Your Golf Travel Oliver & Alastair discuss golf in Costa del Sol, the whole-in-one destination for golfers looking for the perfect holiday.
Running south from Malaga, down past Marbella, all the way to Sotogrande, the Costa del Sol is the most iconic stretch of coastline in southern Spain.
It is recognised throughout Europe as one of the ultimate holiday destinations for those seeking sizzling sunshine and beautiful beaches, but also by golfers for having one of the best selections of championship courses in the world.
00:00 – Intro
00:36 – What is the best golf course you’ve played in Costa del Sol?
05:11 – You can only play one course, which one are you choosing?
07:35 – When visiting Costa del sol, what was the most surprising thing about your visit?
10:12 – With a group of mixed skilled golfers, where would you suggest playing?
14:13 – What’s your favourite golf hole in Costa del Sol?
17:04 – What’s the ideal golf itinerary in Costa del sol looking like?
Host: Alastair Harmsworth
Guest: Oliver Gunning
The Costa del Sol Golf Tour – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLicaxw4-vUpEUaIyj5HSUKSvYlTblUHGl
Hole in One Challenge at Torrequebrada – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95t-kuzvWPQ&list=PLicaxw4-vUpEUaIyj5HSUKSvYlTblUHGl&index=5&t=2s
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hello and welcome back to the yYour Golf Travel podcast today I’m here with Oliver and hello and we are going to be speaking about the Costa del Sol soul aka the Costa del Golf very much so that’s it doesn’t get much better for golf than that does it yeah one of the best loc one of the best destinations obviously in Europe for golf I would say undoubtedly there’s such a amazing rare of courses you know budgets from you know value to you know we’ve got Ryder Cup golf courses is at at Valderama yeah I think there’s something for everyone there um so obviously starting off what is the best course you’ve played in the Costa del Sol that is a really good question obviously it’s coming from you I feel like of all the ones I’ve played there and definitely sort one that really stood out for me was actually La Reserva so La Reserva is in Sotogrande and just everything about it the service um the condition of the golf course I don’t think I’ve ever played faster greens than that um the layout’s really really playable so it’s got a bit more room off the tea so it’s really good if you’re going to go in with a with a mixed group but yeah I played there with Mark Crossfield coach Loy and uh Rory YT Rory um quite a few years ago there and just I’d heard it was good and it’s it’s held um it’s actually held some tour events in the past but it just was so much better than I thought it was going to be um you know little little things everyone loves a pyramid of golf balls on the driving range we we definitely got that there and also like the bar and the 19th and it’s they got this patio that’s um just is set up at quite a high point of the course looking out of the go course and out towards Sotogrande like wow what a place I’ve told so many people to go and play it but the one key thing I keep saying to them is like make sure you arrive early um and try and stay a bit later because that is just a great setting to uh to have a beer whether or not you got I was going to say three points but I was get three points I was going to say but if you you know if you got like 30 points or 40 points like you’re going to have a great time just uh sitting back there and relaxing after your round yeah like I’ve played that course and I feel like a lot of the tee shots got quite big elevations on them I can’t remember what hole it is there a really nice par five which is massively downhill swings to the right it’s got a bit of Water by the green uh you’ll see them on the Costa del Sol vlogs which are coming out soon where me and Leo played the course but you know the course like you said it’s just pure it is yeah and just like it’s you know it’s not just driver everywhere there a bit of um you bit of course man you got to really just pick your lines off the tea and miss a lot of bunkers or or drop offs but yeah I just I thought it was absolutely brilliant so um so yeah so La Reserva for me what about you for me Torrequebrada so designed by Jose Pepe who is called the Picasso of golf and playing Torrequebrada is such a unique golf course like it’s got a bit of like some quirky holes it’s got like an 80 yard par three which some people would be like well that should be on a pitch and putt but it sort of just sits right with it yeah just like like that’s a sorry to jump in but just that like yeah that that that hole in particular I remember played that with uh with Mark Locki and and Rory I was the only one that hit the green like it’s that it’s such a small hole but it’s just fiddly it’s got all different layers on it and if you go long you’re completely uh you know it’s a lost ball so yeah yeah I I love TBR and again I think what’s what’s good about that is really really playable like you’ve got a bit again there bit more room off the tee that I think that’s really important cuz no one likes to be losing golf balls uh uh all day every day but yeah definitely the it’s very playable very scorable I think you know Everyone likes playing to the handicap and there’s a good chance to doing that around around Torrequebrada but yeah yeah it’s just like a fun course as well cuz like every hole just has something a bit different about it like the driver will par for down the hill which apparently you’re not meant to hit a driver now there’s a sign that says don’t hit driver on it I have I had a bit of embarrassing moment there actually uh cuz is they all went for the green on that one and I laid up because I was out of and I couldn’t reach it so I was like I’m not going to hit them all in the water um and they all gave me a bit bit of grief for that so maybe that is a rule that when you’re when you’re on a golf holiday you should be never laying up but I definitely was I wanted to win so I was like I can’t hit