Andalusia is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Europe for many reasons: its climate, its beaches, its landscapes, its hotel infrastructure, its wide range of leisure activities, its good air and land communications, its marinas, its ancient history, its cultural heritage, the friendliness of its people, its rich gastronomy, flamenco… and, of course, its golf.
Enjoying the sun and golf in Andalusia is a reality during the twelve months of the year, something that the millions of golfers who live in the center and north of the continent cannot do in their countries of origin. This is the Spanish region with the most golf courses (almost 120), including the one that has been repeatedly chosen as the best on the continent, Valderrama, and several others ranked among the best in Europe. The most renowned international tournaments have been played in Andalusia, home of, for example, the Ryder Cup, the Volvo Masters, the AmEx World Championships, the Volvo World Match Play Championship, the World Cup or the Spanish Open.
The most prestigious designers in the world have expressed their wisdom in Andalusian fields. Examples include Robert Trent Jones, author of Valderrama, Javier Arana, Tom Simpson, Perry Dye, Dave Thomas and Cabell Robinson. Legendary players such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Severiano Ballesteros and José María Olazábal have also left their design mark in Andalusia.
This region, a leading golf tourist destination in Europe, offers golf in its eight provinces. The Costa del Sol, also known as Costa del Golf for its wide range of facilities for the practice of this sport, stands out in terms of number of courses, with more than half of Andalusia. But the ‘green gold’ does not stop spreading throughout the region, from sunny Almeria, where its Arizona desert-like courses stand out, to Huelva, with an always thriving Cadiz, a province that is experiencing a significant increase in the number of courses and is home to some of the best in Europe. Seville also has an interesting golf offer.
For the hundreds of thousands of golf enthusiasts who visit Andalusia every year to enjoy their favorite sport, there is a wide range of accommodations, of all categories and prices, highlighting the increasing variety of specialized golf hotels, with specific services to make the golfer’s stay more comfortable and pleasant.
COSTA DEL SOL, COSTA DEL GOLF
The province of Malaga, whose coastline, together with Cadiz’s Campo de Gibraltar, makes up the famous Costa del Sol, has more than half of the existing golf courses in Andalusia. The tourist attractions of this coastal strip are, apart from golf, very varied: gastronomy, beaches, marinas, nightlife, shopping, typical villages, historical heritage? Marbella, the most international of the coastal towns, Estepona, Mijas and Benahavís are the municipalities with the most golf courses in the province, a sport that can also be practiced in many other enclaves in Malaga.
The capital of Malaga, birthplace of Pablo Picasso and home to the spectacular museum dedicated to the author of Guernica, offers, apart from its beaches and bustling nightlife, an attractive monumental offer, among which the Cathedral and the Alcazaba stand out. In the municipality of Malaga, are the golf courses of El Candado, Guadalhorce and the Parador Malaga del Golf (formerly Club de Campo de Malaga), pioneer of the Costa del Sol and one of the oldest in Spain, since it was founded in 1925.
The most cosmopolitan of the Costa del Sol’s cities, Marbella, is a must-see, especially for golfers. Not in vain, it is the municipality in Spain with the largest number of golf courses: sixteen. In the bustling Puerto Banúss you can run into any of those celebrities who populate the magazines of the heart.
The Golf Valley, in the Nueva Andalucía macro-urbanization, includes Las Brisas, Los Naranjos, La Quinta, Aloha and La Dama de Noche, where you can play at night thanks to its artificial lighting system. Very close to this area, about three kilometers away, is the Guadalmina club, which has two 18-hole courses.
Less than a kilometer from the center of Marbella, is Monte Paraiso, and after passing the city towards Malaga we find the Rio Real club. A little further on, at the height of the Hospital Costa del Sol is Santa Clara Golf, and then there is Marbella Golf, Greenlife Golf, Santa Maria Golf and Cabopino Golf.
Marbella has earned its reputation as a quality tourist destination worldwide. Apart from its hotel infrastructure, which has an unmatched concentration of four and five-star establishments, the town has a privileged natural environment and, above all, a unique microclimate. The 27 kilometers of Marbella’s coastline are punctuated by four marinas.
Mijas is the second municipality of Malaga in volume of golf courses, with twelve. Mijas Golf, with two 18-hole courses, and La Cala, which in addition to 54 holes has a golf academy and a 6 par 3 course, stand out for their tourist affluence. Among the new courses, opened in the last ten years, Santana Golf, a splendid 18-hole course located in an old avocado farm, stands out. Also recent are Chaparral and Calanova. There are three nine-hole courses: La Noria, Miraflores and La Siesta. In the area of Mijas Costa there are important residential urbanizations, among which Miraflores and Calahonda, two mini-cities with their own golf courses, are worth mentioning.
