Built in 1925 and inaugurated by the Spanish Royal Family in 1928, this is undoubtedly the oldest course in Malaga. Located just five minutes from the airport and about ten minutes from the capital of the province and Torremolinos, it has been the scene of two European Tour tournaments: the Turespaña Masters in 1992, won by a very young Vijay Singh (if I am not mistaken, it was the third competition won by the Fijian in the Old Continent) and the Turespaña Open de Andalucía, in 1999, won by Miguel Ángel Jiménez.
In March 2010 it will once again host a European Tour tournament, the Andalusia Open, organized by the great player from Malaga.
It could be said that the Parador is two courses in one. The original eighteen, designed by Tom Simpson, and the back nine, links-style, that border the beach. The three courses are usually mixed on the back nine. The links was done in the last decade.
Another characteristic of this course, and not a minor one, is that it has no construction that affects the game, no house in sight, no concrete obstacle that forces players to juggle or affects the environment.
Only the hotel is the only building within the complex. It is so strategically located that most of the holes seem to start or reach it, although, logically, this is impossible.
This is a course built when space was not the main problem. That is why it is very wide and relatively long, more than six thousand meters in a flat terrain, without ups and downs that in the end make the distances shorten, when that is the case. The fairways have hardly any rough, although from now on they will start to create it to prepare the course for the next Open de Andalucía.
The grove is abundant, despite the proximity to the sea, which severely punishes it by salinity and easterly winds. Precisely now an important reforestation is being done to replace the trees fallen by the passage of time and the effect of inclement weather. Eucalyptus, pine and mimosa trees abound.
The links course, par 34, is much shorter than its bigger brothers, but narrower and more complicated as well. Here the wind really comes into play. It was designed by Juan Carlos García.
Already from El Parador and before leaving to play, the course appears with a splendid aspect, with a perfect maintenance, something that I could confirm shortly after walking its fairways with the professional and greenkeeper Juan de los Ríos, who gave me an authentic lesson of golf in all its extension: of game and of how to maintain an ‘old’ course in perfect condition.
Hole 1 is a 437-meter par 5 from the yellows with a slight dogleg left. It is relatively easy because of its distance and because it offers a wide and straight fairway. The danger lies at the entrance to the green, which is protected by four bunkers and slightly uphill. Depending on the position of the flag, the approach can be complicated.
The greens, in general, are wide and noble. It must be taken into account that this course was built in the year 25, when the playing material was not the current one, but the distances were, so it was more complicated to reach the green and these could not be very complicated in falls and difficulties. Little by little they have been changing and making them more difficult.
Hole 2 is a par 4 of 311 meters (always from yellow) with out of bounds on the right, where there is also a large bunker at the drop of the drive. On the left there are also some large pine trees lurking. The green, one of the remodeled ones, has two different platforms, one flat and the other more undulated. It is well protected by a half-moon bunker on the left and a smaller one on the right.
The 3rd, a short par 4 of 260 meters, is defended by a bunker on the left and, for golfers with more punch, by a lake on the right that reaches the edge of the green. Water comes into play or not, depending on the position of the flag. Perhaps here it is advisable to use a 5 wood or even an iron to place the ball well in the fairway and face the second shot with peace of mind.
Hole 4 is a long par 4, 385 meters, with a slightly undulating fairway, especially on the drive drop. The green is flat and without problems. The difficulty of this hole, handicap 2, lies in the distance and the bunkers that make the second shot difficult.
The 5th is another par 4, 372 meters, also with movement in the fairway at the drop of the drive, from where a slight dogleg to the right starts. The green has a large piano and bunkers to the right and left that protect it.
Hole 6, a 149-meter par 3, has only one difficulty: a large bunker in front of a flat and wide green. There are out of bounds to the left and behind.
The 7th, a 364-meter par 4, is the course’s first handicap. It has a dogleg to the left, where there are out of bounds and three important bunkers at the drop of the drive for average players. Another bunker awaits the hitters on the right a little further on. The second shot to the green is complicated by a lake and a creek on the right and bunkers on the left. In addition to the difficulty of the hole itself, the winds, especially the Levante, complicate it a lot.
Hole 8, a par 4 of 334 meters, is relatively easy. The average player can find a large, but very flat, bunker on the right on the tee shot, and the player with the best shot can find another bunker on the left. The second shot will be short and smooth to a green with a slight piano.
The 9th is a fairly long par 3, 184 meters, where the winds have a great influence. The green, slightly uphill, can have difficult pin positions. It is protected by two large bunkers on the right and left.
