Costa del Sol: A Champion of Female Golf
With more than 70 different, varied and challenging golf courses, the Costa del Sol - also affectionately known as the Costa del Golf - is the top European destination for golf enthusiasts from all over the world.
This exceptional coastal region in the province of Málaga has the highest concentration of golf courses in all of Continental Europe (hence the nickname), with each offering impeccable quality of service and facilities as well as a wide variety of golfing events all year round.
Every golfer should visit the Costa del Sol at least once in their lifetime, and the region has plenty to offer women, in particular.
Women's Golf in the Costa del Sol
Why are we seeing more and more women conquering the golf courses of the Costa del Sol? Besides the region's vast array of leisure activities, culture and gastronomy - golf courses, golf resorts and hotels in the Costa del Sol have been doing their best to make lady golfers feel particularly welcome!
Over the past years, the Costa del Sol has also become an important destination of reference for big golf tournaments - with both national and international reach - in which women have taken the main role, like the Spanish Ladies Open.
Golf All Year Round
Enjoying sunlight and golf in the Costa del Sol is something that everyone can do all twelve months of the year, an advantage that, unfortunately, most golfers living in the north and centre of the continent can't have in their own countries.
Many female players choose the Costa del Sol as the perfect place to train, and even to settle down, because of its excellent weather, culture, gastronomy and, of course, the facilities and infrastructures that make golf one of the most enjoyable sports by locals and visitors. Andalusia is the region of Spain with most golf courses (around 120), and the Costa del Golf, in the coastline that goes from Nerja to Sotogrande, counts up to 74 — some of them catalogued as the best ones in Europe!
Relevance of Women's Competitions
The Royal Andalusian Golf Federation successfully organises a total of 120 competitions every year where female golfers can participate—a number that surpasses the 110 competitions per year that are exclusively for men. In this context, 62% of the female golf events celebrated in Andalusia over the last years have taken place in the Costa del Sol, which shows the crescent interest that women have towards this sport.
For the fourth year in a row, the Costa del Sol will be hosting the Spanish Ladies Open, this time at Aloha Golf Club in Marbella, from November 28th to December 1st. This professional golf tournament has been part of the Ladies European Tour schedule since 2002. Back in 2016, Aloha Golf Club hosted the tournament for the first time, followed by Real Club de Golf Guadalmina in 2017, and most recently by La Quinta Golf & Country Club in 2018.
Professional Lady Golfers Born in Costa del Sol
Some of the best professional female golfers hail from the Costa del Sol with María Parra, Noemí Jiménez, Rocío Sánchez or the two-time European Tour winner, Azahara Muñoz, possibly the most recognisable names. This year, Azahara Muñoz will be representing Europe for the fourth time in the Solheim Cup, a golf tournament equivalent to the Ryder Cup in the men's game. She competed in her first European Solheim Cup Team in 2011 with a 2-1-1 record.
Azahara had a successful amateur career, winning the 2002 Spanish Amateur Championship and finishing runner-up at the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. She turned professional in September 2009 and then competed on the Ladies European Tour, winning the Madrid Ladies Masters.
Precisely for her commitment and dedication towards female and Andalusian golf, Costa del Sol Tourism gave Azahara Muñoz a recognition as one of the best golf ambassadors in 2017, during the Open de España femenino.
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