 13 and 17, could damage a good score towards the end of the round.


La Manga Club (North) course was originally nominated as a Gem by Colin and added to the site on 28th March 2007. Since then the North course has been ranked in our Spanish Top 100. However, Colin's original nomination words follow:

Of the three lovely courses at La Manga Club, the North course is the easiest, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s easy. There is often a breeze at the resort which makes the Par threes long and enables the palm trees to lengthen their grasp in order to collect a wayward tee shot.

If you just fancy a quick nine holes, or are taking a higher handicap golfer with you, this is the course to play. The holes are a little shorter, the start is a little friendlier, and the ravines (barrancas) are a little less plentiful.

The course benefits from some lovely challenging holes, the par five 3rd is a hole that is easy if you don’t try and smash it to bits by attempting the Herculean task of getting on the green in two. The par three 4th is a real smasher with some nasty out of bounds on the left and a magnetic hazard to the right, yet it has an enormous green, and the wind is generally not with you.

The back nine present a better set of holes, with one of the better holes being the par four 13th, with the sort of tee shot that makes you wander back and forth to your bag swapping driver for five wood for five iron and back again. The par five 15th is a long, long hole, usually into the wind, but with an inviting expanse of fairway that lets you rip it. The 17th is a lovely dogleg par four and the 18th is a nice finishing hole allowing you to be watched by the sunbathers around the hotel pool, although generally the golfers spend more time watching the sunbathers! From there it is a short walk back to the clubhouse with a bar that allows you to watch the following groups make similarly difficult decisions about how to get to the elevated 18th green from just short of the ravine.

Like all the La Manga Club courses the North course benefits from large greens that are hard to miss but equally hard to ‘two putt’ regularly; lovely bunkers which will accept a long iron from the fairway versions, and allow a good portion of sand beneath the ball when in the greenside ones. The fairways are lush and the ball is always sitting up. You can rack up a 40-point plus score here and the only defence is a strong wind and poor judgement of distance, if you can bring yourself to play one more club than you think you will score well. If there is a criticism it is that the 1st, 9th, 10th and 18th are too similar, they run parallel with each other and offer little in the way of character. Nonetheless this is a lovely track for a pleasant sunny evening in Spain. If I had just one day at the resort, this is probably the one I’d pick to play.

Real La Manga Club (North)

The North course at La Manga Club is the more approachable of the three resort courses. Palm-lined, slightly hilly and well-bunkered, it’s where to make a decent score.

Formed in 2001, Polaris World is by far the largest golf resort developer in Murcia, with half a dozen projects located in close proximity to each other in the south east of Spain. Together with Nicklaus Design, the company established the Nicklaus Golf Trail (now known as the less catchy “IRM Nike Golf / 6 Nicklaus”), which offers golfers a total of six courses within a 25-kilometre radius.

The Golden Bear’s Signature course at Alhama is the flagship venue in a portfolio that comprises Mar Menor, La Torre, Saurines, El Valle and Hacienda Riquelme. In time, the intention is to expand the golfing facilities at Alhama to host a total of three Jack Nicklaus Signature courses but those proposals are currently on hold whilst the Spanish economy remains in a somewhat fragile state.

Measuring 6,918 metres from the tips, the inaugural Alhama course is routed around five large lakes, with wide, resort-style fairways leading to large, receptive greens. A total of 116 white silica sand bunkers are placed strategically around the layout with a paspalum grass semi-rough on every fairway forming a transition area between the golf course and its natural surroundings.

Alhama

The Golden Bear’s Signature course at Alhama is the flagship venue in a portfolio that comprises Mar Menor, La Torre, Saurines, El Valle and Hacienda Riquelme.

 by David J. Whyte, the author describes Las Ramblas in the following terms: “whoever decided to build a golf course through this tract of land must have been imaginative. Las Ramblas works remarkably well and offers a completely different test from its neighbours.

“It has a complicated layout that rambles through humps, hillocks, deep ravines and rocky canyons with lots of trees and a lake. Coupled with tiny greens, this course is a nightmare for beginners and the tempestuous, so the best way to approach Las Ramblas is simply to have fun.”

