238 Marbella destino de golf.qxp_188 Golf El Puerto 24/1/17 13:05 Página 2
Aloba
A PREMIER GOLF DESTINATION The Spanish municipality with the highest number of courses
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or many years now Marbella has had the highest number of golf courses of any municipality in Spain. This cosmopolitan city in Málaga province has 15 courses – 10 of 18 holes, one 27 holes and four nine holes – at 14 different clubs: Guadalmina (36 holes), La Quinta (27), Los Naranjos (18), Las Brisas (18), Aloha (18), Dama de Noche (9), Magna Marbella (9), Monte Paraíso (9), Río Real (18), Santa Clara (18), Marbella Golf (18), Greenlife (9), Santa María (18) and Cabopino (18). In total, 243 holes, in addition to numerous golf academies and schools with their own practice amenities. This beautiful municipality, internationally renowned thanks to its famous residents and visitors and its exceptional micro-climate and extensive range of tourist amenities, has – in its golf courses – a resource of unique quality in Spain. Marbella’s golfing potential is immense, both for the courses and tourist and residential complexes associated with golf that it already possess as well as the possibilities of development in this sporting sector. Marbella is the engine of tourism in Andalucía, a region that last year welcomed more than 25 million tourists. If it were a country, Andalucía would be seventh in the world ranking, with more visitors than Germany and almost as many as Britain. Marbella is much more than spectacular mansions, dream yachts, super-luxurious hotels, ubiquitous Rolls Royces and famous faces. Marbella is, above all else, a golfing mecca. The town is one of the world’s premier tourist destinations even though, unfortunately, it has attracted headlines in recent times for judicial reasons. Nevertheless, these sorry circumstances do not tarnish the glittering reality that this Costa del Sol municipality is a true engine of Andalucian tourism. Its attractions are numerous, with a huge range of day-time and nighttime leisure activities; over 27 kilometres of beaches; four marine ports, including the famous Puerto Banús; hundreds of restaurants; boutiques offering the world’s leading brands; an unrivalled choice of hotels, including the highest concentration of five-star establishments in southern Europe; dream mansions; an exceptional micro-climate; and, of
Santa Clara
course, golf – a lot of golf, and superb golf at that. Marbella is home to more golf courses than any other municipality in Spain: 16, some with a dazzling history as the venues for top-level international competitions – for example, Real Club de Golf Las Brisas, which has hosted two World Cups and various European Tour events, Aloha, venue for the Open de Andalucía in 2007, 2008 and 2012, and the Spanish Women’s Open in 2016; and La Quinta, host of various European Senior Tour events. ■
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