Costa del Sol
News from Finca Cortesín
It’s always great news to see golf courses investing in improving their facilities to offer a better player experience. In this case, Finca Cortesín, one of the most well-known courses on the Costa del Sol and home of the Solheim Cup, has informed us of several improvements. These include a new putting green next to the tee of hole 1, which can also be used as an additional tee for tournaments. In addition, its Jack Nicklaus Golf Academy has incorporated Sportsbox technology, a tool that allows for a full 3D swing analysis with a single camera, which is ideal for any player who wants to fine-tune their technique.
Remember that with us you can book your green fees at Finca Cortesín always at the best price.
Escape to Spain and Portugal: A Golf Enthusiast’s Guide to the Best Courses and Resorts
Discover why Spain and Portugal are top choices for your golf escape. After participating in several events with North American golfers, we’ve crafted this concise guide to highlight why Spain and Portugal are premier destinations for your next golf getaway.
Plan Ahead: Real Club Valderrama 2026 Rates Now Available
For those dreaming of playing at one of Europe’s most prestigious golf courses, we have great news—Real Club Valderrama’s 2026 green fees are now available! The updated rates reflect an increase of approximately €50, and as always, tee times remain limited to Monday through Thursday, with very restricted availability during the summer months.
Check out the updated rates and secure your tee time today at Real Club Valderrama.
Join our November week tournament on the Costa del Sol
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Ready for a week of golf you’ll never forget? Join us from November 2nd to 9th, 2024 at the Yaramar Hotel in Fuengirola to enjoy an exclusive experience on the Costa del Sol. We have designed a special package that will allow you to play on some of the best golf courses in the region, combining sport and relaxation.
Our package includes everything you need for a perfect week. Enjoy 7 nights in a double room at the Yaramar Hotel, with daily breakfast included. Start your stay in style and meet your travel companions at a welcome cocktail at the hotel.
The golf itinerary includes playing some of our most recommended courses:
Nov 4, 11:10 – Torrequebrada Golf Course
Nov 5, 09:50 – Santana Golf Course
Nov 7, 10:00 – Finca Cortesín Golf Course
Nov 8, 11:24 – Hacienda Alcaidesa Links
To make your experience even more comfortable and enjoyable, we have included several additional benefits. Golf buggies are included in all courses, so you can move around easily and enjoy each round to the fullest. You won’t have to worry about transportation, since transfers to the golf courses are included. We’ll end the week with a group dinner with drinks included and special prizes, including golf breaks and green fees.
Experience golf like never before in one of the most beautiful destinations in Spain.
Book now and join us in November!
Grita mi nombre (Shout my name)
We loved this less typical promotional video of the Costa del Sol. A road trip with the theme of “Desmelenao” that provides a more modern perspective of the destination.
Solheim Cup Show Begins at Finca Cortesín on the Costa del Sol
The European and American players are now deep into their practice routines as the official inauguration date nears for Spain’s historic Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesín.
From the practice tees to the fairways and greens of the Casares course, the 12 players from each of the European and U.S teams are fine-tuning their games in preparation for the opening tee shots on Friday morning (22 September).
The first day’s pairings for the four foursome matches scheduled for Friday morning will be announced during the event’s official opening ceremony at Marbella Arena (on the outskirts of Puerto Banús) on Thursday night. Continue reading
Solheim Cup Teams Now Finalised for Historic Event at Finca Cortesín
All is now set for an epic battle at Finca Cortesín after both the European and the United States captains finalised their teams for the 2023 Solheim Cup. History will be made when the biennial event is held for the first time in Spain. The women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup – which was held at nearby Royal Valderrama Club in 1997 – will run from 22 to 24 September at the luxury Finca Cortesín resort in Casares municipality.
Associated activities, including live music concerts and gastronomy, are also being arranged in other areas of the Costa del Sol. Marbella Arena, for example, is organising a “Swing and Sun Fan Fest” from 19 to 24 September. At Hotel Villa Padierna, in Benahavís, three gourmet culinary evenings, including live music, are being held on 21, 22 and 23 September. Diners can also have their photograph taken next to the Solheim Cup.
As for the golf, spectators will be able to take advantage of special public transport transfer options from Marbella (including Puerto Banús and San Pedro de Alcántara) to avoid car parking issues. Once at the course, there will be a vibrant hospitality village ambience, with music, food and drinks, and other leisure activities.
The U.S. team won the first Solheim Cup in 1990, but Europe have been gradually chipping away at the Americans’ 10-7 overall advantage, and will be the defending champions at Finca Cortesín after their 15-13 victory at Inverness Club in Ohio last year.
One of Europe’s top holiday and residential-tourism resorts, Finca Cortesín already has international pedigree as a top tournament venue, having hosted the 2009, 2011 and 2012 Volvo World Match Play Championships.
The Teams
The European captain is Norwegian Suzann Pettersen, and her vice captains will be Anna Nordqvist (the Swede who also made the team as a player), legendary English star Laura Davies and Norwegian former Ladies European Tour pro Caroline Martens.
Eight players qualified automatically for the European team, and Pettersen had four captain’s picks. France’s Celine Boutier and Sweden’s Maja Stark were the top two on the LET Solheim Cup points list, while English pair Charley Hull and Georgia Hall, Ireland’s Leona Maguire, Linn Grant and Anna Nordqvist from Sweden, and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda secured their spots through the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Pettersen then named Gemma Dryburgh (Scotland), Madelene Sagström and Caroline Hedwall (Sweden) and Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark) as her four selections.
The Americans will be captained by Stacy Lewis, supported by assistant captains Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis and Angela Stanford.
