Golf near Murcia Spain

Sean25rp · February 16, 2012

Courses to play

Hello all,

Myself and a friend will be staying in a villa near Murcia in August for 2 weeks. We're looking to play 2-3 rounds while out there. The villa actually overlooks the course at Hacienda del Alamo so obviously that's on our radar as we hear it's a decent course. Another close by is El Valle which we're considering.

Does anyone who has golfed in this region have any recommendations? Obviously there is plenty of golf about but it's not that easy to know which courses are decent and those which are just tourist traps.

Price is not really an issue. La Manga is about 25 mins away from where we're staying but we hear it's very busy and a little overpriced.

Thanks in advance.

Feedback · February 22, 2012

Hello,

I'm an Italian member and I stay in this region 2 years ago in winter .

Your opinion about La Manga golf is perfect : overprized , many lot of people and a little bit " old style ".

If you play in the 5 or 7 courses of Polaris World ( La Torre, Hacienda, la Valle etc. ) all signed by J. Nicklaus, you're happy about maintenance and facilities.

Have a nice trip

Sean25rp · February 22, 2012

[quote name='12345' timestamp='1329919302' post='4349085']
Hello,

I'm an Italian member and I stay in this region 2 years ago in winter .

Your opinion about La Manga golf is perfect : overprized , many lot of people and a little bit " old style ".

If you play in the 5 or 7 courses of Polaris World ( La Torre, Hacienda, la Valle etc. ) all signed by J. Nicklaus, you're happy about maintenance and facilities.

Have a nice trip
[/quote]

Thanks for posting. We were thinking to just try the Polaris/Nicklaus courses and avoid La Manga altogether.

golfswede · February 22, 2012

Hello!

I´ve played a lot of those courses. They are all good, you won´t be disapointed.

El Valle-9 out of 10

La Torre- 7 out of 10

Hacienda del Alamo-8 out of 10

Roda-8 out of 10

Hacienda de Riquelme- 9 out of 10

The points are all about layout, condition is pretty similar on all( very good)

I might have mixed up som of the courses but El Valle was really super, great views and spectacular layout.

I´ve played some more around here but I can´t remember which. Avoid the old ones because they are a little odd, most often. I played Villamartin for example and that was crazy layout

ENJOY!!!

Sean25rp · February 22, 2012

Hello!
I´ve played a lot of those courses. They are all good, you won´t be disapointed.
El Valle-9 out of 10
La Torre- 7 out of 10
Hacienda del Alamo-8 out of 10
Roda-8 out of 10
Hacienda de Riquelme- 9 out of 10

The points are all about layout, condition is pretty similar on all( very good)

I might have mixed up som of the courses but El Valle was really super, great views and spectacular layout.

I´ve played some more around here but I can´t remember which. Avoid the old ones because they are a little odd, most often. I played Villamartin for example and that was crazy layout

ENJOY!!!

Thanks golfswede that's really helpful. We will most likely try del Alamo as we're staying there, as well as el Valle and de riquelme.

Feedback · February 23, 2012

If you would like to play in the J.Nicklaus's courses probably the best way is stay in La Torre resort. Nice hotel, good prices ( crisis....) and green-fees discount for the other courses.
Have a nice trip !

golfswede · March 1, 2012

Hello!
I´ve played a lot of those courses. They are all good, you won´t be disapointed.
El Valle-9 out of 10
La Torre- 7 out of 10
Hacienda del Alamo-8 out of 10
Roda-8 out of 10
Hacienda de Riquelme- 9 out of 10

The points are all about layout, condition is pretty similar on all( very good)

I might have mixed up som of the courses but El Valle was really super, great views and spectacular layout.

I´ve played some more around here but I can´t remember which. Avoid the old ones because they are a little odd, most often. I played Villamartin for example and that was crazy layout

ENJOY!!!

Thanks golfswede that's really helpful. We will most likely try del Alamo as we're staying there, as well as el Valle and de riquelme.

Would be nice if you could write what you thought about the courses you´ve played when you get back...

