There are some holes in golfthat make your heart race inanticipation well before youreach them. They are theones that create edge-of-the-seat drama for TV viewers.

Often they are the penultimate hole. The17th at St Andrews – the infamous RoadHole where the lurking bunker derailedDavid Duval’s Open Championship hopeswhen battling Tiger Woods in 2000 – is onefamous example. The par-3 17th atSawgrass in Florida, with its notoriousisland green and baying crowd, another.

In the 1997 Ryder Cup, it wasValderrama’s par-5 17th that gripped theattention of the golfing world. Severaltempted to take on a long approach shot overthe guarding lake to the pin had their joy athitting the green cut short when the ball spunback on the wicked slope and disappearedinto the water. Tiger Woods even managed toputt his ball into the lake. All of whichearned it the nickname “Valderdrama”.

The slope has since been softened and thegreen extended slightly, to make it a fairerchallenge. But the hole is still a dauntingprospect, and one that prayed on my mind forthe entire round until I reached it when I final-ly got the chance to play the course in June.

It was during a competition for interna-tional media. Teams comprised four playersfrom each nation. I was captain of Englandand my partner (actually an Aussie!) and Iwere pitted against two Germans.Conditions could not have been better.Gorgeous blue skies were matched by fair-ways so perfectly groomed it seemed a

November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 37

COSTA DEL SOL, SPAIN

pack your CLUBS

Costa del GolfSpain’s top holiday spot is

also favourite with holidayinggolfers and its top-notchfacilities include one ofEurope’s very best, as

Peter Ellegard discovered

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■ Valderrama

38 The Travel & Leisure Magazine November/December 2009

shame to spoil them with divots and greenssmooth enough for a snooker match.

The match was a close affair right upuntil the 17th, with us just ahead. My drivefound the wide fairway. Deciding againstgoing for glory, I laid up in front of the lake,then hit the green with my third shot whilethe others all found trouble. I was left with atricky 25-foot putt, and had visions of emu-lating Tiger’s putt into the lake. Instead, myball agonisingly lipped out just as it seemedI would get an unlikely birdie. However, thepar was good enough for us to win thematch and secure fourth place for the team.Back in Marbella that evening, we helpedthe victorious Irish celebrate their deservedoverall win with much alcohol.

InvestmentValderrama is one of nine courses designedby Robert Trent Jones senior along theCosta del Sol. This 100-mile-long coastal

strip of Spain’s southernmost region,Andalucia, tempts golfers with more than60 courses, many by top architects.Unsurprisingly, it proclaims itself as theCosta del Golf on roadside signs.

And it is no idle boast. This is theMediterranean’s top golf holiday area,underlined by Andulucia beingnamed Europe’s EstablishedGolf Destination of theYear for 2009 in theIAGTO Awards, thegolf industry’sOscars. The galaawards ceremonycame during theInternational GolfTravel Market, golf’smain business forum,in Marbella last year.With provincial capitalMalaga the host of IGTM

this year, it highlights how serious Andaluciais at maintaining its position – not only withgolfers but also with holidaymakers in gen-eral.

Huge investment is underway in its infra-structure, with a new terminal and secondrunway opening in 2010 at Malaga Airport,

a new high-speed train now con-necting Malaga with Madrid,

and new motorways.New golf facilities

continue to open, too.Finca Cortesinopened to greatacclaim nearEstepona in 2007and is now thehome of the

renamed Volvo WorldM a t c h p l a y

Championship, takingover from Wentworth.

Off course attractionsRegional capital Malaga’s old quarter contains remnants of its Moorish heritage as wellas a Roman theatre and later edifices such as its cathedral, built over an ancient mosque.Malaga was home to artist Pablo Picasso and his house is preserved as a monument,while the Picasso Museum contains works from throughout his life.In Mijas, donkey taxis take visitors on tours of the town, which has a square bullring.

They once transported marble and lime from hillside quarries to the coast.Cosmopolitan Marbella has a colourful old town while nearby Puerto Banus has many

bars and restaurants by its ritzy marina.The narrow streets of inland village Istan echoto the sound of water flowing from numerous fountains fed by natural springs.Ronda is one of the region’s hill-top Pueblos Blancos, or white villages – named for

the white-washed walls of their traditional Andalucian architecture.A deep gorgespanned by an ancient bridge divides Ronda’s historic and new quarters, with buildingsprecariously perched atop sheer cliffs.The ancient white village of Casares, the construction of which was ordered by Julius

Caesar, has a preserved Arab castle and offers views of the Straits of Gibraltar.

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■ The hill-topvillage of Casares

■ La Cala

England’s Ross Fisher won the inauguralevent there at the beginning of November.One of the longest courses in Europe, at7,438 yards, the course was designed byCabell Robinson – who was on RTJ senior’sdesign team for Valderrama – and takesgolfers on a rollercoaster ride with sweepingviews from several tees.

Royal historyGolf first arrived here in 1925 with theopening of the Golf Parador Malaga by theSpanish royal family. But the Costa golfboom didn’t begin until the 1960s and1970s, taking off in the 1980s.

Valderrama is the undoubted star of thearea, although strictly speaking it is not partof the Costa del Sol as it lies just across theborder from Malaga province in Cadiz.Named Europe’s third-best course in therecent Top 100 survey by Golf World maga-zine, it is in the exclusive, 5,000-acre

Sotogrande estate, which includes expensivehouses and several other top-drawer coursesset among cork oak trees.

