Golden Anniversary for Costa del Sol Club
The Old Course is the oldest on the Coast, after the Parador, Guadalmina Sur, Río Real and Royal Sotogrande
Atalaya Old is one of the Costa del Sol’s most venerable courses. Built before the onset of proliferating urbanisations on the Coast, the Old Course was designed by Bernhard von Limburger, German champion in 1925 and later one of Germany’s most renowned golf course architects. He designed 70 courses in Germany, France and Austria, and Atalaya was the only one he created in Spain.
With its wide fairways and raised greens, it has developed into a championship course that is a challenge for both professionals and golfers of all levels. Over the years it has matured elegantly and, with spectacular views to the Sierra de la Concha mountain range, it is a veritable oasis within the hustle and bustle of the Costa del Sol.
Viewed from outside, it seems to be another perfectly flat parkland course that is ideal for the average player – with gently undulating fairways, plentiful “marble-sand” bunkers, fast greens and fairways lined with lush vegetation including olive, pine, cactus and eucalyptus trees – but in reality it is quite a tough course that presents a stern challenge even to professionals and single-figure handicappers.
The course officially celebrates its golden anniversary this year, but it was actually completed in 1967 – albeit not inaugurated until the following year. “Therefore, we use that date as a reference point,” explains Atalaya director Andrés Sánchez. The course was formally inaugurated by actor Sean Connery, who at the time had a home “very close by”.
Sánchez describes the club’s history as “extremely interesting, with diverse periods, good and bad moments, many green fees sold, numerous members who have held shares in the company, and constant improvement work over the 50 years”.
Would you be able to make an estimate of how many green fees have been sold at Atalaya in 50 years?
I would have to double-check the figures, because the second course wasn’t opened until 1990, but I believe we could have had as many as three million green fees. There have been years with more than 80,000 rounds, and in 2001 we topped 83,000. You have to take into account the fact that the second course was inaugurated in 1990, completed by another German designer, Paul Krings.
Who developed the Old Course?
The investors were a conglomerate of German companies who bought land to build hotels. They began with the Atalaya hotel and later built the course.
How many members does the club have, and what are the main nationalities?
The club currently has 420 member-shareholders (as well as annual season ticket-holders), representing a total of 36 nationalities, mostly Spaniards, Scandinavians and Germans. It has always been a very international club. The Atalaya hotel has nearly 500 rooms and an international clientele, from many different countries, is required for them to be full. Nevertheless, it is true that in the 1970s the focus was on the American market, and many Americans visited this area, which was almost completely unknown at the time.
Following the second oil crisis, beginning in 1979, there was a considerable reduction in the number of North Americans visiting the Costa del Sol. They still come here but in much fewer numbers. They have high spending power and tend to play at Valderrama and other top courses in the area, including Atalaya Old.
What major renovations and other work have been undertaken at the club over the years?
In recent years we have been upgrading the course to standard distances in order to host top-level tournaments here. The Old Course’s first hole has been completely renovated to make it more competitive, the kiosk area and its surroundings have also been totally renovated, and bit by bit we are carrying out more reforms of the layout.
In addition, we are currently building a car-park building with capacity for 130 vehicles, for both clients and members, with a major section under-cover and another part open-air.
Over the past three years other major work undertaken at the club has included, for example, a refurbishment of the men’s and women’s changing rooms and the construction of a gymnasium and new offices. The buggy fleet has also been renovated.
Andrés Sánchez is optimistic about the club’s future. “All the economists predict that we are going to have at least 10 good years before returning once again to a recession, so we have to take advantage of this growth to improve and invest a lot of money, as we have done over the past 15 years.”