it on the green I’ll just just lay it up and try and pitch it up from there but just pull a top flight out of the bag driver yeah yeah I think I’d used all of them up by then so uh so yeah there’s not an awful lot but um but yeah so yeah Torrequebrada great golf course good pick you got really good yeah like just a bit there’s so many good golf courses you could be like Valderama and stuff but I’m going for to I’m happy with that choice yeah yeah you’d have to have your game on for for Valderama that takes no prisoners that go course um it definitely is you know everything you expect from that it’s uh demanding off the tea it’s incredibly difficult around the greens and that’s why you know the pro even the pros struggle on it but it keeps in great condition year round like even if you’ve uh if you not played you know if you’re going to play it even in in the winter it’s still you know it’s a fantastic Golf Course to go and uh uh to go and play but um obviously we’ got a massive choice of golf course to go and play in uh in Andalucia here and Costa del Sol so if you’re going to be one golf course that you uh you would return to only pick one which one are you going to go for could I sort of cheat on this answer and just say a resort cuz I’m going to go I was going to go for laa because I you pick one go course laa I haven’t played all of them there so I know but it’s only the one that you can return to this is tough one course I’m going to go for Finca Cortesin I know I haven’t played it but obviously I know the Sim Cup’s coming up or by the time this might have come out it might have already held the S cup but you know I want to watch that I I want to play that because I’m going to watch it on TV I’m going to see the pros play it and I want to see how I get on around there this is uh this is incredibly awkward cuz that’s that was going to be my answer as well the one and and so I have played I have played that and like again I talk about like service and experience that you get at um at La Reserva thinkers that you know and more it’s also got one of the most friendly driving ranges you ever see again pyramids of golf balls really really important touch um but it’s really open and wide and it just gives you huge confidence hitting your hitting your shots like just to warm up because you’re just hitting it onto this huge one wide open expans of a driving range just outside the clubhouse as well and it’s just a big um a big drop down um uh so again even you’d like top it off the te you’re still getting a good bit of run out but yeah that is a brilliant golf course I think the Solheim Cup there is going to be so so good I really feel like the uh um I think the European and the US teams are going to really enjoy it it’s a really really fair golf course as well um again you know it’s got some very demanding t- shots but if you can you know if you drive the well around there you get really really rewarded um and again some really quite interesting green complexes and but just in general like that that’s such a such a great golf course and it’s yes you know it’s it’s up in the higher end of it but you know i’ I’d pay that again to go and play I think you just get such a great service that um uh when you’re there and the the experience is great so many really really good golf holes there and um yeah one I’d absolutely love to turn to that definitely be my pick as well so copied me there on that one definitely definitely when visiting the C what was the most surprising thing about your visit so I think it’s just first off like it’s the variation of golf courses like there is there is such an amazing array to uh to go and play and and also it’s not something necessarily that you’re going there thinking you have to spend thousands of pounds I mean these are some of the best golf courses in Europe if not the world but there’s some some really really excellent value golf courses that are also really close to malb and Porto benu so if you want some golf and night life um it’s very doable but so I just think it’s the it’s the variation that that that’s an offer and and really the value for money um because you know again these these golf courses are blessed with an awful lot of sunshine certainly a lot better than uh than we experienced in the UK especially in the winter um but that and and equally you know you’ve got those you got those great results you talk about La Cara I mean the very very few uh golfers think much further than L Cara when they’re thinking about a European trip it is um it is that good you’ve got almanar and Sosa de Grande a bit further down um uh towards uh jbala again like an amazing Resort 27 holes condition of that Golf Course when I played it was outstanding um I think it’s even I think it’s even better now the reports we’ve got so so yeah I think that variation and the fact that there’s value for money and there’s just something for everyone that’s that’s the thing that once you go there and appreciate how close everything is that’s that’s the most surprising thing yeah I mean like you said the variety’s really good you could always fly into jbala work your way all the way up the coast play knock off all of these amazing golf courses and then head back for Malaga but there’s so much to do as well away from the course like me and Leo we went ziplining out there went on a private boat you could even see dolphins you know like you said Porto bonuse amazing restaurants amazing night life you know there is amazing cour there’s amazing golf but as well as that you can do other things can have bring the family with you you know it’s more than a golf destination as they say I think it’s isn’t it a hole-in-one destination that’s the one the ho- inone if you do want to see you know we have got a Hoin One Challenge coming up at T should have pugged that when we were talking about that but if you want to check that out Link in the description yeah it’s yeah I think also see it’s just so much infrastructure all the way along that Coast you’re never going to be that far away from an amazing