[brlambert]

Hey,

Im going to be spending 5 days in Marbella, Spain this fall and Im looking for some course recomendations. Im going to be playing probably 5 times, possibly a few more if I can squeeze it in. Does anyone have any experience playing in the area? The courses I was looking at playing are Los Naranjos, Santa Clara, Marbella CC, Torrequebrada, and Rio Real. I know Valderrama is close, but Im not sure I can justify the $450 per round.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ben

[rocketrod]

Ben I Live and work down here in Marbella. Don´t Know your handicap but here are the best to play:

La Reserva de Sotogrande (Class)
Real Club de Golf de Sotogrande (Class)
Marbella Club Golf Resort (Pretty mountain Course, Quiet)
Rio Real (Nice Track close to Marbella)
Finca Cortesin (Very long from back tees good service)
Santanna (Easier, flat in good nick normally)
Los Naranjos (Lots of work going on check condition before you play)
El Paraiso(Nice Course good price only play it after the 15th October as they overseed and its better then)
El Higueral Benahavis (Great 9 hole course good for arrival and departure day)

Don´t bother with Valderrama as its a very tricked up course and not much fun. Great condition but I don´t think worth the money. I would do La Reserva First.

There is a booking company called Golf Service who are good and know the coast well. Good advice and service.

Hope this helps.

[SJFP]

I played Marbella Golf & Country Club 2 years ago. http://www.marbellag...com/index2.html
Really weird experience. We didn't see a single flight while we went round. At the back of a green on the 7th or something i find 3 balls. Ok, nice extra ... we finish putting and start walking to the next teebox, next to the cart path even more balls ... starting to get weird ... i start looking around thinking this is some kind of prank or candid camera ... all of a sudden i see 2 full plastic bags ... completely filled with decent balls of the known brands (turned out to be more than 200). Still don't know what happened. On the courses in southern Europe it's common to find kids on the course who sell little bags of recovered balls, but we waited and looked around ... nobody there.

The course itself was OK, at the time we played it, it seemed as if they were running out of money which showed on the course. It wasn't as well maintained as it could have been. We weren't welcome for a drink after the round, as the bartender was finishing his shift. The only bartender in one of the biggest clubhouses i've seen . Last month (july issue) i saw the course get a very positive review in Golf Monthly though, and it's a Trent Jones Sr. design. If they have improved on greenkeeping this could be a very nice course.

We also played Rio Real, well maintained Disney-like course. Very much fabricated, but the quality of the course was very good.
Santa Maria was another course we played. It was the furthest we went between Marbella and Malaga (the drive between both cities is cluttered with golf courses especially the last 20 or so miles to marbella, i believe it's also called the Costa del Golf). The course itself was very well maintained, quite challenging and very hilly. We played with a couple from Endinburgh who were members there. Lot's of UK members, pensioners who moved to Marbella.
The last day we also played La reserva de Sotogrande, old course. One of the better designed courses i've played. Very busy though, but well worth playing. Very massive course, but plays much much narrower than it appears. I remember playing very well that day because i was very straight from the tee. My dad and a friend were less accurate (but not all over the place) and had a much harder time even though they didn't play that bad.

[scotty01292]

Santana
Finca Cortesin
Marbella Club Golf Resort (Not Marbella Golf & Country Club - Totally different courses)
Monte Mayor (Brutally tight course but was fantastic and good fun)
Los Arqueros
La Cala (All 3 are good)
San Roque (Either- Usually good deals available)

As someone above said, use Golf Service, definately, as they offer a good service and some fantastic deals. They'll be able to tell you what the course condition is like, but the ones above are usually pretty great, and all are fantastic courses...

[brlambert]

Thanks a lot for the suggetsions. It looks like that Golf Service will be a good resource also. Ill let you know how the trip goes.

[SJWDR]

Going tomorrow 6 Jan 09 for a week to Marbella;
any golf course recommendation reflecting actual conditions?
Golfingly
SJW