Golf on the Costa del Sol

We are off to Spain at the beginning of April for a bit of sun and golf, probably looking to play about 4 rounds while we are there. Looking on the internet there appear to be hundreds of courses so it is difficult to know where to start; does anyone have any good pointers, individual courses you have played or reliable websites? Is it better to book in advance or are we likely to be able to do a deal if we just turn up as there will be 4 of us.

Cheers

J

Not quite hundreds but there about about 45 between the airport at Malaga and the other side of Marbella! I have played a reasonable bit there but always on organised trips where the golf has already been pre-booked as part of the package, so I couldn't advise if you would get a better deal if you just turn up. I do know that Torrequebrada is offering a half price green fee for a return visit and lots of the courses are now throwing the buggies in for free in an effort to attract more business.

I have played, in no particular order:-

The 3 courses at the La Cala resort:-
America
Asia
Europa (the toughest of the 3 in my opinion or that could just be because it was blowing a hooley the day we played it!)

Santa Maria
Torrequebrada
Rio Real
Marbella Resort
Marbella Golf and Country Club (One of my favourites)
Los Arqueros
Santa Clara
Sun Los Narangos

and Monte Mayor also one of my favourites perched high in the mountains, but I understand now sadly closed due to financial difficulty.

Can't say that there is any of them that I wouldn't want to play again, but then a few days golf in the sunshine with your mates, what is there not to like!

We are going to Montecastillo near Jerez this year for a weeks golf in May, so looking forward to that. Have a good trip

I've also played La Duquesa, Estepona, El Chaparral, El Paraiso, Guadalmina (North & South), La Quinta, Miraflores, San Roque (New) and Atalaya Park (North and South). For a bit of fun there is also the 9-hole Coto la Serena and the floodlit La Dama de Noche.

Of the ones I've played, I'd recommend Los Arqueros, La Quinta and La Duquesa. Sad to hear that Monte Mayor has gone to the wall - it was an amazing course with fantastic views and the occasional eagle flying about (but not on the course - it's too difficult for me!).

I'm off to Tenerife in March and looking forward to some golf in the sun for a change.

Jethro you'll have a great time over there as some of the courses are stunning. You would be best to get the golf booked by a reputable company, as doing it yourself on-line can be expensive. The clubs are all doing deals because of the economic climate (VAT rose from 7% to 22%) but they haven't changed their prices on-line. Failing that ring them because they should offer you proper deals.

I play over there every year, and some of my favourites have been mentioned by others. We're going again this year and will be playing the La Cala resort, and probably doing 3rounds on the Europa, as I think its the easiest? all 3 tracks though are brilliant and different in their own way. Marbella Golf & Country Club is also a stunner. El Chaparal is ok and Miraflores is decent but probably not worth the cash ... Enjoy

Thanks for the advice folks. I have been in contact with a travel company over the weekend and they are going to send me a few suggestions and a quote so I will cross-reference with the above.

J

The 2 courses at Mijas are a nice easy place to start.

Gets you into the swing of playing in Spain, before you take on the harder courses at Torrequebrada, La Cala, Marbella etc etc.

As Doc stated, you can always just ring up the pro shop to find out prices and book a time. This way you can also enquire about special offers eg twilight rates.

Using a middleman eg Golfbreaks can sometimes cost more and sometimes work out cheaper if you bundle golf and accommodation together.

I'm not that familiar with the Costa del Sol. Have only played Almenara, Finca Cortesin (which was outstanding and recommend highly) and San Roque New. We have found it to be better value to head further west towards Cadiz / Jerez / Sevilla or further north into Murcia.

Just watch out.

With Spain increasing the VAT (IVA) to 20%, this is all added to increasing the price if ringing the pro shop & not going through an agent like YGT, 3D Golf or Golfbreaks.

I noticed on Golfbreaks the other day that the cost of playing Torrequebrada was 101€............WOW!!!

SetupDeterminestheMotion wrote:Just watch out.

With Spain increasing the VAT (IVA) to 20%, this is all added to increasing the price if ringing the pro shop & not going through an agent like YGT, 3D Golf or Golfbreaks.

I noticed on Golfbreaks the other day that the cost of playing Torrequebrada was 101€............WOW!!!

Classic case for us last year, was the web site for La Cala who were quoting 88 euroes plus 55 euros for a buggy, which is 143 euro's each, or £120. We rang a couple of weeks before going and got 50 euros each including buggy, millionaires golf compared to the previous year. The VAT thing had kicked in but we had our prices honoured because we booked early. Marbella Golf & Country Club being part of the top Spanish professionals golf management, tried to get the government to leave golf clubs out of the VAT regime, but failed. I know this as there was a memo on the notice board, informing members and shareholders that because of the increase in VAT, they were going to hold prices for another year, even though there is a price increase because of VAT. We again got a decent deal as the course wasn't over booked like previous years. Golf in Spain has been affected by the local economy and fewer Brits going over, just like the Algarve. They're all feeling the pinch, but don't change their web-sites, because they don't want to show the competition that they're struggling. And don't forget that there are no cheap flights these days because of aviation tax, passenger duty, fuel surcharge, tax for having a piss and so forth, so none of it helping the Spanish economy.