2020 TOP Golf Courses in Costa del Sol

Highly regarded as the best golf destination in Europe, the Costa del Sol in Málaga, Spain has over 70 high-quality golf courses, each of them diverse and challenging, with many designed by famous architects including the world-renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr.

Thanks to an average annual temperature of 20C, and more than 320 days of glorious sunshine, on the Costa del Sol you can play golf at practically any time of the year making this region of Southern Spain the perfect golf getaway destination!

With so many golf courses on offer, it won't be any an easy task to whittle the mass of options down to the courses you will play during your visit to Costa del Sol in 2021.

Now that we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after months of global lockdowns, we've tried to make it a little easier for you below with our list of Top 10 Golf Courses in Costa del Sol.

We should be giving the real credit to our massive community of golfers. It's thanks to our Hole19 golfers that we were able to create this list, and although every individual course in Costa del Sol has its unique charm, we kept it simple and picked the 10 most popular as played by our favourite people (you):

10. El Chaparral Golf Club

Chaparral Golf Club is situated on the hilly coastal landscape of Mijas-Costa. A unique panorama of the surrounding scenery can be observed from every hole. The magnificent sea views, rich vegetation, and the perfume of pine trees have turned El Chaparral into a natural and golfer's paradise. El Chaparral is the only golf course on the coast with six Par 3, six Par 4 and six Par 5 holes.

9. Mijas Golf (Los Lagos)

Mijas Golf has two 18-hole courses of which the oldest one is Los Lagos, opened in 1976. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, it features wide fairways, large raised greens and an abundance of bunkers and water hazards. Los Lagos was aptly named for there are eight lakes in and around the course.

Nonetheless, there is virtually no rough and relatively few trees, giving an overwhelming impression of freedom and space. At 6,348 metres, it is one of the longest courses on the Costa del Sol.

8. Baviera Golf

Baviera Golf, located on the spurs of Sierra de la Almijara (east of Málaga), lies on valley boasting an ideal microclimate for the practice of golf. The course was designed by José María Cañizares, the prestigious professional golfer. Cañizares is one of our most international and charismatic golfers.

The variety of holes and the unsurpassable views both to the Mediterranean sea and the mountains contribute your enjoyment of an unforgettable day at Baviera Golf.

7. Atalaya Golf & Country Club (Old)

The Old Course was designed by Bernard von Limburger, par 72, 18 holes. It's an exciting course with spectacular views of the Sierra de la Concha.

First opened back in 1967, the Atalaya Old Course has featured various revamps, including the reseeding of fairways with Bermuda grass. This parkland course features wide fairways and fast elevated greens. Eucalyptus, olive and pine trees grow along all the fairways, giving pleasant shade in summer but they also dish out their own punishment for inaccurate shots.

6. Calanova Golf Club

This course offers extraordinary views of the Mijas sierra and the sea. Nearly all the tees are elevated, which enables players to visualise shots perfectly – a welcome aspect which gives average players added confidence. The course is extremely open and free from hidden hazards, and doesn't penalise errant shots. It's a wide-ranging course, with each hole different from the other; the landing area is fairly wide and the greens are spectacular for their form and shape.

5. Club de Golf La Cañada

This is the story of the village that wanted a golf course. Jaime Ortiz Patiño, honorary president of Valderrama, became interested, the municipality gave the land, Robert Trent Jones Sr. handled the design and La Cañada was built. Over a decade later, with a lot of financial help from the First Tee programme and Jaime Ortiz Patiño, the second nine holes was opened, this time designed by Dave Thomas.

4. Real Club de Golf Guadalmina (Norte)

Guadalmina North is considered less difficult than Guadalmina's South course, although it covers more terrain, is more undulating, contains more trees and has more water hazards. The Guadalmina River bisects the course from north to south – it comes into play at the 17th, for example – and, as if this weren't enough, there are lakes at the 7th, 9th, 11th and 18th holes. The course was designed by Folco Nardi and opened in 1972.

3. Alcaidesa Links Golf Resort (Links)

As the only links course in southern Europe, the Links Course at Alcaidesa Links Golf Resort is an extremely popular golfing venue. You'll play most of the holes flanked by the beach and if you can tear your eyes from the stunning sea views, the inland scenery is equally impressive. As with any links course, the challenge here is presented by the prevailing winds and golfers will need to have their wits about them to come away with a good score and all the golf balls they started the round with.

2. Real Club de Golf Guadalmina (Sur)

Known for its tough layout and hard pin positions, the South course at Real Club de Golf Guadalmina is, by its own admission, designed for "experienced players". With narrow, tree-lined fairways the course is a daunting prospect from the tee and demanding of accuracy right up to the green.

1. Real Club El Candado

Real Club El Candado was the most played golf course in 2020. Considered one of the golfing pioneers of the Costa del Sol, this golf club is situated in a valley five kilometres east of Málaga, near the El Palo district. Carlos Fernández designed the 9-hole course which opened in 1968 and offers the visiting player a fair test of golf, particularly on the small undulating greens.

With horse-riding, sailing and tennis available, non-golfers are well-catered for and will enjoy the friendly atmosphere of this historic club.

COSTA DEL GOLF IN 360º

It's said "a picture paints a thousand words", especially if it covers 360 degrees of vision! Well, with this ambitious project, Costa del Sol 360, you can take a virtual tour through all golf courses in the region in a full 360º - without moving from your couch - and choose the one you'd like to visit the most. Awesome, isn't it?

This panoramic experience will also allow you to discover relevant data on the 70+ golf courses in the Costa del Sol, such as: designer, year of construction, number of holes, tours, etc.

Take a look at all of the high-quality golf courses in the Costa del Sol and discover why it has more than earned its title of the 'Costa del Golf' 😉.