Sean25rp · March 1, 2012

I will do my best to write up on the holiday!

quarterback2409 · April 17, 2012

[quote name='Sean25rp' timestamp='1330632065' post='4412909']
I will do my best to write up on the holiday!
[/quote]

Sean25RP...please do. I'm out there next month.
I used to holiday in La Manga a lot growing up so have mainly been on the the North, South and West coast which was ok at owners rates.
However we've bought a place in Los Alcazares near San Javier Airport so our local courses will be Roda Golf and La Serena. I've not played on either however have checked them out whilst having a nosey on foot and they look decent enough. Twilight is 70euros for 2 green fees and a buggy. or just 30 euros a head for a tiwlight round (no buggy).
I'm in a dilemma with club hire too! Ryanair want £100 from me to take my clubs there and back! I think there is a company that delivers hire clubs to most resorts in the murcia region for about 50euros on a 3 day hire which is reasonable. Also check out www.clubmurica.com they sometimes get discounted rates and offers on there for golf.

Sean25rp · April 18, 2012

[quote name='quarterback2409' timestamp='1334697101' post='4739958']
[quote name='Sean25rp' timestamp='1330632065' post='4412909']
I will do my best to write up on the holiday!
[/quote]

Sean25RP...please do. I'm out there next month.
I used to holiday in La Manga a lot growing up so have mainly been on the the North, South and West coast which was ok at owners rates.
However we've bought a place in Los Alcazares near San Javier Airport so our local courses will be Roda Golf and La Serena. I've not played on either however have checked them out whilst having a nosey on foot and they look decent enough. Twilight is 70euros for 2 green fees and a buggy. or just 30 euros a head for a tiwlight round (no buggy).
I'm in a dilemma with club hire too! Ryanair want £100 from me to take my clubs there and back! I think there is a company that delivers hire clubs to most resorts in the murcia region for about 50euros on a 3 day hire which is reasonable. Also check out www.clubmurica.com they sometimes get discounted rates and offers on there for golf.
[/quote]

Thanks for this info. I also got stung £100 by Ryanair to take my clubs but figured it was worth it since I've got the green light to play 5 rounds in the 2 weeks now! Can't wait. Do you by any chance know a good company for car hire?

One of my friends is a pro on the mini-tours and was recently in Murcia playing on the high-5 tour. He played several of the Jack Nicklaus trail courses so I'm gonna have a chat with him to finalise the courses I will play. He also thinks he can get me a deal on a few of them as he got friendly with some of the local pros. Fingers crossed!

quarterback2409 · June 14, 2012

Just thought I'd write up on my recent golf trip in Murcia.

We decided to hire clubs in advance from an online company called 'Clubs To Hire'. It was 55 Euros for a weeks hire. The clubs we got were a TM R11 Driver, TM Burner 2.0 3 & 5 wood, TM 21 degree Hybrid, TM Burner 2.0 Irons 4 to SW and a TM Ghost putter, all stored in a TMR11 stand bag.
Clubs were good for playing despite quite a bit of cosmetic damage and wear.
Company asked for a flight number when booking for collection purposes but we were picking up mid holiday so the flight no. was irrelavant. But this was a downfall as the 'ground handler' turned up at the the time we said on the booking form but with no paper work or the clubs because 'that flight number was not due then'

Anyway we ended up going back to our apartment and he went back to his depot to collect the clubs and paperwork and turned up 15mins later at our apartment complex. Slight inconvenience but quickly rectified.

We played 3 courses whilst over there (13-23 May)

Roda Golf Club, La Serena Golf Club, La Peraleja Golf Club.

[u]16th May 2012: [b]Roda Golf[/b][/u]

This is a Dave Thomas designed Par 72 course.
We were greeted by the course marshall in his cart as we unloaded the bags from the car. Good man, gave me a lift over to the garages where they had the carts stored and handed over the keys to one and escorted me back to the car, club house and first tee.
There had been little rain prior to our arrival during the early months and this was showing with a few parts of the fairway browning from lack of water.
Also the greens had been undergoing maintenance so I think the previous weeks the green keepers had literally been hollow tining the greens only.

Totally different style of course to what I am used to in the UK ( I live in Lytham St Annes so I'm used to links style but play the odd young and mature parkland course).
Very little trees or shrubbery to interfere with wayward shots. Fairways were cut tight and the second cut only slightly longer. The rough was short but long enough to have an impact on shot length.
There is over 15,000 m2 of bunkers on the course. Miraculously I didn't find a single square inch. My playing partner not so lucky...
Some fantastic design to them and some punishing parts of the fairway that sloped into them.