Designed in 1991 by the late José "Pepe" Gancedo, former Spanish amateur champion, Las Ramblas is one of three courses (including 

 and it's certainly a layout that will test the resolve of even the most proficient golfers.

Feature holes include testing back-to-back par fives at holes 3 and 4, the only par three on the front nine at the all-carry 6th – where a gorge runs along the right side of the hole – and the demanding doglegged 7th, which is routed across a deep ravine before turning sharply right to an elevated green.

The 192-metre 12th is another tough, all-carry proposition, played from a raised tee to a plateau green. By comparison, the par three 14th is 50 metres shorter but it’s just as treacherous, with another gully fronting the putting surface. The par five 18th returns golfers to the clubhouse, doglegging slightly left and uphill to the home green.

Las Ramblas

Designed in 1991 by the late José "Pepe" Gancedo, former Spanish amateur champion, Las Ramblas is certainly a layout that will test the resolve of even the most proficient golfers.

Hacienda del Álamo is a new golf resort in southern Spain, designed by Dave Thomas Ltd. The challenging course opened for play in 2006 and was designed to test golfers of all abilities with all holes surrounded by natural waste ground. It goes without saying that the challenge is to keep your ball on the fairway!

Many new courses are being built across Europe but very few have the quality of Hacienda del Álamo. The Hacienda Resort has ambitions to become the No.1 golf resort in Spain and the early signs are encouraging and their goal is perhaps achievable.

Paul Thomas (son of Dave Thomas) writes: "Dave Thomas Limited is delighted to have the opportunity to be part of Hacienda del Álamo – major new golf resort and international destination for the Murcia region of Spain. We believe the golf course will satisfy and challenge all levels of golfers but we have particular interest and belief that Hacienda del Alamo will become recognised as one of the premier championship golf courses in Spain.

The gently undulating terrain together with the original orchards and groves provide the golf course with many opportunities for enjoyable and interesting golf and strong landscape features. We have been particularly careful to ensure that the integration of housing does not affect or interfere with the golfing experience. Indeed, the course occupies such a large area of the project that we are sure that golfers will feel comfortable with the panoramic vistas Hacienda del Alamo enjoys.

From the back tees the par 72 course measures 6,724 metres, currently the longest course in Spain. The two loops of nine holes with two par threes and two par fives meander through the almond and olive orchards enhanced with several new lakes and cascades to make the course visually appealing. Also in operation is the golf academy and driving range which has 6 full golf holes, two putting greens providing learning golfers the correct environment to be taught golf."

There are too many great holes to mention but the par four 6th has a demanding drive and the par four 11th is another favourite, with a tricky approach to a raised green. We must make special mention to the 18th hole, which is a cracking par five with water on the left of the green – a fabulous closing hole to conclude a tight match-play game.

Hacienda del Alamo has secured the services of 

 as touring pro which is another huge asset, endorsing the intentions of what is set to be a well-regarded golf resort.

Hacienda del Alamo

The gently undulating terrain together with the original orchards and groves provide Hacienda del Álamo with many opportunities for enjoyable and interesting golf...

The California-based architect Robert Putman – who also designed the North and South golf courses at La Manga, just a 45-minute drive further south – laid out the course at Villamartin, cleverly routing the holes over the natural, undulating terrain. The layout first opened for play in 1972 so it's one of the more established courses in the region with a classic golf atmosphere that will be enjoyed by players who know a good course.

The course opens up with a lovely left doglegging par five over rolling ground with the narrowing fairway framed by olive trees and then, a familiar site at Villamartin, a green with even more olive trees as protection! Another fine example of this arboreal defending is found at the short par four 7th, where the fairway veers right and downhill to a bunkerless green that's completely surrounded by olive trees.

The pick of the holes on the back nine are the 14th and 17th. The 14th is a difficult par five (rated stroke index 1) with a gorge running along the left of the fairway before a ditch then cuts across in front of the green. The par three 17th can genuinely be described as one of the great European "short" holes, measuring 220 metres in length, with a deep gully located between the tee and a multi-tiered green.

Villamartin

The golf course at Villamartin has been cleverly routed over the natural terrain, which is pleasantly undulating, by California-based architect Robert Putman.

