San Roque, Spain
On the Spanish Costa de Sol, Sotogrande is a stern test to even the best golfers. An elegant clubhouse, excellent food and drink and well appointed locker room will all contribute to making this a special golfing experience. Consistently ranked in the top courses of Europe, the course is lined with oak, cork, pine and palm trees, the rough is unforgiving and to be avoided. Broad fairways lull the player into thinking that the course is easy, but each hole requires careful planning and well-executed strokes to avoid the many strategically placed bunkers and water hazards that defend the greens. Putting surfaces are well maintained year-round and are fast and true. Most green are elevated and are expertly shaped and contoured – they present challenging putts, especially when a stroke ends up far from the pin.
Stroke index 1 on the card is the par three 4th. At 208 m the target is long and a wickedly sloping green adds a further level of difficulty to the hole. The par four 7th is another tough hole; only 330 m in length, the green is tiny and well protected by water on the right. The back nine presents six difficult holes in the home stretch with water hazards featuring prominently on most and the sloping greens providing a good test of putting skills.
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