I could go on and describe each hole but click here for an 'official description'. [url="http://tour360.rodagolf.com/campodegolf/hoyos1a9_en.htm"]http://tour360.rodagolf.com/campodegolf/hoyos1a9_en.htm[/url]
I'd have to agree with what is said so should give you a good idea of the course and type of holes.

I'd rate it a 7/10. Would have been an 8 but the greens still had sand and faint holes where the hollow tining had been carried out.
Never ventured into the Club House but it is ultra modern looking.

quarterback2409 · June 14, 2012

[u]17th May 2012: [b]La Serena[/b][/u]

I'll cut straight to the point... avoid this course.
It felt like there was a lot more blue than green. I'm talking water!
Swanky looking club house, very expensive looking inside and out. Can't help but think this is where the time, effort and money was directed to becasue it certainly wasn't the course.
Despite being a couple of miles down the road from Roda Golf it had suffered greatly from lack of watering. By the end of the first hole we had to resort to playing preferred lies. The sun had scorched the fairways so much there was just course dusty soil. The fairways were rock solid which made playing this course a nightmare.

I can accept when I play a bad shot and I feel I should be punished with a bad lie etc etc. But to hit straight drives 280 yards carry and then watch it skip down the fairway to that water hazard sat at 380 yards away, its soul destroying. If you were aiming at a 100 yard piece of fairway the only way you could stop the ball dancing its way into a hazard was to get out a wedge. Imagine hitting a drive down a runway... it was like that, but the ruts meant you could bounce 40 yards left or right too!

So if you are to play this course, take an SW or putter. Anything else is an overkill.
My mate brought 2 sleeves with him and was out of balls as we crossed back over the road to the 8th!
I also had two of my men go overboard!
The pro shop seemed to always be locked and the pro nowhere to be found! I can only assume he was out in his scuba diving gear collecting white gold from the hazards.
After a 15 minute wait he showed up and took us round to the back of the shop where had well over a thousand lake balls bagged up in 2 dozens.
He didn't bat an eyelid or ask any questions as to why (can only assume he goes through the same ritual 20 times a day).

Greens were unplayable as the hollow tining had just been carried out and what felt like a foot deep of sand.
Course was also badly designed in terms of signage and way markers which I have heard others mention in reviews of the course. No course marshall so had to wait till it was dark to navigate by stars.

All in all a badly thought out golf course which lends itself to a pitch n putt on steroids style of play.

3/10 (Only good think was being able to boast about hitting through a green on a 360 yard par 4)

quarterback2409 · June 14, 2012

[u]18th May: [b]Peraleja Golf[/b][/u]

Peraleja Golf was deisgned by the late great Seve Ballesteros.
We almost didn't play this one as it was a good 20mins drive inland and there are a lot of courses that are more convenient.
But I'm glad we did!

Again another smart looking club house and nice resort in general.
The surrounding areas are small mountains and the resort itself is located over a couple of these. The course consisted of large greens and rolling fairways which snaked up down and around the hills.
Club house is located high up and you drive the (very rapid) carts under the building out of a tunnel like you're entering a football field!
You are greeted with a fantastic view downhill which the 1st tee and 9th tee work their way down.
There was a 4 ball which I'd taken an instant disliking too due to their lack of respect for the staff, taking our tee time by either teeing off to early or arriving too late. Seeing their tee shots and knowing their obnoxious attitude I knew I wasn't going to spend my morning sat in a cart watching them hack away at a beautiful looking course.
We jumped onto the 9th which gave us some millionaires golf and we timed it well enough that on revisiting the front 9 we didn't catch anyone until the final par 3 (9th hole). [this was probably the best hole on the course with maybe an 80ft elevation difference hitting down onto a stepped green]

Fairways were in immaculate condition, a very lush green carpet which let you take some of it so you could really get under the ball.
Plenty of strategically placed hazard that punished the bad shots and little windows of opportunity for those more daring shots.

A really aesthetically pleasing course with exposed rock mountains and boulders scattered around the outer edges of the course.

If you are in the Mercia region I would certainly recommend.

