There are few places in the world that offer such diverse leisure options as Marbella for travelling golfers seeking memorable experiences both on the fairways and at the “19th hole”. Arguably the Costa del Sol’s most cosmopolitan city, and certainly its most glamorous, Marbella has the most golf courses (16) of any municipality in Spain. The “Golf Valley”, a high-end residential area situated behind Puerto Banús in the Nueva Andalucía macro-urbanisation, includes Royal Las Brisas, Los Naranjos, La Quinta (partly in Benahavís) and Aloha (all European Tour venues in their respective august histories) and La Dama de Noche, which offers the opportunity of evening play thanks to its artificial lighting system. Close by is the Royal Guadalmina club, which has two 18-hole courses; within one kilometre of Marbella’s town centre is Monte Paraíso (a par-three “executive” layout), Magna is in Nueva Andalucía, and Río Real’s picturesque course winds down to the sea on the outskirts of the city, in the direction of Málaga. A little further along the main highway, near the Costa del Sol Hospital, is Santa Clara and Marbella Golf & Country Club, while Santa María, Greenlife and Capopino are situated at the eastern end of the municipality before it merges into Mijas Costa. Meanwhile, après golf… Marbella is renowned throughout the world as a high-class tourist destination. Apart from its hotel infrastructure – an unrivalled concentration of four and five-star establishments – the municipality is also blessed with a privileged natural environment and, above all else, an unsurpassed microclimate. Thanks to its Sierra Blanca mountain backdrop, the city enjoys incredible sunshine and temperatures for most of the year. This microclimate tempers winters and alleviates summers, thus favouring the creation and ongoing development of a rich and attractive vegetation – splendidly on show in thousands of private gardens that add so much colour to the Marbella landscape. Marbella’s 27-kilometre long coastline is dotted with three exclusive marinas (Cabopino, Marbella and Puerto Banús) and a charming fishing port, La Bajadilla, where recreational vessels are also berthed. Bustling Puerto Banús is the showpiece, however, home to ostentatious yachts worth millions of euros and a plethora of fashionable restaurants, al fresco bar terraces and chic boutiques where you could find yourself rubbing shoulders with Spanish and international celebrities.