Dutch golfer Anne Van Dam’s presence at the Andalusian Costa del Sol Open for Women at Aloha Golf in two weeks’ time reinforces Andalucia’s prime position as one of Europe’s foremost golfing destinations.
In addition, IAGTO, the international association of golf tour operators, has confirmed the celebration of the IAGTO Golf Trophy in the province of Cádiz.
Simply speaking, Andalucia is Europe’s leading golf tourist destination due to the quality of its courses located in privileged areas, with beautiful landscapes and near idyllic beaches!
It has over 100 courses designed by world-famous names such as Trent Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros.
Beginners, amateurs and professionals can choose from among almost 120 golf courses dotted across the region’s eight provinces, offering an unrivalled variety of challenges.
Best of all, mild winter temperatures including 300 days of sunshine and courses with mountain and sea views and more than 300 days of sunshine a year make Andalucía a golfer’s paradise all year.
Beginners, amateurs and professionals alike can enjoy these courses. In the Costa del Sol, with more than half of Andalusia’s golf courses; in Cadiz, with its impeccable greens and the enchanting beaches of its coastline; in the Costa Tropical, where you can combine beach, golf and snow. Almeria, with some ten courses, including two Arizona desert-style courses and in the province of Huelva, with unrivalled sites, such as the Doñana National Park, with 11 golf courses.
In the interior provinces, Seville has 5 golf courses, Cordoba has two and Jaen has one, rounding out Andalucia’s golf selection.
Throughout the entire year Andalucia’s golf courses hold important tournaments in the amateur category. In the professional category Andalusia annually hosts several tournaments of the European Golf Circuit, bringing together the best golfers in the world.
Many hotels and resorts have their own courses, or can offer reduced green fees at nearby clubs. If you’re coming to Andalucia to retire, you can even buy your new home right next to a green.
Marbella offers courses for all standards of players, on all terrains, and has some of the plushest club houses around. There are a number of golf clubs in Marbella itself, but the city has the added bonus of being minutes drive away from the Costa del Golf, which offers scores of different courses in the Golfers Paradise.
The Marbella/Sotogrande area has the highest concentration, with around 40 world-class courses on this part of the Costa del Sol alone, while Malaga and Cadiz provinces have the most courses per square km in Europe.
Quality Marbella golf courses include Almeria and Huelva, providing memorable challenges for all levels of golfing enthusiasts. The provinces of Granada and Sevilla also offer fine courses and services for golfers. Jaen and Córdoba further inland are also good, less well-known destinations.
With some of the best courses to chose from for the keen golfer, the municipality of Mijas is a golfer’s paradise. Whether you are staying in Mijas Village, the Las Lagunas area or at any of the points along Mijas Costa, you are never more than a few minutes from a golf course.
Emblematic of the area, Mijas Golf Internacional was the first course in the area and was founded in 1976. Mijas Golf has two courses of 18 holes each – Los Olivos and Los Lagos.
La Cala Golf describes itself as the finest golf complex in Andalucia, with three 18 hole championship courses designed by Cabell Robinson, La Cala Golf Academy in Mijas, Spain
Benalmádena Golf comprises a nine-hole par-3 course and a golf school. Its amenities include a practice ground with 48 tee areas complete with night-time illumination and a spectacular clubhouse with bar, restaurant, shop and dressing rooms. The course”s emblematic hole is the eighth. As well as superb sea views, the hole is also bordered to the east by a stunning waterfall that leads to a narrow but extended green defended by two bunkers on the western side.
La Siesta is a purpose-built golf course located in Calahonda designed by Enrique Canales. Although a private club, visitors are welcome.