The Indiana course at Desert Springs is where the first full-blown Arizona/California desert themed layout – described by some as “a Wild West resort course” – first collided with the continent of Europe back in 2001, down in the arid south east corner of Spain between Almería and Murcia.

Designed by Walker Cup stalwart Peter McEvoy, the lush, rather narrow fairways of this 18-hole course are set amongst dried river beds, hardpan and man-made lakes so the contrast between manicured playing areas and the surrounding wasteland could hardly be any starker. Accuracy is everything at Desert Springs as the penalty for straying off the green grass into the cacti and rocky scrub is inevitably severe.

Compare and contrast to the more difficult Valle del Este course, which opened nearby a year later than Desert Springs, then decide which of the two you prefer.

Desert Springs (Indiana)

The Indiana course at Desert Springs is where the first full-blown Arizona/California desert themed layout – described by some as “a Wild West resort course” – first collided with the continent of Europe...

Founded in 1969, Club de Golf Escorpion moved to its current location six years later, when Ron Kirby laid out the Azul course, comprising the Masía and Lagos nines. It wasn’t long before prestigious national tournaments were being held here: First the Spanish Open, won by Irishman Eddie Polland, in 1980, followed four years later by the Spanish Amateur Championships.

Local architect Alfonso Vidaor added another circuit (the Neuvo nine) to the layout at the start of the new millennium, followed shortly after by a par three development course in 2005 so, with such an array of impressive facilities, the club has a good reputation for promoting the game (especially with young players) in the northern suburbs of Valencia.

The tree-lined Nuevos and Lagos nines stretch out across gently undulating terrain, measuring a total of 6,048 metres from the back tees. The round starts and ends with a testing par five and in between these strong 3-shotters there are a number of memorable holes, most notably the short par four 2nd on the Nuevos and the par three 5th on the Lagos.

Escorpion (Neuvos & Lagos)

Host to the 1980 Spanish Open which was won by Irishman Eddie Polland, Club de Golf Escorpion is a 27-hole golf facility comprising three 9-hole circuits. Ron Kirby designed the original two loops, named Lagos and Masia, in 1975, with Alfonso Vidaor adding the Neuvos loop 25 years later.

The Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort lies on the Costa Blanca, an hour’s drive to the south of Valencia, and it offers visiting guests a number of sporting pursuits, including football, rugby, horse riding, tennis and golf.

The golf course occupies a 125-acre portion of a property that spreads out along the coast, though the fairways never actually come into contact with the glistening waters of the Mediterranean as housing units unfortunately claim the beachfront sites strung out along the sandy shoreline.

Designed by Seve Ballesteros, the course can be stretched to 6,312 metres, with no fewer than fifteen of the fairways coming into contact with water hazards during a round – only the 2nd, 13th and 14th holes are free from aquatic interference – so wayward golfers are advised to bring some extra golf balls.

Oliva Nova

The Seve Ballesteros-designed course at Oliva Nova Golf Club on the Costa Blanca is where water comes into play on no fewer than fifteen holes. Bring an extra sleeve of balls if your game is wayward.

Designed by Blake Stirling and Marco Martin, the course at the Font del Llop Golf Resort lies 15 miles inland from Alicante airport and it’s part of an ambitious residential development which saw the golfing component of the project come to life in the summer of 2010.

Fairways nestle within a steep-sided valley and holes blend beautifully into a landscape, where a small river (once used in local beer production) runs through the course, linking a handful of small irrigation ponds that occasionally come into play.

The front nine at Font del Llop (translated from Spanish as “Wolf’s watering hole”) culminates in a long, gently uphill par five and its teasing split fairway lies on either side of a water hazard that threatens the length of the hole from tee to green.

Feature holes on the back nine include back-to-back par threes at the 16th and 17th, with each of these “short holes” measuring almost two hundred metres from the back tees.

Font del Llop

Opened in May 2010 and designed by Blake Stirling and Marco Martin, the layout at Font del Llop Golf Resort has the potential to become the finest golf course in the Alicante region.

There is a dearth of good golf courses in the 220-mile stretch between Valencia and Barcelona on the eastern seaboard of Spain but one that stands out (confirming the fact that it plays way better than it first looks) is Mediterráneo, in the province of Castellón.

