Written by Neil White
Colossal amounts of money have been spent developing one of Spain’s fastest-growing resorts, but does the golf at Las Colinas match the quality of its surrounding properties?
Certainly, it is excellent value. We paid just £250 per head for three nights in a stylish apartment and two rounds of golf. Others were taking refuge from winter more seriously.
We played with chaps from Norway who were playing 20 rounds over eight weeks and a Belgian couple who own a beautiful holiday home overlooking the 13th hole.
The food and drink in the clubhouse would sate those staying longer than us, and the service is spot on.
As with most top-line Spanish courses, the practice facilities are impressive, and I like the quirkiness and variety of the holes at Las Colinas. Despite its wide fairways, players should not be tempted to think that it is merely a big hitters’ course. There is a need for strategic thinking and a hot putter.
A game plan is demanded as early as the first tee when only a hit down the right-hand side of the dogleg par 4 will open up the target. The fairway then narrows towards the green, protected by a false front, bunker on the right, and fall-off on the left.
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Water emerges on the 3rd hole – a twisting short par 5 that starts on an elevated tee. From the tee, it is easy to see sand traps on either side of the fairway, but the cunningly placed central bunker is invisible.
My ball found it, and I had no choice but to lay up the lake directly in front of the green. My podcast partner was dazzled by possibly the longest drive of his life and, with a strong breeze behind, opted for a heroic strike towards the pin.
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It seemed as if birdie or even eagle could be on the cards for a second, but the ball fell agonisingly short and dunked into the water. My worst moment came on the par 4 4th, a short hole that seems to offer little peril until a steep bank in front of the green.
My approach was short and tumbled down the hill, ditto an attempt to run the ball with a 7-iron, a clip with a pitching wedge and an exasperated clang with a putter. Those who find the back of the green should be cautious because they could also see their balls slip down hell hill on the way back.
This was the fourth game of our Norwegian playing partners, and one told us that he had hit the lake on the left-hand side of the par 3 5th in each of their previous three games. Therefore, he was thrilled to see his shot end about 15 feet from the flag.
Podcast partner was even more impressive and stuck his to 12 feet. I chickened out and was happy with finding the middle of the green. For me, the par 3s were the least exciting element of Las Colinas. The seventh and 10th are very similar – narrow and sharply downhill – and on this day, with the flag placed at the front, only 80 and 125 yards, respectively.
We had to pull trolleys on the opening round because we like the walk, but Las Colinas is set up for buggies, and this was evidenced most strongly when I was upended on the slippery surface of a path leading from the 8th tee. Fortunately, only my dignity was wounded.
I recovered my pride on the 9th, a 279-yard par 4 with bankers all around a risen green. My duffed drive left me 100 yards, and I nailed the approach to three feet before completing my birdie.
We enjoyed the outward nine, but the remaining holes are more memorable. The 11th is a par 5 with a partially blind drive down a hill towards a dogleg and a desert of bunkers. A tight turn is followed by an ascent to a green that falls steeply from back to front.
The tiger line on the bending par 4 13th could tempt players towards a gnarly penalty area down the right where prickly bushes and rocks await. Meanwhile, bunkers are ready to punish those who bail out too far to the left.
Undoubtedly, the best and most challenging par-three is the 14th, which has a mini-waterfall to the right of the target, a stream around the front and lake and a deep bunker to the left. My ball put on its brakes just in time as it careered towards the water.
This is my favourite section of the course, even though I made a muck of the par 5 15th. This demands a drive that weaves between a huge bunker and bushes on the right and several more traps on the left. The next obstacle is a lake directly in front of the green. It’s a long hole; anyone who saves par will be delighted.
The same stretch of water teases the eye on the left of the 16th fairway, but only a big hook would find it. However, subconscious avoidance could force the drive down the right, where a trio of bunkers lurk. I came up just short of sand and followed with my best shot of the day – a 3-wood to about 12 feet of the pin on a big green that falls back to front.
The 18th is a gorgeous finale – a par-five strewn with trouble and the backdrop of a handsome modern clubhouse. Water on the right is a magnet for second shots but also threatens approaches to a curved green that falls towards it.
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We played Las Colinas twice and enjoyed it very much. True, the condition of the fairways was not perfect, but it was January, and much work was being done around the course. Only those who are staying longer would be able to comment on its high-season standard.
NOW READ – NCG Top 100s: European Resorts – Las Colinas
About Neil White:
Neil White is a panellist for NCG Top 100s course rankings. Listen to Neil’s podcast The Golf Pilgrim here.
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