Beach therefore you’re not be too far away from some amazing Seafood in uh in a restaurant that’s just been uh just been caught over uh over in the sea and yeah I just think it’s a it’s a great spot and just easy to see why so many people go there yeah so so if you were traveling as a group to the costela with a mixture of handicaps is there any courses or Resorts which you would recommend yeah so I think the ones that uh I mean the one that’s the most fair is is probably theala actually like there are there is quite a lot of um t- shots especially if you go off the back te’s where um you know either not being able to carry it or or missing it left or right you’d be in trouble but the vast majority of it around there is is really playable and you again pick the right te’s and you know for the group and everyone’s going to um is going to have a good time it’s also not that far it’s obviously you know it’s it’s all on site so the hotel is there they’ve got a really nice sort of 19th Home Restaurant um which the kind of the golf courses feed into to so you’re only a short uh a short walk from the from the courses which is really important um uh for those that don’t want to uh necessarily be traveling off to uh to play golf in the morning and also you’re you’re not too far from nightlife there’s even like restaurants on the way in as well um OB you can just stay all on on site there but yeah I think laala is is a place I’ve been to with with mixed handicaps before and we’ve all had a good time there but you know we literally send thousands of golfers there every year and it’s just it’s just a it’s just a resort that that ticks the boxes and it’s it’s totally understandable why I mean people literally go there year after year after year because it’s such a great product yeah definitely like that’s an amazing place for a group holiday like the Asia course Europa course and then America course so like you said you could just stay there the whole time and enjoy some incredible golf yeah yeah definitely which um because obiously you went you went as a as a mixed group obviously with with you and and Leo your handicaps which ones are you uh so yeah for mixxed handicap I would definitely say Los rros and that was a course that really surprised me like the conditioning was incredible and one of the things I really did like was the 18th hole you’re hitting in towards the clubhouse a massive Grand Clubhouse like perched on the hill could easily quite you could easily f one into there just wonder I just wonder if anyone’s got a nice drone shot kind of like heading up over the uh over the green and into the clubhouse in the mountains behind I just wonder if there could be something that was overlaid right now there I think there will be I think seeing that at the moment to visualize what you’re what you’re talking about yeah um Miguel Angel gimenez um I don’t think necessar his home course but I’ve seen him there before like I think he plays out there quite a lot um yeah I that and what a great 19th Hole as well that isn’t the only thing to do in the uh uh in the cadel so but that’s again that’s a great patio I’ve had such a good giggle we we had a a big trip with um a lot of the um a lot of people from your golf travel and we just sat on that veranda and just watched everyone hit it short into the water um on their approaches so uh so yeah that’s um that’s there that’s actually that is a really really good hole again I played that one with um Mark coach and uh and Rory and yeah just great sweeping dog leg around to the left I’m pretty sure I H in the water on the left but um but anyway yeah really really good really good finishing Al but actually say like again mixed handicaps keeping the ball in play there’s um there’s lots of uh lots of opportunities similar actually is another course Rio real which is not a million miles away from there which is again pretty similar in terms of giving you uh giving you plenty of opportunities off the tea but um but yeah I think there lots of lots of fun places fun place to play and and equally I I’ve sort of done my uh days as a of playing off the back te’s and and really strug like really sort of struggling to to play some handic I really want a nice easy round of golf and um and I think those courses definitely provide you with that don’t always have to get yourself beat up and nothing there’s a lot lot lot happier having a having a drink in the 19th when you got 36 points rather than uh sort struggling around for 24 but and then having to buy and then having to buy some more blls for the next day straightly exactly I never I never take enough golf balls with me on holiday I always think I’m I’m better than I better than I am right so I know there’s loads of golf courses in the cadell so but can you pick your favorite hole you’ve played that’s really testing the memory now uh I um no I’ve got one yeah it’s come straight to mine so this is this is good but then again then probably it’s one of the holes that everyone’s going to think of when you’re traveling to the Costel so so I’m going to go for the 17th at valderama which is not a particularly Long Haul MH but definitely one of the hardest bar fivs you’re you’re ever going to play and it’s it’s one that you kind of think you’ve done the drive you’ve got the job done you really haven’t that approach shot is just so terrifying because there you know that if you you obviously if you’re short you’re in the water if you’re long you’re in this impossible bunker um and need to say I didn’t finish the whole I uh but I’m still going to call it out as my favorite but yeah I actually I hit the Fairway with my t-shot really happy with that I thought I’m not coming back here anytime soon so went for it in two and um yeah I had far too far too ambitious and you ended up in the water thought I was better than I was but yeah just a really really great hole and you know like we seen those things on uh on TV whether it’s um yeah the European Tour event with the Volvo Masters and andalo Masters or obviously the rder cup which was