The 18-hole layout at the Club de Campo del Mediterráneo embodies all that is good about parkland Spanish golf. Designed by Ramón Espinosa – the respected architect of two other eastern Spanish courses at Fontanals and Golf d’Aro – the course has been in play since 1978, maturing into a modern day golfing gem that receives real appreciation from the more discerning golfer.

Laid out amongst olive, poplar and carob trees in a wide, secluded valley slightly inland from the coast, Mediterráneo is blessed with a fine mix of testing holes, interspersed with some that are more subtly demanding. The three holes around the turn – starting at the 9th – are particularly strong (the short par four 10th plays uphill to a tiered putting surface with out of bounds to the left and back of the green) and the 18th is a great closing hole that doglegs left to a green protected by two sentinel bunkers in front of the clubhouse.

Club de Campo del Mediterráneo is where Sergio Garcia played as a junior and it was fitting that he won the 2008 Castelló Masters by three shots from Peter Hedblom. “Just getting the tournament here was extremely special for me – and my family – and to come out on top playing like I did was awesome," Garcia commented after the tournament. Sweden’s Michael Jonzon birdied the last hole to win the 2009 event which also provided the added bonus of allowing him to keep his European Tour card. The Castelló Masters returned to Club de Campo del Mediterráneo in October 2010 and 17-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero won the event by four shots becoming the youngest ever European Tour winner.

Sergio Garcia prevailed once more in the 2011 Castello Masters, winning by eleven shots – the largest winning margin of the 2011 European Tour season. His 27-under total of 257 strokes equalled the lowest winning 72-hole score of the 2011 season, which was established by Ernie Els in the South African Open Championship at Durban Country Club.

Mediterráneo

The 18-hole layout at the Club de Campo del Mediterráneo embodies all that is good about parkland Spanish golf.

The Valle del Este desert course is tucked away in the south east corner of Spain, between Almería and Murcia, and the harsh terrain at this location was first tamed in 2002 when this 18-hole layout arrived on the Spanish golf scene.

The course is an integral part of a massive hotel and residential complex and its fairways are routed in a figure of eight between and around these buildings with water hazards incorporated into half a dozen of the holes.

Valle del Este’s desert undulations have been used to great effect by architect José Canales with most tee boxes played from an elevated position where the landing area for the tee shot is wide and in full view – that is not to say that there are no uphill fairways or semi-blind approaches as there are a few, but in the main, everything can be clearly seen.

The run of holes from 11 to 13 are particularly pleasing and the par three 12th is considered to be the signature hole on the course. Measuring 167 yards from the back tees, it plays across the dried up bed of the River Nuno to a raised green with two small bunkers at the back of the putting surface.

Valle del Este

Valle del Este’s desert undulations have been used to great effect by architect José Canales with most tee boxes played from an elevated position where the landing area for the tee shot is wide and in full view...

Fashioned by Felipe Rodriguez and the Madrid-based Moon Masters design company, the 18-hole layout at La Galiana is located an hour’s drive to the south of Valencia and it’s set within a beautiful secluded valley, flanked on both sides by a perfectly preserved Mediterranean pine forest.

Opened for play in 2011, La Galiana enjoys a secluded setting amongst the hilly terrain that characterises the inland region lying around ten miles from the Mediterranean coast, with terraced fairways laid out in splendid isolation, far removed from any hint of residential development.

Measuring 6,201 metres from the back tees and playing to a par of 72, the course features a handful of holes where water hazards come into play. The most striking of these aquatic holes is the 522-metre 10th, which plays downhill to a green that’s guarded by water to the right and rear of the putting surface.

The toughest hole on the outward half is “La Serpentiente,” a snaking par five at the 4th where the fairway falls away into oblivion on the right side. On the back nine, the most difficult hole is kept until last at “Los Entrepinos,” with its S-shaped fairway climbing steadily uphill all the way from the 18th tee to the home green.

La Galiana

Fashioned by the Moon Masters design company, the golf course at La Galiana is located to the south of Valencia and is set in a stunning secluded valley, flanked on both sides by perfectly preserved Mediterranean forest.

