Ever since Seve Ballesteros led the European team to victory in the 1997 Ryder Cup, held at Spain’s world-famous Valderrama golf club on the Costa del Sol’s Sotogrande Estate, golf has proved to be the major source of tourism revenue for the country. And today the appetite for property set within golfing developments continues unabated.

Denise White Real Estate has a wide selection of resale properties available throughout Sotogrande and can also source a golf share at the long-established Sotogrande Golf Club, which was designed by Robert Trent Jones who also created Valderrama. Denise White always has a good number of short and long-term rentals on offer and is also able to arrange golf for tenants.

COSTA DEL SOL
Los Arqueros Golf and Country Club, owned by UK-based Taylor Woodrow, is set in the foothills to the west of Marbella on the picturesque Ronda road, a 15-minute drive from Puerto Banus. It boasts one of southern Spain’s more challenging 18-hole golf courses and was designed by Seve Ballesteros in 1991. The clubhouse has a pro-shop, bar, restaurant and sun terrace, as well as squash courts, tennis courts and a gymnasium.

There is a wide choice of apartments, town houses and villa plots for sale, with the majority either edging or with views over the golf course, which in itself has sweeping views down most of the fairways towards the Mediterranean, Gibraltar and, on clear days, Tangier.

It is a challenging course, as one would expect with its connection to Ballesteros, and unlike so many courses created within leisure developments, appeals to low handicappers. Annual membership for property owners costs €1,800 or €2,775 for a couple.

Los Eucaliptos is a development of two and three-bedroom apartments located to the south of the 18-hole golf course. The residential complex is surrounded by landscaped gardens and has two communal swimming pools. Most of the properties overlook the golf course and some have sea views. Prices start at €225,000.

Just west of Los Arqueros, about 20 minutes drive into the foothills from the pretty village of Benhavis, lies the 900-acre Monte Mayor Golf & Country Club, which is being marketed by La Perla International. Created by Spanish golf architect Jose Gancedo in 1989, and completed some four years later, the course is ranked among the top ten European courses and meanders through a mountain valley. There are various types of property for sale at Monte Mayor, including a wide selection of villa plots priced from €332,000 and four-bedroom villas from €930,000.

Golfers keen to acquire a small lock-up-and-leave home, which could also generate useful rental income, should consider one of the townhouses being built in clusters close to the golf course. The latest of these is La Heredia de Monte Mayor, which includes two-bedroom homes costing from €695,000. Many have either a small swimming pool or a plunge pool.

Included in the price is a family membership to the golf and country club. Golf club membership is assigned to the property rather than the owner, so if the property is sold, the membership goes with it. Annual dues are currently €2,000, rising to a maximum of €4,000 once the development is complete.

COSTA BLANCA
This region of Spain scores most highly with the retired, not least because of its dry climate, plentiful golf courses and the good connections from Northern Europe to Alicante airport. El Valle Golf Resort is a Polaris World development and a selection of apartments and villas are now for sale priced from €495,000 through Azzets Spain. Set near acres of orange groves there is an 18-hole, 71-par golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus and owners are automatically able to acquire membership of the golf club.

Lagos de Alenda is a Taylor Woodrow development of two-bedroom apartments, with each home built to a high specification and including two-bathrooms, sun terrace and fitted kitchen. Situated close to Alicante, this scheme is adjacent to the 18-hole Alenda golf course, where facilities include a tapas bar, restaurant, clubhouse and small supermarket. There is an allocated basement parking space and spacious storage room for golf clubs and personal belongings. Many of the homes have views over the landscaped grounds, which include two lake-style swimming pools. Prices start at €155,500. 

Valle de Alenda is another Taylor Woodrow development that will edge the Alenda golf course, with 35 two and three-bedroom townhouses, some facing the golf course and others with mountain views. The development will include landscaped gardens, swimming pool, supermarket, clubhouse and shops. Prices are from €263,000.

COSTA CALIDA 
This former agricultural region is undergoing a total transformation as developers continue to build golfing and leisure estates. A new airport is planned, the EU funded motorway system is in the process of being improved, and most of the region can be reached from either Alicante or Murcia international airports in less than an hour.

Saladillo Golf on the popular Camposol Golf development is an established leisure estate only 15 minutes’ drive from the sea. As well as having plenty of shops, bars and restaurants, it is adjacent to a designated ‘green zone’ and a well-established 18-hole golf course. It consists of 87 two and three-bedroom linked bungalows grouped around a communal pool and landscaped gardens. Frontline homes overlook the golf course and prices start at around €115,000 through Oxford-based agents, Mercers. All have terraces, small gardens, a roof top solarium and parking – and the elegant historic town of Murcia is less than an hours’ drive away.

Mar Menor Golf Resorts is another Polaris World development being built a couple of miles inland from the famous lagoon. The complex was designed by the American project company EDSA and consists of semi-detached and detached two to four-bedroom homes set around the nine-hole golf course created by British golf course designer Dave Thomas. Prices are from €175,000 through Azzets Spain and annual golfing dues are €1,800.

COSTA DE LA LUZ

Deep in the rolling hills of Spain`s most south westerly region lies Arcos Gardens Golf Estate some 20 miles east of Jerez de la Fronteria, the Andalucian town famous for its sherry bodegas and flamboyant equestrian fiestas. The 440 acre development, complete with olive groves and newly opened golf course will have 470 houses priced from £235,000 for a two bedroom townhouse to around £890,000 for a five bedroom detached villa, complete with pool and landscaped gardens.  A boutique hotel, complete with spa, is also planned. The golf club has preferential rates for property owners within Arcos Gardens and the club house is a converted 17th century `cortijo` or farmhouse, set within the original cobbled courtyard.

Contacts:
www.sotogrande.com
www.savills.co.uk
Denise White Real Estate

www.taylorwoodrow.com/spain
www.laperlainternationalliving.com
www.spain.assetz.co.uk
www.spanishproperty.co.uk

www.thepropertyfinders.com

www.arcosgardens.com

CASE STUDY

MONTE MAYOR

Investment banker Frank Copplestone has bought a smart four-bedroom villa at La Heredia de Monte Mayor, through La Perla International Living. He required a weekend escape from his demanding job in London and Malaga airport, a mere 30 minutes’ drive away, has a number of scheduled and budget flights from London daily.

Frank, 38, said: “I first visited the development at La Heredia de Monte Mayor two years ago and saw the breathtaking views down the open golf valley and across the Mediterranean to Gibraltar and Morocco. I just fell in love with it. My new home was completed last September and I’ve been out three or four times since, either with my girlfriend or other friends.

“Since then I’ve bought another large plot and am considering buying another. Two of my friends have also bought plots of land at Monte Mayor, where they are now having villas built. The development is part of Monte Mayor golf and country club and when you buy a property, you automatically get lifetime membership of the golf club. As well as the golf course and driving range, there is a 400 sqm gym, horse riding and tennis courts. A health spa and indoor pool are also being built. From inside the villa, you have uninterrupted views across the Mediterranean.”