One of Spain’s great courses, Real Club de Golf Las Brisas, designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones Sr., is about to culminate an ambitious renovation plan that began in 2012 and will be fully completed in a few months to celebrate its golden anniversary next year.
The members approved at the time a first non-comprehensive reform -affecting greens, bunkers and tees- of the first nine holes, and when the work was completed and they were so satisfied with the results, they agreed to carry out a total renovation of the second round. Since this second renovation was so successful, it was the members themselves who asked to undertake a new action on the first nine holes to renovate the fairways, reseed them with Bermuda, and also build concrete paths. Last year, holes 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 9 were renovated, and now only holes 5, 6 and 8 remain to be retouched, and the work will be carried out between May and September.
Thus, the reform of the entire course will have been comprehensive and affected from the subsoil, with the installation of a new irrigation and drainage system, to the surface, with complete renovation of greens, tees, fairways and bunkers.
Taking advantage of the renovation, some changes have been made to the original design, especially on the second nine, with changes in relief especially on three holes. The course has gained distance through the relocation of tees or greens, although the par 72 course has remained intact, with four par 3s, ten par 4s and four par 5s.
“This way, the course will be completely renovated and in perfect condition for our 50th anniversary,” says Paul Muñoz, managing director of the Marbella club located in what is known as the Golf Valley, in the Nueva Andalucía macro-urbanization, which was born behind Puerto Banús. It was precisely the architect of this internationally famous marina, José Banús, the founder in 1968 of the Real Club las Brisas, then called Club de Golf Nueva Andalucía. Banús would be its first president and was at the head of the club until 1981.
To commemorate the golden jubilee, several events are planned for next year, although Muñoz prefers not to say anything about this yet.
The renovation has been carried out by Kyle Phillips, one of the most prestigious golf architects in the world. Having been a disciple of Robert Trent Jones, the Board of Directors of the Real Club de Golf Las Brisas considered that he would be the ideal person to undertake the renovation of the course.
The results of the renovation have been so positive that, says Muñoz, “I know of very few members who are not satisfied: the vast majority are very happy. And that is undoubtedly a great merit, since this cosmopolitan Marbella club has more than 1,200 members, with more than thirty nationalities represented.
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