I would give this an 9 /10. Couldn't really fault the course and we played for 80Euros - 2x green fees and a cart. Would have been a 10 but with it being a fairly new course there is still room for improvement in terms of the growth of some shrubs and trees to make this more of a challenge. Also scattered building work going on which was almost a shock given the tranquility of the place and location.
1 very small thing was the scorecard issued was on a very thin piece of paper with a poorly printed course layout and blurred score sheet. Not your usual quality firm card which would have been more suiting for this course!

Thanks Seve!

Panzz · July 3, 2012

[quote name='Sean25rp' timestamp='1329393183' post='4298091']
Hello all,

Myself and a friend will be staying in a villa near Murcia in August for 2 weeks. We're looking to play 2-3 rounds while out there. The villa actually overlooks the course at Hacienda del Alamo so obviously that's on our radar as we hear it's a decent course. Another close by is El Valle which we're considering.

Does anyone who has golfed in this region have any recommendations? Obviously there is plenty of golf about but it's not that easy to know which courses are decent and those which are just tourist traps.

Price is not really an issue. La Manga is about 25 mins away from where we're staying but we hear it's very busy and a little overpriced.

Thanks in advance.
[/quote]

Check this out: [url="http://www.birdienation.com/courses"]http://www.birdienation.com/courses[/url]

[color="#282828"]I use that when planning golf trips. It gives a good view of the surrounding courses where I am staying.[/color]

Sean25rp · July 3, 2012

[quote name='quarterback2409' timestamp='1339677817' post='5090720']
[u]18th May: [b]Peraleja Golf[/b][/u]

Peraleja Golf was deisgned by the late great Seve Ballesteros.
We almost didn't play this one as it was a good 20mins drive inland and there are a lot of courses that are more convenient.
But I'm glad we did!

Again another smart looking club house and nice resort in general.
The surrounding areas are small mountains and the resort itself is located over a couple of these. The course consisted of large greens and rolling fairways which snaked up down and around the hills.
Club house is located high up and you drive the (very rapid) carts under the building out of a tunnel like you're entering a football field!
You are greeted with a fantastic view downhill which the 1st tee and 9th tee work their way down.
There was a 4 ball which I'd taken an instant disliking too due to their lack of respect for the staff, taking our tee time by either teeing off to early or arriving too late. Seeing their tee shots and knowing their obnoxious attitude I knew I wasn't going to spend my morning sat in a cart watching them hack away at a beautiful looking course.
We jumped onto the 9th which gave us some millionaires golf and we timed it well enough that on revisiting the front 9 we didn't catch anyone until the final par 3 (9th hole). [this was probably the best hole on the course with maybe an 80ft elevation difference hitting down onto a stepped green]

Fairways were in immaculate condition, a very lush green carpet which let you take some of it so you could really get under the ball.
Plenty of strategically placed hazard that punished the bad shots and little windows of opportunity for those more daring shots.

A really aesthetically pleasing course with exposed rock mountains and boulders scattered around the outer edges of the course.

If you are in the Mercia region I would certainly recommend.

I would give this an 9 /10. Couldn't really fault the course and we played for 80Euros - 2x green fees and a cart. Would have been a 10 but with it being a fairly new course there is still room for improvement in terms of the growth of some shrubs and trees to make this more of a challenge. Also scattered building work going on which was almost a shock given the tranquility of the place and location.
1 very small thing was the scorecard issued was on a very thin piece of paper with a poorly printed course layout and blurred score sheet. Not your usual quality firm card which would have been more suiting for this course!

Thanks Seve!
[/quote]

Thanks for taking the time to write all this up quarterback. Did you book any of your golf before you went? We're thinking about the using the website listed below:

http://www.clubmurcia.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=387

Sean25rp · July 3, 2012

[quote name='Panzz' timestamp='1341310503' post='5208970']
[quote name='Sean25rp' timestamp='1329393183' post='4298091']
Hello all,

Myself and a friend will be staying in a villa near Murcia in August for 2 weeks. We're looking to play 2-3 rounds while out there. The villa actually overlooks the course at Hacienda del Alamo so obviously that's on our radar as we hear it's a decent course. Another close by is El Valle which we're considering.

Does anyone who has golfed in this region have any recommendations? Obviously there is plenty of golf about but it's not that easy to know which courses are decent and those which are just tourist traps.

Price is not really an issue. La Manga is about 25 mins away from where we're staying but we hear it's very busy and a little overpriced.

