Spain’s Valencia Region Highlights Three New Golf Courses
Spain’s Valencia Region Highlights Three New Golf Courses
Home to golfers like Sergio Garcia, the Spanish region of Valencia will have welcomed three new 18-hole golf courses by this fall -- Las Colinas Golf Country Club, Font del Llop Golf Resort and La Galiana. With year-round sunny and temperate weather, this region on the Mediterranean now has 28 eighteen-hole golf courses.
Long a popular golfing destination and site of numerous championships, with famous courses like La Sella, Valencia will host the Castello Masters Costa Azahar, one of the tournaments on the PGA’s European tour, Oct. 21 to 24 at the Mediterraneo Golf Club in the province of Castellon. And less than a month later, the region will again be the focus of the golf world when Valencia welcomes IGTM 2010 (the International Golf Travel Market 2010), Nov. 15 to 18.
Expected to open this fall, La Galiana (www.lagalianagolf.com) is near the town of Alcira, south of the city of Valencia. The 18-hole, par-72 course is set in a valley surrounded by pine and orange groves.
More than 5,000 local species of plants and trees were used in the landscaping, and water consumption will be minimized through a sophisticated rainwater collection and drainage system. Designed by the Spanish firm Moon Masters, La Galiana will be open to non-members who can use the facilities. New golf schools are also planned for the area.
Opened in May, Font del Llop Golf Resort (www.fdlgolf.es) is a new 18-hole course located near Monforte del Cid, in the Vinalopo valley, minutes from Alicante. Designed by Blake Stirling and Marco Martin, the par-72 course blends naturally with its scenery and has views of the surrounding mountains. The layout of Font del Llop’s fairways -- around a small river connecting five lakes -- make for a technical game that challenges players to use all golf clubs.
Las Colinas Golf & Country Club (www.aworldapart.es) opened in June and is located in Dehesa de Campoamor, south of Torrevieja in the province of Alicante. Designed by Cabell B. Robinson, the 18-hole championship course has been carved out of a gorge and has views of the nearby coastline and a nature reserve.
Managed by Troon Golf, the par-71 course offers a great variety of short and long holes, with five par 3’s presenting an array of challenges of varying length and topography. Water hazards and dramatic bunkering are key features in the design of the course.
On Oct. 21, golf greats like Paul Casey, Michael Jonzen, Henrik Stenson and Camilo Villegas, as well as Spanish champions like Garcia (whose father is the pro and who won the first masters here in 2008) along with José Maria Olazábal, José Manuel Lara and Álvaro Quirós will compete at the Castellon Masters Costa Azahar. Designed by Ramon Espinosa in 1978, the par-72 course is at the Mediterraneo Golf Club is in Castellon.