um Tiger’s first rder cup um and Lee Westwoods as well um for a famous seev valeros victory in um in the Ridder Cup in 97 but yeah I think that that 17th hole is just a just everything you see on TV is just even better when you play it so so that’s definitely my favorite what about you then Al so for me at H so on the a course whole eight so this is actually on the trip with Leo that was the first time going to cost it’s just a short little par three but very Scenic you got sort of the backdrop with the mountains and 140 yards water at the front you’d think it’ be simple but it was quite tricky it’s quite a tricky hole but you know sometimes just the simple holes I was just like this is a really nice hole just a beautiful setting in the valleys got surrounded by Villas just felt quite Scenic so that’s I’m going to go with that as my favorite is amazing isn’t it you chop water into any hole and suddenly it’s the it’s the hardest proposition in the world um so yeah just to sort of move that into uh into the bright lights of I remember like I played s grass um quite a few years ago and it’s thought oh it’s just a nice easy hole and it is easy hole if you just look at it just look at the distance you’re like well I’d F myself to hit the green on this and yeah just kind of out of nowhere I fatted it in the water so uh so yeah that’s um that was definitely a highlight for me but anyway get into your head put a little bit of water on any hole um it does make it a little bit a little bit more magic right so we’re going to end on this one this is a bit of a fun one so you’ve got some people from your golf club who are interested to head to the cadel so is there a trip you would recommend to them so like a free a free night two round trip where would you send them so funny enough I’ve actually I got us a very similar one and they have just booked this one so three nights at SOS Grande which is recently refurbished Lovely Lovely Hotel and obviously you’ve got um Alman Armor All all surrounding that there so we’re going to do three nights there and then we are going to play one round at um at Al monara because it’s on site we’re then going to head over to real Club s Grande which is incredible um if you’re looking for a golf course that has you know just it’s just like it’s a little bit older and they’re just recently refurbished it’s just a really lovely place to go and play It’s like a if there a real members Golf Club there um and then we are going to finish up and we are going to play sanrock Old um again just a lovely place to go it’s got It’s Real members field it held um uh European tour School final qualifying for for years and years it’s just a um it’s just a really really great golf course one that again we talk about like mixtures of handicaps and where it all all plays in and and that definitely works so yeah we’re going to do three nights so to Grande one at El Manara Rail Club Grande and then we’re going to finish with samrock old so I reckon you’re going to find it hard to beat That Trick that’s a very good trick so I’ve stayed at Salto Grande hotel and that is one of the best hotels I’ve stayed at and I must say their breakfast is absolutely incredible Benedict X Benedict there just hits It’s just so good I don’t know what it is but genuinely like Hotel breakfast they just they get me excited like I just love I love I love a hotel breakfast we should do another one just on Hotel breakfast we could do I’ve had had a lot of Hotel breakfasts just yeah just omelette actually omelette is good that’s a good shower for a breakfast yeah yeah but there’s but again like some places you go and it’s just got everything like it’s there’s no way that you would just be able to go there and stop at an omelet yeah that’s true you’re like the omelet is the starter it’s like what’s the main and then the dessert and that’s the way that hotel breakfast the really great ones need to be need to be approached so oh I need to think of this really so I think I would go for Western because you know that is a ABS outstanding Hotel beautiful hotel got a really nice swimming pool and then the golf you’ve got three nine three sets of nine there a b and c which are all different different variety of courses different variety of loops and then away from that probably going toab brada and then I’m I’m AIT undecided on the other course what to play what uh what a truck in there I would say maybe play more golf at the kinta just chill there experience the hotel it’s such a nice hotel yeah and there’s something to be said for just like rolling out the hotel straight to the golf course there and the three ns are pretty varied as well so there’s plenty of choice there to uh to play so I think I think you’ve actually picked a really good one for anyone that wants sort of golf and night life yeah um those are you know you’re really really well placed to to sort of head out in the evening whereas is a little bit quieter in s of Grande I’m a little bit older it’s the gray hair so I’m I’m happier doing that but yeah heading down to S of grand Marina there’s there’s a few nice restaurants and and bars down there that’s I say plenty plent night life for me but um but yeah so massive thanks for watching thank you Ali I think we’ come up with some uh some good Insight hope that people are like if I was unsure this is the uh this is the place to go on my on my next golf holiday so cost we been through so the best golf course favorite holes what would recommend if there’s anything more that people need to to know go to your golf travel speak to the golf Travel Experts you won’t get to speak to Al and I cuz we just work in the marketing department we just go play the courses we go and play the golf courses but mind you so to the so to the sales team but you know they get to they get to speak to customers every day organize amazing holidays and play the golf courses themselves so they’ll give you even more expert advice on what we’ve got yeah so if you want to find out more click the link in the description and yeah thanks for watching
