Where to stay and play in Europe’s largest golf area

Some golf courses are celebrated with enigmatic nature. At least not soon. Whether it’s Golden Age Classic or modern wonder, these layouts gradually enlighten golfers over time. They slowly reveal secrets in multiple rounds. And it’s only after many attempts and studying those fairways and greens that golfers will come to understand what they need to play well there.

Finca Cortecin’s Championship Golf Course in Casares, Spain is not one of these courses.

By the time you leave the first greenery, you will generally understand what is available for the rest of your round. You’ll definitely get it when you play the first third of the layout.

Following my first round, I was joined by Jose “Nacho” Ignacio Olea Zolita, golf director at Finca Cortecin. Almost immediately, our conversation reinforced the initial impression of the course.

“How did you play today?” he asked. “And how many balls did you lose?”

In its own merit, these two questions may be mutually exclusive. However, in most cases, in fincacorthecin, they are causal.

I told him I played pretty well – I posted a score of 76. Regarding his second inquiry, I lifted a finger.

“Oh, you did well!” he declared.

In most cases, the player’s final score tells the story. It’s not fincacorthecin. It was very clear that Olea was more impressed with my second answer than the first.

Over 7,400 yards from hints, Finca Cortesin’s Championship Golf Course gradually covers uphill and downhill with a Cabel Robinson design from around 2006. However, the changes in elevation can be more severe. It’s a good mix of doglegs in both directions, with some blind shots thrown properly.

“That’s not particularly narrow,” Olea said of the course, and he is right. The performance corridors, especially the landing area, are comfortable and spacious. So, as long as you play from the right tee set, comparing how much you can hit it.

“For some degree of amateurs, if they play the course multiple times, they always tell them to play the first round from the yellow tee to get the eyes and feel,” Olea said. “Then, in the second round, you have to go back to whites, but just do that by the same player who might hit the ball 260, 270 or 280 yards off the tee and I always tell them to play whites.

It is important to play from the tee where you can hit the driver into those generously sized landing areas. In Finca, there are few holes that run parallel to each other. The dense vegetation also lays out at the edge of the arena. This means that a ball sprayed to the left or right, or even a shot that cheates on the edge and takes a bad first bounce, is likely to be lost.

According to Nicholas Colsaerz, who won the final three final victories of the three Volvo World Matchplay Championships that he held the contest at Finca Cortesin (2012), the course clearly shows the shots that Robinson intended to hit golfers at various points throughout the round. This is especially true in approach shots, given that some greens are made up of clearly separated sections with bold outlines. In these sections, the putting surface may be only a slope of 1-2 degrees, but here, less than two miles from the Arboran Sea, the grip and pull of Bermuda grain was different from what I have experienced anywhere else.

“Medium-sized greens are actually places where it gets really tough,” Olea said. “The subtle slopes are very interesting because there is grain from the grass of Bermuda.”

Understanding the pull of the green, the location of the most generous landing zone of each hole, and the inherent risks conveyed by a particular shot, do not come overnight, even if the course reveals it in advance. Recognizing these characteristics and adapting the game to accommodate the game is two completely separate ventures. As such, Finca Cortesin members enjoy a major home field advantage during local club-to-club matches. “Usually, other club members get scared on the left, the right, and the green grains are scared,” Olea said. “Our members usually cruise those matches.”

When Finca Cortesin hosted the Solheim Cup in 2023, neither team won. The Americans slept on a two-point lead after the first day of the competition, but the event scores tied 8-8 after the second day, finishing 14-14 after the final singles match.

Similarly, in 1997, when the Ryder Cup was held at nearby Real Club Valderrama, the Europeans narrowly pulled out a one-point victory. Needless to say, Spain’s Costa del Sol region boasts an impressive history of elite matchplay competitions, but it underscores the important role golf plays in the region in general. With 85 venues in the region, the Costa del Sol boasts the highest density of golf courses across the European continent. So, in the right company, the area is mentioned in another nickname: Costa del Golf.

Within the region, Finca Cortecin, Valderama and Real Club de Golf Soto Grande form an unparalleled golf victory. The latter is a great Parkland course that, by Olea estimate, plays like three resort courses. Meanwhile, Valderrama challenges the players in ways that Finca can’t. Its narrow, tree-lined fairways are sure to provide visual intimidation. And while it is unlikely that you will lose a golf ball in the way you can with Finca Cortecin, the often hit shots at Valderamas can introduce their own unique challenges.

“You might hit a very good tee shot and you’ll find yourself behind a tree in the middle of the fairway,” Olea said. “That’s a different matter.”

Playing all three courses is a must while you are in this area about 45 miles south of Malaga city. But the sequence of those rounds is up to you. As for where to stay, there may not be a better home base than Finca Cortecin. Modeled after a palace country house for the nobles, the 67-room hotel is an attractive dichotomy of old and new. The general feeling of you going inside a hotel, its restaurant and spa is one of modernity.

But wherever you seem to turn, from artwork to giant wooden doors, ancient decorative accents infuse properties with a strong sense of history. Better yet, the resort operates primarily as a lifestyle and wellness retreat.

Of course, golf is a major motivation for some guests who have visited the area, and the three courses mentioned above work together to promote the experience that enthusiastic golfers can visit the Costa del Sol. “We consider ourselves to be our destination,” Olea said.

The same can be said about fincacorthecin itself.

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