Ask how many golf courses there are in Marbella and, depending on the source, you will hear fourteen, sixteen or nineteen. All three have a logic to them, because some sources count clubs and others count courses, and a club like Guadalmina has several. Some also stop at the municipal boundary and some do not, which is why La Quinta, Finca Cortesín or Valderrama turn up in lists of Marbella golf courses even though they sit in Benahavís, Casares or Sotogrande.
If you are here to play golf in Marbella, the number hardly matters, but if you are here to buy, knowing where each course sits matters a great deal.
Golf courses in Marbella, Spain
The courses run from west to east along the coast. On the Estepona side, by San Pedro Alcántara, is Guadalmina, one of the oldest golf clubs in the municipality, with two 18-hole courses and a nine-hole one.
Moving east you reach Nueva Andalucía, known locally as the Golf Valley, just behind Puerto Banús, where Real Club de Golf Las Brisas, Los Naranjos, Aloha and La Dama de Noche sit side by side, with La Quinta right on the edge with Benahavís. Near the town centre is Monte Paraíso, and east of Marbella, towards Málaga, come Río Real, Santa Clara, Marbella Golf, Greenlife in the hills of Elviria, Santa María and, last in the municipality, Cabopino.
Best golf courses in Marbella
Any ranking of courses says more about the person writing it than about the golf, so it is more useful to think about the kind of round you are after. The Golf Valley is the classic choice, with established championship courses a few minutes from Puerto Banús. The eastern side, from Río Real to Cabopino, is greener, quieter and more spread out. And if you are happy to drive a little, the golf courses near Marbella, in Benahavís, Estepona and Casares, widen the choice considerably.
Living on a golf course in Marbella
If you are buying, homes near the courses cluster where the courses are: the Golf Valley in Nueva Andalucía, Guadalmina, and the eastern side around Río Real, Santa Clara and Elviria. It is worth separating golf view from frontline golf, because they are not the same thing. With a golf view you see the fairways from home; on the frontline, your garden ends where the course begins, with the privacy and the stray balls that come with it.
You can see only golf view homes or only frontline golf homes, and the Nueva Andalucía and Guadalmina guides describe what living there is like away from the course.
Green fees and access
Before you book a golf course in Marbella, bear in mind that prices change by club, season and time of day, so the only reliable figure is the one each club publishes. Most Marbella clubs accept visitors, although some will ask for a handicap certificate.
