Seve’s Major Design Challenge on the Costa del Sol
Opened in 1993, Alhaurín Golf is a genuine high-end course, and not only because it is located in a beautiful setting in the Mijas mountain ranges. It is also one of the most picturesque on the Costa del Sol; and one of the first – if not the first – to be designed by the greatest Spanish golfer in history: Severiano Ballesteros.
This Costa del Sol resort comprises an 18-hole, par-72 course, another nine-hole par-three layout, also created by the legendary Seve, a four-star hotel, and one of the finest practice ranges, with an academy and all the services that you could possibly seek from a premier golf resort. The course is truly bold and impressive – leaving no-one indifferent after playing it. Achieving this was one of the major objectives marked out by its original instigator and developer 25 years ago: Teodulfo Lagunero. Lagunero was – and still is – an extremely untraditional entrepreneur. His entrepreneurial, adventurous spirit was combined with other qualities that made him a «rare breed» in Spain.
Among his friends were Pablo Picasso, the poet Rafael Alberti, the communist leader Santiago Carrillo (he was the one who introduced Carrillo clandestinely into Spain, wearing his famous wig, at the end of the seventies) and many other personalities from the world of culture and politics. He even managed to prompt another of his friends, the writer Antonio Gala, to become an Alhaurín Golf shareholder in its early days.
His vision and determination to create, in the mountains of Mijas, a major golf complex and real estate development required, at the time, a great personal and economic effort. However, he believed in the project and embarked on it despite the enormous difficulties involved. He was always very clear that he wanted the best player of the era to design his course, and he did everything possible for it to be Seve. «I believe», says club pro Miguel Navarro, who was a first-hand witness of Alhaurín Golf’s origins 25 years ago, «that Teodulfo Lagunero’s idea was very good: the location of the course is ideal, in between mountains and offering spectacular views. You had to be a visionary to come up with a golf course and a resort like this one.
«Severiano created the course to his liking, based very much on his style and way of playing. He made long holes, as he liked them to be, so much so that in his first design sketches he drew some that had the green outside the plot. He also envisaged greens that were large and undulating.
“To consider building a course with this terrain was not an easy task for anyone, but Seve took it as a challenge that he had to overcome – and he achieved that. He created something exceptional. This was one of the first courses that he designed and that’s why I think he was quite fond of it. He imagined it as a compendium of the holes he liked best at the finest courses around the world, and he tried to imitate them here. Of course, he had to adapt them to the terrain that was available.
«He wanted to leave his mark so that all players who came here recognised a course created by Seve: a challenge for players of any handicap, with many positions and options, downhill shots, dog-legs… a course, in short, that was anything but boring.»
GLOBAL GOLF COMPANY’S ARRIVAL
Last September Anthony Dunlop joined the golf course management team at Global Golf Company, a company that manages many courses in Spain and other countries. Since they arrived, key decisions have been taken to offer a high-quality course in the competitive Costa del Sol market.
«We have decided,» he says, “to undertake a more thorough maintenance programme than the course has had in recent years, facilitating play with wider fairways, better greens, more carefully maintained and profiled rough, and more healthy tree-lined areas.
«When we arrived, the course was completely aerated and spiked, which had not been done for a long time. We are replacing the tees and making the course much greener and with better playing conditions. We have also boosted the fleet of buggies up to 60, which is enough for any eventuality, including a shotgun start tournament.
«I would like to highlight our practice facilities, among the best in Spain without a doubt, with approach areas, a putting green, a large driving range with different tee positions, including covered, and something which very few courses offer: a nine-hole, par-three layout also designed by Ballesteros.
«In addition, we have a great football pitch in the hotel complex that attracts top European teams, visiting here for their camps and training.»
Seve’s creation, Alhaurín Golf, has evolved eminently well during the 25 years that have passed since its inauguration, to the extent that it has become a must-play course on the Costa del Sol. “The course is definitely a challenge,” concludes Anthony Dunlap, “with the best views possible. From holes six and eight you can see the whole Costa del Sol. It is also varied and enjoyable, and playing the course requires great concentration and a solid strategy.»
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