Hole 10, a par 4 of 352 meters, offers no problems in the tee shot. Here, as in most of the course, the fairway is very wide, between 35 and 40 meters. A player with a good shot can reach the three bunkers that cross the fairway. The green is slightly elevated and very flat.
On hole 11 we find ourselves again with another long and complicated par 3, 194 meters long. There is water on the left and four bunkers protecting the green, three of them practically surrounding it. The wind and the distance can play a trick on us.
The 12th is a long par 5, 482 meters, with a very narrow drive drop for once, and the same chepas in the fairway that we had encountered before. The third shot to the green can be complicated by the pronounced valleys in front of it. It is slightly elevated and has a lot of movement. Each side is protected by deep bunkers.
The 13th, a 144-meter par 3, is one of the recently modified holes. Very narrow at the tee, it now has a much enlarged green and moved to the left. Depending on the flag position, the hole can be complicated by the bunkers on the right and left that protect the platform.
the 14th is a par 5 of 454 meters that requires a great tee shot because from the tee to the fairway, as in the links, there is a long distance covered with sand, where falling can be disastrous.
The fairway is flat but the green is well protected by bunkers and water, making the second or third shot a precision shot.
The 15th, a 371-meter par 4, is not easy. At the drop of the average player’s drive, the fairway is more or less flat, but the long hitter may encounter a series of water hazards that can complicate the second shot. The green is medium sized, flat, but very well guarded by four deep bunkers to the left and right.
The 16th, a par 5 of 438 meters, is possibly one of the most accessible of the course. There is a bunker on the left for big hitters, but little else. Before the green there is water on the right, which hardly comes into play.
The 17th makes a slight dogleg to the right. This par 4 of 311 meters has a straight tee shot and a narrow and elongated green, protected by three bunkers, two on the right and one on the left. There are not many problems here.
The last hole of the original course of El Parador, a par 4 of 393 meters, offers a series of gentle water hazards at the tee, but that can make the second shot very difficult, which will always be long to a green protected by bunkers.
But this is not the end of this splendid course, a pioneer of golf on the Costa del Sol, as a new and different experience awaits us on the new links course added to the original eighteen holes.
They are, as already mentioned, very different from the previous ones: shorter and narrower than those of the ‘old course’ and with smaller and more mobile greens.
Hole 19, hole 1 of the links, is a par 4 of 305 meters. Completely straight, there are no problems with the drive but there are problems with the second shot, complicated by the large bunker that almost surrounds the green on the right and the other deep bunker on the left.
Hole 20, a 163-meter par 3, is possibly the most difficult hole on the course. Despite being a medium shot, the green is very protected by water on the right and back, and by a large bunker on the left.
The 21st, a par 4 of 287 meters, totally straight, noble, runs through pine trees, and only on the second shot can problems appear, due to the large number of trees that exist.
The next hole is a pronounced dog leg to the right, a par 4 of 313 meters. The tee shot must be hit through a tube of trees, and the second shot, to the green, must take into account the large number of bunkers that protect it (nine, to be precise).
The 23rd, a par 4 of 299 meters, is out of bounds on the left, but the tee shot is straight and without problems. However, the second shot, to the green, requires more thought, because it is very, very protected by a large and deep bunker on the left, before reaching it, and several more to the right and behind. This green has a lot of movement and complicated flag positions.
The 24th, a par 4 of 272 meters, straight and out of bounds on the left, only offers difficulty on the second shot, due to a large lake on the right side of the green.
Hole 25, a par 4 of 297 meters, is another dog leg to the right. We have to cross an estuary with the tee shot, and after a hundred meters we are already on the fairway. There are no problems for a medium shot. But a long one may encounter a lake that almost crosses the fairway. The green is undulating and protected by a large bunker on the left.
The 26th is the shortest hole on the course: less than 60 meters, par 3 of course, but it requires great precision because the green is very small, with out of bounds at the entrance and an estuary just in front.
To finish this course, the 27, a par 4 of 345 meters, is a dog leg to the left, with a very narrow fairway and a parallel river that runs from the tee to the green. On the left there are large, intimidating trees. The green is not very large and is very well protected by bunkers and a small lake in the background.
After such an intense day of golf and on such a varied course, the arrival at the 19th hole, in this case the 28th, is an indescribable pleasure, among other things because El Parador, which was renovated in depth relatively recently, just over two years ago, offers the best gastronomy imaginable, from haute cuisine, to snacks, to a delicious and reasonably cheap menu for golfers, which is changed daily.
The Parador, although officially a four-star hotel, offers a five-star service and all its facilities are five stars.
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