When I left Marbella that leaden morning in mid-January, I thought: “What a day I have chosen to play golf”. It was drizzling and cold. I had booked at the Costa Ballena Golf Club, located between Rota and Chipiona, next to one of the best beaches on the coast of Cádiz. My mood began to change as I drove towards Jerez along the Ruta del Toro. One pasture after the other, herds of fighting bulls could be seen grazing peacefully on both sides of the highway.
When I arrived at my destination, barely an hour and a half later, the weather was radically different. The sun was shining magnificently and the sky was such an intense blue that it looked as if it had been Photoshopped. I was glad I had not succumbed to my reluctance of a couple of hours earlier, which almost made me turn back.
It is worth coming to the coast of Cadiz, where the landscape, the villages, the sea, the atmosphere, is so different from the Costa del Sol.
It had been more than ten years since I had played in Costa Ballena, although I had visited it frequently, without leaving the clubhouse. The course, of course, had been radically transformed: the vegetation had grown and increased a lot, and the general appearance was impeccable. Nine more holes had also been added, a large practice area, possibly the largest in Europe, and nine more par 3 holes.
Costa Ballena is one of the designs of which José María Olazábal is most proud. It was inaugurated twelve years ago and is part of a tourist and residential complex of some 500 hectares, where splendid hotels and several housing developments are located. The course is large and clear, occupying one fifth of the macro-project initiated by the Orleans-Borbon family and the Junta de Andalucia. Perhaps this is one of the most ‘American-style’ Andalusian courses, something like the Blue Monster of Doral, in Miami, with plenty of water, wide fairways, some by the sea, and tropical vegetation with a huge palm grove, which delimits much of the course, which is practically flat and very easy to walk.
The caddy master and store manager had everything ready for my golf day: a new and very clean buggy, the scorecard, etc. It is very important the first impression you get when you arrive at a golf club and Isabel makes you feel comfortable and welcome. It is to be appreciated, because it is not always like that.
The La Ballena clubhouse is a typical ‘hut’ with a thatched roof (castanet) built in the old style of the marshland area.
It has all the services you would expect from a ‘club house’: cafeteria, restaurant, etc., and some more, such as a large gymnasium, as the complex is a high performance center where teams from the national federations of Sweden, Czech Republic, Finland, etc., regularly attend.
The official course of this Cadiz course is the first 18 holes. It is not long, the greens can be easily reached with the second shot on the par fours, but the rough is quite complicated and the greens are fast and small.
Hole 1 is a 345-meter par four from the yellows (from now on, distances will always be marked from the yellow bars). The complication here is the out of bounds on the right, which comes into play quite a bit, and the multiple olive trees on the left side of the fairway. A good drive leaves you with a 7 or 8 iron to a very small green, very well protected by bunkers and with a large piano.
The 2nd is a long par three, 205 meters long, in which, depending on the wind, you will have to hit a three wood or at least a hybrid or 2 iron. It is better not to overdo it. The green is one of the largest, but with steep drops.
The 3rd (322 m.) is one of the shortest holes on the course, with a slight dogleg to the right. With a good tee shot, the second shot is very short to a green protected by bunkers on the right side.
On the 4th, a par four of 371 meters, it is important to hit a good drive, as always, because otherwise we will be left with a very long second shot to a green with bunkers on the right but with a very good entrance on the left.
On the 5th, a 500-meter par five, the out-of-bounds on the left and the bunkers located just short of the ball drop must be well controlled. On the second shot the water on the right comes into play, so it is not advisable to be very aggressive on this hole. It is very complicated to get in two.
To play the 6, a 147-meter par three, it is essential to pay attention to the position of the flag because there can be a difference of three clubs. To reach the green you have to fly over an imposing water hazard.
The 7th is the course’s handicap one, a 408-meter par four with a dog leg to the right. It is advisable to play the ball on the right side of the fairway to try to shorten the hole a little. The second shot is always going to be complicated, a long iron to the most difficult green on the course, with a piano that divides it in two.
The 8th is a recovery par five in which the most complicated shot is the tee shot, with a bunker that waits for the ball to fall on the left side. On the second shot it is necessary to be attentive to the water on the left.
The 9th is an easy par four to finish the first round. With a good drive, the second shot is short to a green protected by bunkers left and right. Do not overdo it because some mimosas are waiting for us at the back.
On the tee of the 10th, a par five of 435 meters, there is a lake that lurks to the right, although with a good drive there is the possibility of hitting two to the green with a not excessively long shot, perhaps a 4 iron or a hybrid, but you have to take into account the front bunker that will complicate your life.
The 11th is a par four of 342 meters. With an easterly wind it is very accessible, but with a westerly wind it is long.
The 12th is a very attractive par five. It measures 474 meters and looks like a typical Florida hole, with a fairway flanked by palm trees. On the drive we have an out on the right. The second shot must be placed on the left side of the fairway, because it opens wide and there are bunkers on the right that will prevent us from shooting to a green that is perhaps the flattest of the course.
The 13th is a complicated par four, handicap six, with incredible views of the Bay of Cadiz and the Costa Ballena beach. With a Levante wind, it becomes a hellish hole.
The wind also has a great influence on the next hole, a par three of 187 meters. With a headwind it becomes endless.
The 15th is the easiest of the course, a par 4 of 305 meters, but watch out for the slice because a lake awaits us.
The 16th is a par 3 of 135 meters, whose only difficulty is the lake that you have to fly over and that intimidates many amateurs. The green is one of the most complicated of the course, with two platforms and bunkers protecting it.
The 17th is a short par four of 295 meters where it is better not to play the drive to avoid the bunker on the right and the water on the left.
The 18th, a par four of 388 meters, is quite complicated by a long second shot to a green very protected by bunkers. With the long flag it is advisable to play at least two more clubs than we think because it is one of the largest greens on the course.
One of the most pleasant memories of my stay in Costa Ballena was the perfect care of its streets, of an intense green that contrasts with the bermuda of the rough, of a whitish tone.
For me, the course’s signature holes would undoubtedly be the 7th, 12th and 16th.
After the round, I enjoyed a magnificent lunch in one of the best restaurants in the golf clubhouse. The menu, varied and exquisite, has nothing to envy to that of any other high level restaurant.
I left Costa Ballena with a firm promise to myself to return very soon. The trip from the Costa del Sol is quick and worth it.
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