Golf in Marbella: The Best Courses on the Costa del Sol

Marbella did not become the «Costa del Golf» by accident. The valley behind Puerto Banús holds one of the densest concentrations of championship courses in Europe, laid out by some of the discipline's most significant designers across half a century of development.

The Golf Valley: Nueva Andalucía

Robert Trent Jones Sr. laid out Los Naranjos Golf Club through fragrant orange groves, its Andalusian-style clubhouse anchoring the valley. Nearby, Javier Arana's Aloha Golf Club offers tight, mature, tree-lined fairways and a championship pedigree that has hosted the Open de Andalucía. Together with Las Brisas — opened in 1969, twice a host of the World Cup and three times the Spanish Open — these three courses form the historic core of Marbella golf, all within minutes of the areas described in our guide to Marbella's neighbourhoods.

Coastal and Mountain Alternatives

Real Club de Golf Guadalmina runs its South Course directly alongside the sea near San Pedro de Alcántara — a rare beachfront routing, detailed further in our San Pedro guide. Further into the hills, Marbella Club Golf Resort in Benahavís, designed by Dave Thomas, spaces tee times twelve minutes apart for a low-density round with panoramic views toward Gibraltar — the same mountain seclusion explored in our Benahavís guide.

Staying Where You Play

Finca Cortesín, already featured in our luxury hotels guide, pairs its hilltop resort with a Cabell B. Robinson-designed course that hosted the 2023 Solheim Cup — one of the few properties on the coast where the hotel and the course share a single address.

Planning a Golf Trip

Tee times at the marquee private clubs are typically arranged through hotel concierges rather than booked directly, particularly for member-only courses. Spring and autumn offer the most reliable playing conditions, avoiding both winter rain and the heat of August.