Seven players qualified from the U.S. Solheim Cup points list – Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang, Jennifer Kupcho, Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee – and another two from the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings (Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang). Lewis’s final three captain’s picks were Ally Ewing, Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin.
Still considering coming?
If you are looking for a hotel or other accommodation options when attending the Solheim Cup, contact us. You might consider extending your stay and playing at other top courses on the Costa del Sol, in Sotogrande or further afield in Murcia (Costa Cálida), Alicante (Costa Blanca) or Madrid. Check out our special golf offers.
Magnificent Marbella – A True Golfing Mecca
Marbella is continental Europe’s premier destination for travelling golfers.
With more golf courses (15) than any other municipality in Spain, the popular international resort has some impressive numbers to attract golfers keen to play at various different clubs during their stay, but it is just as much (if not more) about quality as quantity.
Those 15 include some of the top courses not only in Spain but also at a global level. Several Marbella clubs have hosted numerous European Tour and other international events over the past half-century, attracting some of the greatest stars in the history of the game.
Royal Las Brisas, for example, hosted World Cups in 1989 and 1973 – the latter won by the US team of Jack Nicklaus and Johnnie Miller. Other players who have won major titles at Marbella clubs are Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Lee Westwood, Curtis Strange and Málaga’s own Miguel Ángel Jiménez.
There are three other renowned clubs in the same Nueva Andalucía area as Las Brisas, popularly known as Marbella’s “Golf Valley”: Aloha, Los Naranjos and La Quinta (27 holes).
On the eastern outskirts of Marbella town centre, Río Real is one of Spain’s most venerable clubs, having been founded in 1965 and designed by the late doyen of Spanish golf course architects, Javier Arana. Four other 18-hole courses are located further east in this part of the municipality, Santa Clara, Marbella Golf Country Club (designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones Sr.), Santa María and Cabopino – as well as the nine-hole par-three course Greenlife.
At the western end of Marbella municipality is Royal Guadalmina, with two courses, the South (opened in 1959) and North (1973), while one of the more recently opened courses, Marbella Club Golf Resort, is located just off the iconic Golden Mile.
There is also the nine-hole Magna Marbella course between Nueva Andalucía and San Pedro de Alcántara and another short par-three layout, Banús Executive, previously known as La Dama de Noche when it was inaugurated near Puerto Banús in 1991 as Spain’s first fully-illuminated 24-hour course.
Complementing these courses are modern golf academies and meticulously maintained driving ranges with the latest cutting-edge technology, while many golf clubs also offer players gourmet cuisine that rivals that of the finest restaurants in Marbella.
Speaking of which, four restaurants have attained prestigious Michelin recognition: Skina (in the Old Town) with two stars, and Messina and Nintai (Marbella town centre) and El Lago (at Greenlife in Elviria), both one each.
For travelling golfers who also like to spend time away from the fairways exploring the local attractions, Marbella’s Old Town offers a fascinating historical journey spanning several centuries, the Puerto Banús marina is renowned as one of Europe’s hotspots of glamour, and the municipality extends along 30 kilometres of coastline replete with luxury beach amenities and a wide array of nautical activities.
Getting to Marbella is convenient from just about anywhere in the world, with the Málaga-Costa del Sol international airport one of Europe’s major flight hubs. If renting a car on arrival, the municipality is serviced by a modern transport infrastructure, and it is an excellent base for visiting other parts of Andalucía including Granada, Córdoba and Sevilla.
Finally, Marbella is an exceptional five-star destination when it comes to hotels, with a superb choice of establishments both next to golf courses and in convenient urban areas – most with state-of-the-art spa and wellness amenities for relaxing après-golf and for non-golfing companions.
At Golf in Spain we can provide you with green fees at most of Marbella’s golf courses at preferential rates.
Time to look for your flights to Marbella and plan your next golf break to the Spanish golfing Mecca.
LIV Tour Event to be Held at Valderrama in Summer 2023
There had been intense speculation since this year’s decaffeinated Andalucía Masters, and now the rumours have been confirmed officially. LIV Golf has announced that Royal Valderrama Club will host one of the renegade tour’s 14 events in 2023, from 30 June to 2 July.
The announcement follows reports in recent months that Valderrama had become increasingly irritated with the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) at the diminishing status of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, which attracted a second-tier field for the 2022 edition in October.
Now, that annoyance has culminated in Valderrama agreeing to host a LIV Tour event for the next five years.
Announcing that El Camaleón (Mexico) and Sentosa (Singapore) would also be hosting tournaments in 2023, as well as the previously confirmed The Grange in Australia, LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said, “LIV Golf is truly a global league dedicated to expanding the sport throughout the world, and these destinations for the league’s 2023 launch showcase our commitment to tournament play at the highest level. These venues have played host to signature moments in golf, and we’re excited to build new traditions for the sport while delivering a first-class fan experience at some of the world’s best courses.”
Valderrama chief executive Javier Reviriego said, “Royal Valderrama Club has a rich history of hosting extraordinary golf tournaments, and we are excited to initiate this new partnership with LIV Golf. The quality of players that will compete at Valderrama will no doubt attract many European fans that are eager to see some of the best golfers in the world. We will ensure that the golf course is presented in top condition and that it represents a true challenge, where precision and strategy will play a key role. There is no doubt that the five LIV Golf events that we will be hosting in the coming years will further position Andalucía as one of the top golf destinations in the world.”
Reigning US Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick To Defend Title at Valderrama
Winning at Royal Valderrama last year meant Matt Fitzpatrick could tick off another achievement on his career bucket list. He had always wanted to win at the renowned Sotogrande course, and he was delighted when victory last year in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters gave him his seventh European Tour title.
This year, he made it eight – the most important of all, his first major – in the US Open. Continue reading
