Golf in Sotogrande… Things we love!
If you are a golfer and live in Sotogrande, you could say you live in paradise.
On your doorstep you will have the Real Club de Valderrama (Nº 1 in Spain), Real Club de Golf Sotogrande (Nº 3 in Spain), La Reserva Golf club (Nº 13 in Spain) and the Almenara golf course, all within the urbanization. Additionally, the two San Roque Golf courses the Old (Nº 26 in Spain) and New Course (Nº 32 in Spain), are only five minutes away. Finca Cortesin (Nº 5 in Spain) is just fifteen minutes’ drive. *Source: Top 100 course Spain
We are members of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande (RCGS).
The golf course opened in 1964 and was designed by Robert Trent Jones. It was his first European course and it is thanks to him that this par 72, 6,224-meter-long course still delivers exciting games after all these years.
Although during the COVID -19 quarantine, all of the above-mentioned golf courses were closed to members and visitors, they were well maintained and are now in perfect playing condition. We found playing May, June and July a god send. Having come out of confinement it was a blessing to be able to take exercise, walk and swing a golf club once again. Obtaining a tee time out of the summer season is never a problem, so getting on the course was straight forward.
Being close to the Mediterranean Sea the most significant element impacting how the course will play is wind. The two predominant winds are the easterlies (known as Levante) and the westerlies (known as Poniente). Standing on the first tee you will quickly know what sort of day you will have and depending on the strength of the wind you could be clubbing yourself very differently on different days. Wind makes Sotogrande Golf clubs very interesting and challenging. Every day is different.
A great feature of the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande course is the halfway house.
After walking nine holes a ten-minute pit stop is obligatory and very welcome. A quick cup of coffee and a bite to eat will refuel you until the bar in the clubhouse, which incidentally has one of the best restaurants in all of Sotogrande.
Now we are in full summer swing, we have noticed how the DNA of Sotogrande is very engrained at the RCGS. Nonresidents of the urbanization are at their holiday homes and the golf club is full of families enjoying the facilities. Kids, parents and grandparents all enjoy the excellent facilities. Not only golf but croquet, paddle, swimming and long afternoons of card games such as bridge and Mus.
For me though there is nothing better than an ice-cold beer in the clubhouse after a hot day on the course!!!
What do you love doing in Sotogrande? Tell us, we would love to know what makes Sotogrande so special for you!
Thank you for reading, Stephanie Noll.