Benahavís is a beautiful mountain village that is highly appreciated, among other things, for its magnificent gastronomy, which can be tasted in one of its numerous catering establishments. Not in vain, the village is popularly known as ‘El Restaurante de la Costa’. Although it is a small town in terms of inhabitants (about 5,000), this municipality is very large in extension and is home to eleven golf courses: La Quinta, Monte Mayor, Marbella Club Golf Resort, Los Arqueros, Flamingos (three courses), La Zagaleta (two courses), El Higueral and Atalaya (one of the club’s two courses: the other is in the municipality of Estepona).
Estepona is another town with a wide range of golf courses: Atalaya (one of its two 18-hole courses), El Paraíso, which bears the signature of Gary Player, Estepona Golf, Coto de la Serena, La Resina and El Campanario. Tradition and modernity are perfectly combined in this small town, with an old town that preserves the charm of the Andalusian villages, with its narrow streets, whitewashed houses and balconies full of flowers. One of the focal points of entertainment in the town is its marina, with more than 400 berths and a lively day and night life.
CADIZ, DREAM BEACHES
The southernmost province of the Peninsula captured the world’s attention thanks to the 1997 Ryder Cup, an event that meant the recognition of the great potential of Cadiz as one of the best year-round golf vacation destinations in Europe. Much has been said about the now world-famous Valderrama, which has also hosted the World Championships and the Volvo Masters, and now the Andalucía Valderrama Masters, and much more will be said, always to the good.
The province’s golf and tourism offer is an incentive that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, eager to enjoy the well-kept greens and the dream beaches of the coast of Cadiz, which has three important vacation spots specially designed for golfers: the macro developments Sotogrande and Novo Sancti Petri, both on the coast, and the Montecastillo complex, which hosted five editions of the Volvo Masters and which is located inland but with very quick and easy access to the coast. The golf offer in the province is completed with the courses of Vista Hermosa, in El Puerto de Santa María, Montenmedio, in Vejer de la Frontera, Costa Ballena, a tourist-sports macro-project located in Rota, Benalup Golf, in the area known as Ruta del Toro, in the interior of the province, and the most recently inaugurated courses, opened in the last twelve years, Arcos Gardens, Golf El Puerto, Sanlúcar Club de Campo, Sherry Golf Jerez, Villa Nueva, La Estancia and Lomas de Sancti Petri.
The city of Cadiz reflects in the urbanism of the old town the reminiscences of its multicultural past. It was created by the Phoenicians, who founded it under the name of Gadir in 1100 BC, making it the oldest city in the western world. Cadiz, which played a major role in the discovery of America, keeps in its architecture the reflection of those overseas contacts.
The most important golf core of the province is located in the municipality of San Roque, where the Sotogrande macro-urbanization is located, and includes the courses of Valderrama, Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, San Roque Club (two courses), Alcaidesa (two courses), La Cañada (municipally owned), Almenara and La Reserva.
Also noteworthy in the province is the Novo Sancti Petri tourist complex, which has, apart from five golf courses, a wide range of high quality hotels. This macro-urbanization, with velvety beaches and crystalline waters, is in the municipality of Chiclana.
ALMERIA, LAND OF SUN AND CONTRASTS
Almeria, the easternmost province of Andalusia, enjoys more than 200 kilometers of coastline and an average of 3,100 hours of sunshine per year.
Tourism in Almeria dates back to the visits of the Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans and Carthaginians, but those who stayed the longest were the Arabs, who left a deep mark on cities and towns.
There are many tourist attractions in the province, such as its endless beaches and the marinas that line its coasts attracting an important nautical tourism, among which Almerimar is worth mentioning.
Another great attraction of Almeria are its natural parks. The Cabo de Gata-Níjar, with volcanic formations, beaches and charming villages, stands out. Also famous is the Tabernas desert, dry and rugged, where many movies have been filmed about the old American West.
Golf Almerimar, designed by Gary Player, was the pioneer course. It was followed by Playa Serena, Cortijo Grande, Envía Golf, Marina Golf, Desert Springs -the first Arizona desert-style course built in Europe-, Valle del Este, also desert-style, Alborán Golf, Aguilón and Playa Macenas.
HUELVA, MUCH TO DISCOVER
Huelva, the Andalusian province located in the southwest and bordering Portugal, is famous for having been the port of departure of Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the New World, but also for its strawberries, for its exquisite Huelva ham and for its unparalleled natural landscapes, Among them is the Coto de Doñana National Park, designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1980, a natural paradise that is difficult to match in Europe, a natural reserve that covers more than twenty kilometers of coastline and beautiful areas of dunes and where thousands of migratory birds respond.
