The San Roque Club is located in the Sotogrande area, but still very close to the epicentre of the Costa del Sol, just over 20 minutes from Marbella.
An invitation to play San Roque had me setting out in high spirits, under clear blue skies, for it was some time since I had last played there. This Dave Thomas-designed course, open now for 20 years and host of the European Tour Qualifying School Finals from 1993 to 2007, as well as the 2005 Spanish Open, is outstandingly beautiful. Even the luxurious villas which meander around the course are well-hidden and do not come into play, unlike many other golf courses along the coast.
The resort’s second course was opened in 2004. Co-designed by Perry Dye and Severiano Ballesteros, the 18-hole San Roque New Course has all the ingredients to join the elite of Europe’s golf amenities – thanks to its high technical quality, attractive design and impeccable finish and landscaping. The course hosted the 2006 Open de España as well as the Qualifying School Finals from 2004 to 2007. There are also no homes in the vicinity of the New Course, which means that no buildings interfere with or spoil a round of golf.
Both San Roque Club courses gained a score of 85 out of 100 in the prestigious “Rolex World’s Top 1000 Golf Courses” guide. Very few resorts manage to achieve such a high points score taking into account all their courses.
The golf club now has something over 540 members, of which 80 per cent are from numerous European countries. Motoring up the tree-lined entrance drive I was immediately struck by how clean and tidy the area was and how attractive the driveway lamp-posts were. In the professional’s shop my booking was very speedily processed and my questions were answered with great courtesy and charm.
The relationship between quality and price at the San Roque Old Course is excellent, especially bearing in mind that it is one of the best courses on the Costa del Sol. Non-members are welcome to play the Old Course daily between 12 noon and 2.24pm, with green fees costing between €120 and €160 in the low and high season, respectively. June and September are fantastic months to take advantage of low season rates while enjoying prime weather conditions.
Before play there was time for a little lunch, which I took sitting on the veranda overlooking a putting green and the golf course. With a feeling of contentment, I tucked into a club sandwich which, together with a bottle of water and coffee, cost a reasonable €15. The caddie-master supplied a sparkling clean buggy which, thoughtfully, contained a bottle of water, a card of the course with the daily pin positions printed and a pencil. Another little detail I learnt from the caddie-master was that at some point during my game they would come round with a complimentary fresh apple or banana. (The little touches make such a difference.)
So, off to the first tee through an area of delightfully coloured and immaculately kept flower beds, not to mention another putting green.
Standing on the tee it was hard not to be impressed with the mower stripes on the fairway as it meandered off to the first green some 357 metres distant. The features on the front nine are cork trees and bunkers and during the course of play the golfer is fairly certain to fall foul of either if not both. It did not take me long for, starting about 42 metres from the edge of the first green, there is a bunker on the right which is some 85 metres long and, all I will say is, I spent a considerable time in it. From this position I could see a magnificent private short game area and grass tee box, just north of the practice range, which I later found out had been designed for pro school or corporate groups wanting to practice before their game.
The second hole is really a continuation of the first, travelling downhill as it gently swings to the right, and finishes on a circular green which slopes from back to front. The third is a par-3 measuring just 143 metres which cannot be missed to the right if you wish to see your ball again. The long but narrow green is sometimes difficult to read but, all in all, it is not a very difficult hole. Indeed the first three holes provide a gentle opening to a golf course which gets more testing as you progress and by the time the 18th green is reached you will have used all the shots in your armoury in an attempt to master it.
Indeed the next three holes begin the test with a yawning out of bounds to the right of the fourth, while the par-5 fifth has a hazard down the same side and is played to an elevated green, to the left of which an old cork tree stands in lone magnificence. The par-4 sixth is index 1 and it is here the player will meet a serious water hazard for the first time. A big fairway lake, filled by an eye-catching waterfall, takes up a considerable amount of the proposed landing area so care must be taken with club selection.
The seventh is an uneventful par-3 played uphill while the eighth swings around in the opposite direction. With out-of-bounds both right and left the tee shot must be straight but the undulating fairway is quite generous. The green is closely guarded by yet more cork trees, the sight of which you may well be fed up with by this stage, and you then head back towards the clubhouse while playing the par-5 ninth. A long fairway bunker about 260 metres off the tee is the first problem and, should this be avoided, there are seven more bunkers both short and surrounding the large green – which us to the end of his first nine holes.
The 10th is another par-5, which has a very sharp dog-leg to the left. To have any chance of par the drive must be up the right-hand side but beware of the bunker which awaits the slightly cut tee shot.
On exiting this green you again drive past some colourful flowers and cross a small road to the tee of quite a superb hole. Index 2 on the card, the hole measures some 384 metres (yellow tees) and has a small stream meandering diagonally across the fairway while a lake, just a few metres from the right side of the green, makes the approach shot quite intimidating.
Teeing up on the 12th it becomes apparent that the problems created by cork trees have now given way to water as this hole has two lakes connected by a little stream in what is a very picturesque section of the golf course. The green-side lake certainly merits attention but, thankfully, the green is quite large.
Off again, then through lovely flowers, across a road and into a different area of land for the next three holes. The 13th is a downhill par-4 with a distinct dog-leg to the left where it is easy to run out of fairway. There is a bunker to the right-hand side which must be 100 metres long, and this runs up beside the green.
The 14th is a par-3 played to an elevated green which has a fine backdrop of trees against the sky-line.
The 15th can only be described as an “uphill slog”, turning left with fairway bunkers and then, at last, it is back onto the main golf course where the finishing three holes will revitalise your thoughts regarding San Roque.
The par-3 16th is played to an elevated green which has a bunker to the right and eight magnificent cork trees protecting the left-hand side. They really do stand majestically guarding their charge and, over the years, have wreaked havoc with many a card.
The 17th is the final par-5 and a good long, straight hole. The main problem encountered is a big lake situated to the front right of the green which will catch an approach shot pulled even ever so slightly.
The 18th may well be the finest hole on the course. It has a sharp dog-leg left, on the angle of which there is a lake with a little island. In order to stop players attempting to cut the corner the island comes complete with a huge tree and overhanging branches and it is festooned with flowers of varying and startling colours. From that lake a stream runs diagonally across the fairway, about 50 metres from the front of the green, where it feeds another lake to the right-hand side of the green.
Quite a superb hole and one which brought moments of both delight and despair to competitors playing in the European Tour Qualifying School during the years it was located here. In fact, the 18th is featured in Jeff Barr’s book “1001 Golf Holes You Must Play Before You Die”, which demonstrates its intrinsic quality.
So I come to the end of my first round of golf at San Roque for some time and what marvellous changes have taken place since my previous visits. The course is in apple pie order and bears all the hallmarks of a golf course whose management is in a very positive frame of mind.
There is little doubt this great Dave Thomas design will continue to go from strength to strength as it changes from a golf course into a golf club with an ever-increasing membership. Well done to all concerned and, thank you, I enjoyed every moment of my visit.
