Course focus: La Reserva Club, Spain
The back story of La Reserva
La Reserva Club is located in the premium residential community of Sotogrande in the Andalusian province of Cadiz around the Guadiaro river estuary.
Thirty minutes west of Marbella, Sotogrande occupies 20km2, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the foothills of the Sierra Almenara.
It has 2,500 households and is one of Europe’s leading sporting destinations for yachting, sail racing, water sports, tennis, international polo… as well as five championship golf courses.
A new era at La Reserva
La Reserva Club, which sits at the highest point of Sotogrande, has long been known as a high-calibre destination, but new investment is turning it into one elegant and luxurious in southern Europe.
The 1,154-acre area is being transformed, with residences designed by world-leading architects and upgraded facilities including a world-class spa and wellness centre focused on holistic wellbeing.
Lagoons for swimming and watersports – amid views of the ocean, hills and golf course – and a beach club with Europe’s first full sandy pool have opened, in addition to extended dining facilities and children’s areas.
New tennis and padel courts have already opened – and of course there is a Continental European Top 100-ranked golf course.
The course at La Reserva
Cabell B Robinson, an American with a very impressive Iberian legacy, designed La Reserva de Sotogrande.
Nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and the densely wooded Andalusian hills, La Reserva offers expansive views and a playable challenge.
Robinson, as he has done elsewhere in southern Spain, impressively worked a site with distinct elevation change to use the terrain to his advantage.
He has minimised the ardour of uphill holes while maximising the glory of elevated tee shots and approaches to infinity greens.
In immaculate condition, it is a fixture in any credible Continental European Top 100.
The key holes at La Reserva
It does not look like a course of its age at all, a feeling that is enhanced by the handsome red-orange moorish clubhouse that overlooks the 1st and 18th holes from the highest point of the course.
Robinson’s love of jigsaw-shaped bunkers is clearly evident and these large traps plus water hazards and mature trees keep everyone honest.
Downhill short holes at the 6th and 14th are two highlights of a course that deserves its place alongside its illustrious neighbours.
How you can play La Reserva
You can pay a 280 euro green fee to play one of Continental Europe’s leading courses.
Stay-and-play deals are available at the nearby Almenara Hotel, which is also part of the portfolio of the course’s owner Sotogrande SA.
Shuttle services available from hotel to golf course and take just five minutes.
Chris Bertram
Chris Bertram is a specialist in all things golf courses.
He was born and brought up in Dumfriesshire and has been a sports journalist since 1996, initially as a junior writer with National Club Golfer magazine.
Chris then spent four years writing about football and rugby union for the Press Association but returned to be Editor and then Publisher of NCG.
He has been freelance since 2010 and spends the majority of his time playing golf and writing about the world’s finest golf courses.
