The Mechanic shares his favourite Spanish golf courses
Miguel Ángel Jiménez told us in no uncertain terms what he thought of our Spanish rankings
Last night we caught up with the man dubbed the “Most Interesting Golfer in the World” and we interrupted his steak dinner ahead of the Spaniard’s preparations for the 144th Open Championship at St Andrews.
Miguel Ángel Jiménez is the cult hero that is fondly called “The Mechanic” due to his preference for driving fast cars rather than repairing them. We’ve all watched his spectacular stretching routine on the practice ground with mixed feelings, but when it comes to performance on the golf course he is undeniably the best senior golfer in the world, who continues to break his own record as the oldest champion on the European Tour.
With some enthusiasm we asked Miguel what he thought of our Spanish golf course rankings. It only took a second to expel the wind from our sails. We can’t repeat what he said, but suffice to say he didn’t wholeheartedly agree with us. After a conversation that lasted almost an hour Miguel carefully put pen to paper and listed his twelve favourite courses from his Spanish homeland.
El Saler [4th] Malaga [67th] Real Sevilla [14th] Sotogrande [3rd] PGA Catalunya (Stadium) [1st] Las Brisas [13th] Neguri [18th] San Roque (Old) [16th] Mijas (Los Lagos) [48th] Valderrama [2nd] Montecastillo [30th] Real Sociedad Hípica Española [7th]
[2014 Top 100 Spanish rankings in brackets]
The most obvious anomaly is Málaga where Miguel was born. Real Club de Campo de Málaga was where he won the Andalucia Open in 1999 – in the same year he also won the Volvo Masters at Montecastillo. Valderrama, which languishes in 10th position after commandeering the top spot for many years, will no doubt cause a few eyebrows to be raised.
We’re forever looking to improve our golf course rankings and we value everyone's opinion. We’d love to hear from anybody who has played golf extensively in Spain. Do you agree with Miguel, or are our rankings closer to the mark? Feel free to email me [keith@top100golfcourses.com] or hit the “Respond to this Article” link below.
To view our current Spanish Top 100, click the link.
Keith Baxter
Editor-in-Chief