“This is theMediterranean’s topgolf holiday area”

Tee times are limited for non-members, andgreen fees are high. But the experience is mag-ical and well worthwhile. It may not currentlyhost a PGA Tour event – it was host course forthe Volvo Masters until the event’s final stag-ing in 2008 – but it oozes quality and refine-ment. You also feel close to nature. A certifiedAudubon Co-operative Sanctuary, Valderramahas 40 acres of wildlife sanctuaries.

Of Sotogrande’s other golfing gems, theSan Roque Club boasts the San Roque Old

course by Dave Thomas and Tony Jacklin andthe more recent San Roque New, designed byPerry Dye and Seve Ballesteros. Its evocativeclubhouse exudes an old Spanish haciendafeel, while that of the 27-hole Almenara GolfClub has an elevated terrace where golferscan relax after a game and take in the sweep-ing vista to the sea. The Cabell Robinson-designed La Reserva, which opened in 2003,is already regarded a classic.

Largest complexGibraltar is close to Sotogrande, and theRock is framed by several holes ofAlcaidesa’s picturesque Links course,perched above a sweeping beach at thewestern end of the Costa del Sol.

Spain’s largest golf complex, La Cala, isset in a 1,000-acre leisure and residentialestate east of Marbella. Its longest layout,the 6,766-yard, par-73 America course, iscomplemented by the tight Asia course and

November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 39

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■ Spectacular view of Gibraltarfrom Alcaidesa's Links course

■ San Roque II

■ Antequera

the newest of the trio, the exhilaratingEuropa course. I only managed to play afew holes before unseasonal rain forced anearly retirement in June, but I am returningto La Cala this winter.

The resort also boasts a David Leadbetterteaching academy, a six-hole par-3 practicecourse and an on-site, five-star spa resorthotel. All three courses are Cabell Robinsondesigns, as is the nearby Santana Golf &Country Club course, built on a former avo-cado plantation.

Besides Valderrama, Trent Jones Sr wasalso responsible for other courses includingLas Brisas and the Los Lagos and LosOlivos layouts at Mijas Golf International,just inland from lively Fuengirola.

Just along the coast, near Benalmadena, isformer Spanish Open venue Torrequebrada.This hilly course has wonderful panoramicsea views and is the home course of SpanishRyder Cup star Miguel Angel Jimenez.Another hilly layout is the Seve-designedAlhaurin, which has an adjacent hotel.

ClusterFrom Mijas to Marbella, a cluster of cours-es includes two 1960s creations still populartoday – Golf Rio Real and Santa Maria Golf& Country Club – and the newer, parkland-style Santa Clara course.

The so-called “Golf Valley”, nearMarbella, has some of the Costa del Sol’shighest concentration of golf facilities.Among them are La Quinta, which has 27

holes laid out on undulating terrain along-side the five-star Westin La Quinta hotel,and another RTJ layout, Los Naranjos.

Monte Mayor’s challenging layout is setamong trees high on slopes betweenMarbella and Estepona and is one of thearea’s most spectacular. Also west of

Marbella are courses including theFlamingos Golf & Resort complex, the orig-inal course now augmented by the muchlonger, par-73 Gran Flamingo course. GaryPlayer’s tranquil El Paraiso is nearby.

But wherever you stay on the Costa delSol you are close to great golf.

November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 41

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Costa del Sol GOLF facts

Tourist informationVisit the Costa del Sol Tourist Office website atwww.visitacostadelsol.com or the Spanish National TouristOffice site,www.spain.info

WeatherThe Costa del Sol has a perfect year-round golfing climate, withan average 321 sunny days per year.

Getting thereMalaga is well-served by direct flights from several UK airports.Among airlines,Monarch (www.monarch.co.uk) operates from airports including Gatwick and Lutonwith fares, including taxes, starting from £46.50 one way and £76.99 return. Seats canbe pre-booked at £7.50 each way,with extra-legroom seats available for £20.

Green feesLate winter and early spring are peak season. Green fees start from as low as€30 and average €85. In summer, prices can be reduced by as much as 50%.

Golf packagesTour operators offering Costa del Sol golf packages include Premier Iberian(0845 600 3391,www.premieriberian.com). It offers three nights’ bed andbreakfast at the NH Sotogrande hotel with two rounds of golf at Almenara from

£155. Seven nights’ B&B at La Cala with four rounds on itscourses costs from £433 between December 1 and January 31,2010, including a 25% early booking discount for bookings atleast 30 days in advance. Flights are not included. Otheroperators includeYour Golf Travel (0800 043 6644,www.yourgolftravel.com), Golf Breaks (0800 279 7988,www.golfbreaks.com), Driveline Golf (0870 330 1056,www.drivelinegolf.com), Golf Amigos (0141 644 0999,

www.golfamigos.co.uk), and Leisure Link Golf Holidays (01277 247520,www.leisurelinkgolf.com).

CoursesLa Cala Resortwww.lacala.com

Finca Cortesin Golf Resortwww.fincacortesin.com

La Quinta Golf & Country Clubwww.laquintagolf.com

Valderramawww.valderrama.com

La Reservawww.sotogrande.com

San Roque Clubwww.sanroqueclub.com

HotelsLa Cala Resortwww.lacala.com

NHAlmenarawww.hotelalmenara.com

Westin La Quintawww.westinlaquinta.com

Golf Parador Malagawww.parador.es

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■ Finca Cortesinhosted the recent

Volvo WorldMatchplay event

■ Valderrama