The Costa del Sol is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Europe due to many reasons: its climate, its beaches, its landscapes, its hotels, its wide range of leisure activities, its good air and land communications, its marinas, its history, its cultural and artistic heritage, the friendliness of its people, its rich gastronomy… and, of course, its golf.
Enjoying the sun and golf on the Costa del Sol 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. Andalusia is the Spanish region with the most golf courses (more than a hundred), and the Costa del Sol, in the coastal strip that goes from Nerja to Sotogrande, has 70, 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 on the Costa del Sol, also known as the Costa del Golf, home to the Ryder Cup, the Volvo Masters, the AmEx World Championships, the Volvo World Match Play Championship, the World Cup, the Open de España and the Andalucía Masters.
The most prestigious designers in the world have expressed their wisdom in the courses of Costa del Sol. It is worth mentioning, for example, the American Robert Trent Jones, author of Valderrama, Real Club de Sotogrande, Las Brisas and Los Naranjos, among other Costa del Sol courses, Javier Arana, Tom Simpson, Perry Dye, Dave Thomas or Cabell B. Robinson. Legendary players such as Gary Player and Seve Ballesteros have also left their design mark on the Costa del Sol.
For the hundreds of thousands of golf enthusiasts who visit the Costa del Sol every year – Europe’s leading destination in this segment – 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. There are also resorts with golf courses and their own hotels, some with prestigious luxury hotels, such as Villa Padierna Palace or Finca Cortesín.
Marbella, Mijas, Benahavís and Estepona are the municipalities with the most golf courses in the province of Málaga, a sport that can also be practiced in many other enclaves in Málaga, both on the coast and inland.
The provincial capital, Malaga, birthplace of Pablo Picasso and home to the 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, is 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 cosmopolitan Marbella is a must for tourists, especially for golfers. Not in vain, it is the municipality in Spain with the largest number of golf courses: sixteen. In Puerto Banús it is easy to run into national and international personalities and well-known faces.
Marbella has earned its reputation as a quality tourist destination worldwide. Apart from its hotel infrastructure, which has an unparalleled 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.
Its golf facilities include three courses designed by Javier Arana (Guadalmina Sur, Aloha and Rio Real) and two by Robert Trent Jones Sr. (RCG Las Brisas and Marbella Golf). Guadalmina Sur is the pioneer golf course in Marbella (1959) and the second to be built on the Costa del Sol, after the Club de Campo de Málaga, which dates back to the late 20’s of the last century.
Mijas is the second municipality of Málaga in volume of golf courses, with thirteen. In the area of Mijas Costa there are important residential urbanizations, among which Miraflores and Calahonda, two mini-cities with two golf courses, are worth mentioning. Also noteworthy is La Cala Resort, one of the largest hotel and residential golf complexes in Spain with its three 18-hole courses plus another 6 par 3.
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 town is popularly known as ‘El Restaurante de la Costa’.
Although it is a small town in terms of inhabitants (about 10,000), this municipality is very large in extension and is home to eight golf courses -one of them, Los Arqueros, designed by Seve Ballesteros- and a municipal golf school with magnificent facilities. The spectacular Villa Padierna resort is located in Benahavís, with its luxurious hotel and spa and its three golf courses plus the academy run by Michael Campbell, champion of the 2005 US Open, in which he defeated Tiger Woods himself by two strokes.
Benahavís is the Spanish municipality with the highest number of golf courses per inhabitant.
Estepona is another town with a wide range of golf courses, with eight courses, including El Paraíso, designed by the legendary South African player Gary Player. Atalaya Golf has two courses, the Old and the New Course, and Valle Romano was the last course to open in Estepona, in 2010. 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.
Continuing west along the coast, in Manilva we find the La Duquesa course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, and in the municipality of Casares we find Doña Julia and Finca Cortesín, which was the setting for three World Match Play Championships years ago.
THE GADITANA COSTA DEL SOL
The Cádiz area of the Costa del Sol includes the municipality of San Roque, with its macro-urbanization Sotogrande, where the world famous Valderrama is located, the venue of the historic 1997 Ryder Cup, the first European Ryder Cup played outside the British Isles, on continental soil. In the aforementioned urbanization there are other renowned golf courses such as the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, The San Roque Club (two 18-hole courses) and La Reserva. Almenara and the first municipal golf course of the Costa del Sol are also located in the aforementioned municipality: La Cañada, whose first nine holes were designed by Robert Trent Jones and the second by Dave Thomas, former Ryder Cup player and designer of The Belfry together with Peter Alliss. Also in the Campo de Gibraltar is the Alcaidesa resort, with two 18-hole courses: the Links and the Heathland.
EASTERN COSTA DEL SOL
In the eastern part of the Costa del Sol, in the Axarquiaregion, there are two golf courses: Añoreta and Baviera, both designed by José María Cañizares, two-time World Cup winner. Located in the easternmost part of the province, it is the Malaga region that includes the largest number of municipalities. The Axarquia is characterized by large natural areas of mountains, hills, slopes, cliffs and extensive beaches, as well as for an autochthonous gastronomic offer and a magnificent artistic heritage. Its villages are picturesque places that have managed to keep, in a place of light and color, the beauty of its streets and squares, its monuments and popular festivals.
Golf is also found in the interior of the province of Malaga, as for example in Antequera, a city with a magnificent monumental ensemble as a result of its historical past that is reflected in more than fifty buildings of religious and civil architecture, dating from the Bronze Age to the eighteenth century. Many centuries of history contemplate dolmens, collegiate churches, churches, convents, palaces, arches, doors, citadels, chapels, hermitages, manor houses, palaces and even the urban fabric itself. Antequera stands out not only for its monumental attractions, but also for its natural ones, with such splendid landscapes as the fertile Vega or El Torcal, an amazing karst landscape that takes us back millions of years in the history of the planet. Very close to the city center is the 18-hole course of the Antequera Golf resort.
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