Thanks in advance.
[/quote]

Check this out: [url="http://www.birdienation.com/courses"]http://www.birdienation.com/courses[/url]

[color="#282828"]I use that when planning golf trips. It gives a good view of the surrounding courses where I am staying.[/color]
[/quote]

Thanks for this.

Sean25rp · August 30, 2012

I am now back from this trip and will write up my thoughts this weekend when I have a little more time. Very busy at work since getting back.

Sean25rp · September 1, 2012

Ok here's a quick round up of my thoughts. I played Hacienda del Alamo, Peraleja, El Valle and Hacienda Riquelme.

Hacienda del Alamo:
This was the course on our resort. Played pretty long off the tips (think I heard/read it's one of the longer courses in Spain/the region). Anyways condition was good, not too much drying on the fairways for the time of year, greens were very receptive and rolled nicely but were not as quick as I thought they would be. Some great, long and challenging par 3's at this course and on the day we played the pins were ridiculous haha! Very tough to get to! This course didn't quite have the variation of holes of some of the others with a lot of par 4's that seemed to require a slight left to right movement of the tee to avoid the bunkers. Back nine played heavily into the wind so was the tougher of the two loops, especially as the front nine seems to ease you in. Also some long walks between holes so I would recommend a buggy here. A few nice changes in elevation that were quite subtle but added interest to holes. Facilities are class at this course with a driving range, chipping area, 2 putting greens and a 6 hole academy course. Decent amount of water and fairway misses were penalised by very spongy rough and worse compacted grit/dessert areas. Would rate it a 8/10. Cost of round was €30.

Peraleja:
Seve designed course and as such this required a lot more thinking about position and club choice whereas on the other 3 courses you could bash away with the driver a bit more! Probably used every club in the bag here. A great variety of holes and tons of water so be sure to have enough balls. Again some great par 3's over water but definitely not the longest course with one par 4 that can be reached with a 265 yard carry over water - class hole! Greens were again receptive and rolled a similar pace to hacienda del alamo so not too speedy. Some of the fairways here were a little scorched and in general the course didn't seem as manicured as the others. Not a bad thing by any means as this course had a more rustic feel about it. Lots of elevation changes and a much tighter course. Didn't see a huge amount of the practice facilities here as we were a little later arriving. Gets 8/10 also. Cost of round was €30.

El Valle:
This was the star for me. Course was in great shape, receptive greens and very quick running. Nice variety of holes and quite a good test as it played a decent length. I got punished on all par 5's by being greedy and getting myself into tricky spots. Not much water here at all but bunkers were very well placed and some were tough to get out of being pretty deep and big. Again great practice facilities as this hosts some lower tier pro events and is actually a q-school venue later this year so that probably explains the condition. This has more of a championship feel about it and the wind features more here. Need to think about positioning off the tee to score well and on some of the holes you are dead if you stray on the wrong side. Would love to go back. Gets a 9/10. Cost was €50.

Hacienda Riquelme:
Another championship level course. Similar to el Valle in terms of style and layout but condition wasn't quite as good. Again good facilities and again I'm pretty sure this hosts jamega tour events when they have their Spanish swing. Greens were as receptive as el Valle but rolled somewhere in between el Valle and del Alamo/Peraleja. Nice mix of holes and some great elevation changes with a decent bit of water. Also a good test off the tips and again couldn't blast driver off every tee, position was important. Lots of bunkers on this course and well placed, most bunkers of any course. This was particularly evident on the uphill par 5 14th where it felt like you couldn't not find a bunker as there were so many. A very visually pleasing hole! Would also go back here. Gets an 8/10 and cost was €50.

General points:
Courses were generally quiet which was great - millionaires golf!
Hacienda Riquelme, Peraleja and El Valle are all within close proximity so 2 of them could easily be played in one day.
Buggys were on average €20 but due to the heat and some of the walks between greens and tees I felt they were necessary.
Signage to some of the courses is not that clear/abundant so might be good to know roughly where you are going.
You can use club Murcia or similar websites to get deals at the courses if you are willing to play early mornings/later afternoons.
El valle and hacienda Riquelme are run by the same group so offer multi-round deals.
Pro shops at all the courses were not that we'll stocked with equipment and mainly stocked apparel so better to take everything you need.