Sotogrande Finest Golf Courses

Finca Cortesin Golf Club
A Review by Trevor Ledger

This golf course genuinely fulfils the oft cited (mostly disingenuously) ‘challenge from every tee’.

In terms of quiet opulence and attention to detail, the golfing experience at Cabell Robinson’s Finca Cortesin cannot be bettered.

Nothing – seriously nothing – has been spared in the master planning at the resort: the landscaping is on a huge scale with massive rocks and civil engineering projects forming a suitable frame to a classy day’s golfing.

Even the drive into the property is breath-taking with ancient olive trees and fully laden pomegranate trees lining the route. Word of warning – olives need to be processed before they are edible, a voice of experience speaks…

As with most resort courses, the clubhouse and hard landscaped areas are elegant and fulfil every need. However, the golf course is a cut above most others. Having hosted three Volvo World Matchplay Tournaments between 2009 and 2012 it is clearly a stern test and very high quality but there is a very clever difference about Finca Cortesin – each set of tees really does offer a different experience and perspective.

Playing from the second longest set of tees the course looks massively difficult but, if you have a half decent driving game, it is nowhere near as hard as it looks. Play the same course off the back tees and not only do the drives become a good deal more exacting, the second shot throws up an entirely new set of considerations. Similarly the shorter tees still offer golf that requires a lot of thought and precise course management.

This golf course genuinely fulfils the oft cited (mostly disingenuously) ‘challenge from every tee’.

Every single hole is also an individual experience; there are not open views across the rest of the course offering glimpses of what has passed and what is to come. The holes can all be enjoyed in isolation and all of them offer fantastic photo opportunities, photogenic on every shot is not overstating the case.

The individuality comes at a cost – a cart is more or less essential given the distances between greens and tees; but even the diehard ‘carrier’ will be happy to ride, the views alone will see to that.

Add to this the personal service (being met in the car park and throughout the round by friendly and helpful staff members) and Finca Cortesin lives up to the reputation that it has been building upon since opening in 2006.

Highly recommended.

Finca Cortesin Golf Club – see a comprehensive overview of Course data, Offers to play & Club facilites

This is part of a series of reviews showcasing a collection of Sotogrande’s finest golf courses:

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Trevor Ledger, Golf Collections Project Cataloguer, Special Collections Division, St Andrews University, Scotland.
Trevor has worked as an editor and contributor to many golf industry publications. In the past he has held the position of Editor at ‘Golf Course News International’ and ‘The Golf Course Magazine’, as well as Contributing Editor of ‘Golf Inc.’.
In a freelance capacity he has contributed to publications such as Golf Punk, Golf World and Golf Monthly.