SPAIN

The perennial favourite among sun-starved golfers offers quantity, quality and value

Spain still reigns supreme for many European golfers, with the Costa del Sol on the southern coast remaining its premier attraction.

Golfers from all over the continent go back again and again because there are dozens of decent courses (and some world class ones), accommodation is plentiful and varied and reasonable weather is virtually guaranteed.

Yet there’s much more to Spain than its southern stars – areas like the everimproving Costa Brava, Murcia – arguably its best value golfing region – and the Canary islands.

COSTA DEL SOL

For Europeans, especially Brits, this is the original golfing destination and where golf in the sun started over half a century ago.

The Andalucian coast is chockablock with classy courses, but there’s quality as well as quantity: Sotogrande superstar Valderrama, scene of Europe’s famous 1997 Ryder Cup victory over America, is testament to that, as is its relatively new neighbour, La Reserva. This stunning 7,400-yard championship layout, which opened in 2003, has a fantastic reputation, hosting the NH Collection Open on the European Tour in 2014 and rapidly rising up Golf World’s definitive Continental Europe Top 100 rankings.

La Reserva guarantees a wonderful experience on and off the course, especially since the summer opening of The Beach which boasts an impressive array of leisure facilities, including Europe’s first ever full sandy pool and a 17,000 square metre sports lagoon.

Meanwhile, Real Club de Golf Sotogrande is regarded as a Robert Trent Jones masterpiece and has hosted the world’s best golfers – Seve Ballesteros and Rory Mcilroy, have both won events here – and another must play in the region is Finca Cortesin, plotted in the rolling hills between Marbella and Sotogrande with the Mediterranean on one side and the tranquil Casares Mountains on the other.

It opened in 2006, is set across a vast 532-acre estate and is the handiwork of Cabell Robinson and has hosted numerous top tournaments, including the

Volvo World Match Play Championship in 2009, 2011 and 2012.

No expense is spared at Finca Cortesin, the course is always in impeccable shape and last year it became the first course in Spain to re-lay all its greens with a new variety of Bermuda grass. It has paid off - the greens are fabulous, extremely fast but true. In summary, a simply sensational place to play and stay – there’s a luxury 67-suite hotel on site.

A relatively short drive away you’ll be in ‘golf valley,’ otherwise known as the Marbella region, where you’ll discover 15 courses along with an array of superb restaurants and famed nightlife.

You can check them out via Vacation Marbella, which hosts more than 10,000 guests a year and provides some outstanding stay-and-play packages with the promise of discounted green fees including lovely Los Naranjos, conveniently located three miles from the bright lights of Puerto Banus.