Located inland in Cádiz province, in a superb setting featuring large lakes, Arcos Golf (the newly re-named former Arcos Gardens) re-opened its fairways for play in the second week of August, after having been closed since early May. The course is one of those hidden jewels we occasionally discover – and are invariably wowed by.

A new company, owned 50 per cent by Omar Suárez (who is also the new general manager of the club) and the Valenzuela Group, has taken over the course and 12-room hotel/country house, which also serves as the clubhouse.

“Our main objective,” says Omar Suárez, “after negotiating with the receivers who had taken over the running of the complex, was to re-open the course this summer and, to that end, in the third week of July we began an intensive project to recuperate the fairways, greens, etc. The course is still not the way we would like it to be (at the time of going to press), but it will be in a very short time. It’s impressive how it is recovering just with irrigation. I believe that at the end of September the layout will be perfect.

“The course has a magnificent design by US company Landmark, and very solid construction, which makes it a unique jewel. In fact, if the course had not been constructed in this way it would have been impossible to retrieve it so quickly. I would even go so far as to say it would have been irretrievable.”

- Are you confident that, with your new club management, it will not fail again?

- The course didn’t really fail: what failed was the resort complex, the real estate part. This course was always a reference point in Andalucía and Spain, and we’re sure it will once again be the same.

“Our project,” concludes Omar Suárez, “is just the golf, and we have great ideas to re-launch the course, adapting it to the current situation. On the other hand, we are also very proud to be making a contribution to the tourism industry in Arcos, creating jobs and providing one more reason why people should visit this village – full of charm and magic.”