50 golden years of golfing at La Manga

Founded in 1972, La

Manga Club is one of Spain’s flagship golfing venues with a rich tournament history.

It was the vision of Californian-born Gregory Peters who wanted a similar resort to the ones already established in America, dedicated almost exclusively to golf. Although the sport was less known in Spain at the time, his visionary idea took flight and the resort in Murcia, next to the Calblanque Regional Park, was built in just 11 months.

South African golfing legend Gary Player was the resort’s first director of golf. La Manga was also the venue where Seve Ballesteros made his European Tour debut in 1974 at the Spanish Open, aged just 17. The Spaniard went on to become La Manga’s Touring Pro between 1980 and 1985.

Guests fondly remember the inauguration of its Bellaluz residential complex, when Seve hit three balls over the top of its El Bistro restaurant, into the complex’s swimming pool. Although dressed in their finery for the occasion, the visitors jumped into the water to scoop them off the bottom and keep them as souvenirs.

Other sporting legends have taken turns at the helm of La Manga including Manuel Ballesteros, brother of Seve, and Victor Garcia, father of Sergio Garcia. Spanish tennis ace Manolo Santana was the director of its tennis centre.

Now in its Golden Anniversary year, La Manga encompasses three 18-hole golf courses, the 28-court Racquet Club, eight FIFA-sized football pitches, a five-star hotel, shops, bars and restaurants, as well as dozens of residential communities spread across an area three times the size of Monaco. lamangaclub.com