Prince or Pauper? – a Costa del Golf Holiday for every budget

According to the 2006 Sport England ‘Active People Survey’ 1.5 million adults play golf at least once a month making it the second most popular ball sport in the country. But there’s one activity that beats hitting balls on English fairways and that’s hitting balls on foreign fairways – in particular southern Spain. The allure of the highest concentration of golf courses in Europe, feeling the sun on your back and quaffing a San Miguel at sunset, not to mention a breather from the ‘other half’, is hard to resist and thousands of golfers continue to make their annual pilgrimage to the Costa del Sol. And you don’t need pockets as deep as the bunkers to join in.

Jonathan Snell, Director of Simply Golf Holidays based on the Costa del Sol comments, “We look after all varieties of golfer from stags to corporates and hens to families and quite often budget dictates the package that we put together. The good news is that a golf holiday on the Costa del Sol can either blow the budget or suit those on a budget, but whatever end of the spectrum you’re at, the sunshine and the smiles come for free.”

Simply Golf Holidays offers both private self-catering apartments and stylish hotels and can book golf courses through the alphabet from Alcaidesa to Zagaleta – as well as golf tuition, car hire and transfers. Here are their tips for golfing like a prince and for golfing like a pauper…

Golfing like a Prince – Let BA Business Class and a chauffeur pick-up transport you to the Hotel Puente Romano on Marbella’s Golden Mile. This five star grand luxe hotel is a member of the prestigious Leading Hotels of the World and has a wonderful beach club, restaurants, tournament-standard tennis courts and 293 rooms arranged across award-winning subtropical gardens. The logical golfing venue is Marbella Club Golf Resort, 18-holes of Dave Thomas design nestled into Andalusian countryside a 20-minute courtesy shuttle service away from the Hotel. Reserved for the exclusive use of the Marbella Club and Puente Romano Hotels, and their guests, tee times are guaranteed and the views of the Mediterranean and North African coastline from the course are quite breathtaking. Finca Cortesín, a little further down the coast near Casares, only opened in October 2006 but is already rated as one of the best courses on the coast and set to be a star of the future. The resort features a championship standard 18-hole Cabell Robinson designed golf course together with a Jack Nicklaus Golf Academy with driving range, practice greens and state-of-the-art golf simulator. The golf Clubhouse is itself noteworthy, a 1,200m² mansion with five metre high ceilings, exposed wooden beams and Travertine marble floors. Or perhaps you’d like to languish on the fairways of the Robert Trent Jones designed course of Valderrama, consistently voted Europe’s top course for the past ten years and in 1997, the chosen venue for the Ryder Cup Championship. The final tournament in the European Circuit, the Volvo Masters, was first played at Valderrama in 1988 and in 2007 tour officials announced that at Valderrama it would remain for at least the next three years until 2010. This is truly the cream of the crop.

Budget for five nights and four green fees – from 1,084 euros pp.

Golfing like a Pauper – EasyJet and an economy hire car can deliver you to the beachfront Gran Hotel Costa del Sol which at 600 metres from Mijas town centre is ideally located for shopping, dining and of course, lazing on the beach. An affordable four star, Gran Hotel Costa del Sol won’t crush the credit card and neither will the local golf courses. La Cala Resort is actually the largest golf resort in Europe with three 18-hole golf courses designed by Cabell B Robinson and all worth playing. The resort also hosts the David Leadbetter Golf Academy. Another affordable gem is El Chaparral. Recently reopened, the 18-holes are complemented by a stunning Clubhouse and restaurant with a huge sea-facing veranda, a 64 bay driving range and golf school with in-house golf psychologist and physiotherapist. The setting couldn’t be better either - a hilly, challenging course surrounded by a pine forest. Or perhaps the equally stunning Alhaurín Golf adjacent to the Natural Park & World Reserve of the Biosphere of Sierra de las Nieves will tick your boxes. Comprising a total of three golf courses, one 9 hole and two 18 holes, one of which is dedicated entirely to children (unique to Spain) and the other designed by Seve Ballesteros, Alhaurín Golf also has an on-site golf school and 400 metre long practice course.

Budget for six nights and five green fees – from 494 euros pp.

To book these or many other golf packages, visit simplygolfholidays.com.