Located near Torre Pacheco in Murcia, the course at Mar Menor Village Golf exhibits something of a split personality as Dave Thomas set out the front nine and Nicklaus Design completed the back nine. Water comes into play at three consecutive holes on each nine: 3 to 5 on the outward half and 13 to 15 on the inward half.

The course is now operated by UGOLF, a leading European golf course management company which looks after more than fifty Spanish and French golf facilities, including three in Murcia: Mar Menor, Hacienda del Alamo and Saurines.

Chris Ahern, PGA professional at Mar Menor, was kind enough to provide us with the following comments:

The toughest hole at Mar Menor Golf is the 3rd, a par four rated stroke index 1. From the tee, two fairway bunkers to the left must be avoided. There’s a big lake to the right and short of the green that comes into play for the second shot so the only bale out spot is short and left of the green. There’s also a greenside bunker short of the green which challenges players that attack the flag with their approach.

There are two contenders for “signature hole” on the scorecard, the first of which is the par five 4th, measuring 455m for men and 420m for ladies. This is probably the easiest par five on the course but it looks very pretty as you play up towards the entrance to the hotel. The major trouble at this hole is a hidden lake that lies short and left of the green.

The other hole that vies for recognition as the most memorable on the course is the par four 13th, measuring 323m for men and 285m for ladies. It’s a right doglegged hole with a large lake running down the right side of the fairway. The drive must avoid bunkers on the right, left and centre of the fairway and the green is well guarded with water to the right of the putting surface.

Mar Menor

The course at the Mar Menor Golf Resort is rather unusual in that Dave Thomas laid out the front nine and Nickalus Design fashioned the backside. It is therefore genuinely a tale of two halves.

Located less than three miles from Murcia-San Javier airport, the lush fairways at Roda Golf & Beach Resort are routed around large swathes of “dry buffer areas” with acres of Mediterranean shrubs and hundreds of planted trees adding definition and character to each and every hole.

As you might expect on a modern course, the greens – averaging just under 11,000 square metres in size – were constructed to USGA standard by architect Dave Thomas so golfers are advised to have their putting skills in good order before venturing onto the slick putting surfaces here.

The signature hole at Roda is regarded as the 174-metre 7th, requiring a do-or-die tee shot to an island green. That’s not the only aquatic challenge on the course, though, because holes 12, 13, 16 and 18 on the back nine all play to greens protected in some shape or form by water hazards.

Roda

Opened in 2006 and fashioned by Dave Thomas across relatively flat terrain featuring numerous lakes, Roda Golf & Beach Resort is set to become a challenging alternative to La Manga.

The South East Spain region covers the autonomous community of Murcia and the Valencian Community, and this combined area of around 33,500 km² is regarded as home territory for approximately 6.5 million inhabitants. Murcia’s Mar Menor is the largest saltwater lagoon in Europe, separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a sandbar that’s 22 kilometres in length, while the coastline in Valencia is characterized by wetland and marshland areas such as L’Albufera and salt evaporation ponds like those at Santa Pola.

Golf is administered in this region by the 

Federación de Golf de la Región de Murcia

Federación de Golf de la Comunitat Valenciana

. Sixteen golf facilities are affiliated to the Murcia federation, including the 54-hole set-up at Real La Manga Club in Cartagena. Twice as many clubs are attached to the Valencian federation, the largest of which is Meliã Villaitan Golf Club, where there are two Nicklaus Design 18-courses open for visitor play just outside Benidorm.

The best course in the region is undoubtedly the 18-hole links layout at 

. Designed by Javier Arana and unveiled in the late 1960s, it’s widely regarded as the architect’s crowning glory, the ninth of only ten courses that he ever built during a thirty-year design career. It features very highly in our Continental Europe rankings and only just missed out on a place in our recently revised World 100 so this is by far and away the place to play if you ever find yourself in or around the city of Valencia.

In the Murcia area, Cabell Robinson's design at 

 leads the way from two of the three 18-hole layouts at Real La Manga Club. Opened for play in 2010, Las Colinas features prominently in both our Spanish and Continental Europe Top 100 charts.