This place occupies most of the protected areas of the province, which covers 35 percent of its territory. The province also has important places full of history. As for green sports, Huelva has ten golf courses, distributed in eight clubs: Islantilla (27 holes), Isla Canela, Bellavista, Nuevo Portil, Dunas de Doñana, Corta Atalaya, El Rompido (two 18-hole courses) and Costa Esuri (two 18-hole courses).
SEVILLE, CENTER OF AN EMPIRE
Tartessians, Romans and Arabs left their mark on this land, which after the Christian reconquest became the nerve center of the Spanish empire, registering its maximum prosperity with the discovery of America, when ships loaded with precious metals arrived from that remote continent to the port of Seville.
The province reflects this rich past in its architecture and culture, which was also influenced by other peoples from Europe. The capital of the province is in itself a spectacle thanks to its neighborhoods and historical monuments, among which La Giralda, the Torre del Oro and the Cathedral stand out.
The province has five golf courses, the most important being the Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, which hosted the World Cup in 2004, the Spanish Open in 2008 and 2010 and the Andalusian Open in 2009. The others are Zaudín, Pineda, Las Minas and Hato Verde.
GRANADA, BEACHES, SKIING AND THE ALHAMBRA
Granada is a land of beautiful contrasts, where in the same day you can ski in the mountains and sunbathe on one of the beaches of its extensive coastline. It is also one of the Andalusian provinces with the greatest historical richness, in which the Arab, Jewish and Christian cultures have left an everlasting mark. The city was the last bastion of Islam in the Iberian Peninsula, and the Alhambra, the most visited monument in Spain, was the last palatial enclave of the Nasrid kingdom. The Alhambra includes the Alcazaba, the Patio de Los Leones, the Generalife and the Palace of Charles V, among other architectural wonders, which combine perfectly with the incomparable gardens of the entire complex of buildings. Apart from this majestic enclosure, Granada offers the visitor an old town whose narrow streets seem to take the visitor back to ancient times. The Jewish Quarter is a must visit.
But Granada is much more than its capital, and in this sense the so-called Costa Tropical and Sierra Nevada, which is the southernmost ski resort in Europe, stand out. Its snowy peaks are a beautiful spectacle that, on clear days, can be seen from the coast. In Granada you can perfectly combine a beach, golf and snow vacation, without forgetting visits to the rich historical heritage of the capital.
The province has four golf courses: Granada Club de Golf, Los Moriscos, Medina Elvira and Santa Clara Golf.
CORDOBA, CAPITAL OF AL ANDALUS
Cordoba was the capital of Al Andalus and during the 10th century it became the most populated city on the European continent, the center of caliphal power and a metropolis dedicated to knowledge and science. Today, the city retains the charm of ancient times, a magic that recalls that era of splendor. The best thing is that Cordoba, with its beautiful tree-lined avenues, allows the visitor to discover all its treasures in a single day, thanks to the concentration of its old town. In a small radius of one square kilometer, vestiges of the Roman, Arab, Jewish and Christian civilizations are mixed.
If there is a monument visited especially in the capital of Cordoba is the Mosque, whose construction began in the year 785. It is the oldest monument in the West that still remains in use. Inside there is capacity for 25,000 people. In the 16th century, despite serious opposition to the project in the city, a Gothic-Baroque cathedral was built inside the Mosque itself, thus consummating a curious marriage between two historical cultures. Next to this universal monument is the neighborhood of the Jewish quarter, which draws an intricate maze of narrow streets.
The province’s golf offer is limited to the Club de Campo de Córdoba and the Club de Golf Pozolanco.
JAEN, ART AND NATURE
The province of Jaén offers a wide range of attractions to its visitors. Not in vain, it is the first source of Iberian art of the Peninsula and in its confines it keeps monumental treasures of great historical value. Úbeda and Baeza are paradigmatic municipalities in this respect, while in the capital the Renaissance perfection of its Cathedral, which dominates the urban landscape of Jaén, and the Arab baths, restored during the last decade and considered the most beautiful in Spain, stand out. The city’s churches are also worth seeing.
The east of the province of Jaén is occupied by the Natural Park of Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, the largest in Spain, with more than 200,000 hectares. In its bosom, the Guadalquivir and Segura rivers are born, and its forests constitute one of the richest forest groups of the country. The Park, classified as a Biosphere Reserve, is home to beautiful landscapes and a varied fauna.
Golf can be played at the La Garza golf course, which is publicly owned.
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