La Manga Golf Club
Unless you have been living in a cave for the past few years, you are probably aware that Murcia is a golf mecca, in fact, even most troglodytes and hermits are fully aware of this, too. The local federation is: www.fgolfmurcia.com
A great golf guy who can book your game and get excellent green fees is Mike Probert. He has written a book, The Golfing Guide To Murcia, which will give you loads of details on each course. You can find Mike at: www. costa-blanca-greenfees.com
Here’s a list of the Golf Clubs in the Murcia area:
Club de Golf Altorreal, Avenida Del Golf, Urbanisation Altorreal, Molina de Segura, 968 648144, www.golfaltorreal.es
Close to the town of Molina de Segura, this 18 hole championship course was designed by Dave Thomas and opened in 1994. Although this course in not located close to the beach resorts favoured by many tourists, recent commercial developments such as Thader, Nuevo Condomina and IKEA (see shopping section) are within a few kilometres, meaning that non-golfers can be fully occupied while doing some serious damage to the credit card. Alternatively the historic City of Murcia is within a short driving distance.
Condado del Alhama Golf Resort, Condado de Alhama, 968 328008, www.hdagolf.com
This resort is part of the Polaris World Nicklaus trail and is well advanced with the 18 hole course open, and the 6 hole academy course available too. For more information on the courses, events and to become a member of the Condado Golf Society get in touch here: cdagolf.com
Corvera Golf and Country Club, Corvera, www.corveragolf.com
This 18 hole, par 72 course was designed by Jose Maria Olazabal and is situated in a valley flanked by the Sierra de Carrascoy mountain range and had the same owners as Roda Golf, but was sold in 2012 to a private company.
El Valle Golf Resort, Autovía Murcia, San Javier km 4, Baños y Mendigo, 968 033002, www.polarisworld.com
El Valle Golf Resort is located in a natural park area situated near to the Sierra Carrascoy mountains and was the third course opened of the nine courses planned for the Jack Nicklaus trail which follows the ‘corridor of golf’ along the C-3319 Murcia to San Javier highway. It’s an 18 hole course.
Hacienda Del Álamo Golf Resort, Avenida Hacienda Del Álamo, 10-12, Fuente Álamo, 902 654400, www.clubdegolfhda.com
Close to Fuente Álamo in the centre of the region of Murcia with views of numerous fruit, almond and olive plantations but still less than a half hour drive from the City of Murcia and the nearest airport which is located at San Javier. The golf course was designed by Dave Thomas and at 6,724 metres (7,400 yards) is claimed to be the longest golf course in Spain and currently boasts Ryder Cup player, Miguel Ángel Jiménez as their golf ambassador. There’s also a golf academy.
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort, Los Riquelme, 902 536860, polarisworld.com
The Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort was opened to the public in May 2008 and is located in the area adjacent to Peraleja Golf and is approximately 15 minutes drive from the C-3319 Murcia-San Javier highway, near the small village of Avileses and the town of Sucina.
La Manga Club, Los Belones, Cartagena, 968 175000, www.lamangaclub.com
The world famous La Manga Golf Resort was originally created by American Gregory Peters as a 9 hole complex on only 500 acres in February 1971. It has since been expanded to the current 1400 acres with 3000 palm trees and over the years has had a number of different owners including P&O and currently the Med-Group. The resort was voted the leading golf resort in Europe in 2001, 2003 and 2005 and to highlight the profile of the resort in the 1980’s the great Severiano Ballesteros was their touring professional.
The resort has three excellent courses with the North, South and West plus a par 47 pitch and putt course and superb practice facilities.
La Serena Golf, Avenida Principe Felipe, Urbanisation Torre del Rame, Los Alcázares, 968 575576, www.laserenagolf.es
The La Serena Beach and Golf Resort is located close to Los Alcázares. The airport of San Javier is only 10 minutes away and it is a relatively short drive to major cities such as Murcia and Cartagena. The main feature of the course is the 500 year old Torre del Rame, which was originally built as a watch tower for pirates from North Africa.
La Tercia Real, United Golf Resorts are the developers of what is at present a 9 hole course. www.ugr-laterciagolf.com
La Torre Golf Resort, Roldán, 968 044879, www.polarisworld.com
The La Torre golf resort is located close to the town of Roldán and is one of the Polaris World Nicklaus Trail of golf courses and is situated on the C-3319 San Javier to Murcia. The course is unique in that it is only a par 68. The resort is now well established with an excellent clubhouse and practice facilities plus bars, restaurants, shops, supermarket, beauty salon, gymnasium, tennis courts and swimming pools. In December 2008 the 5 star hotel, spa and convention centre opened.
See the second part of this article for the rest of the golf clubs in Murcia…
