La Manga Golf Club

The area of La Manga and the Mar Menor lies right at the southern part of the Costa Blanca. Depending on which map you look at, La Manga is on the Costa Calida, the Mar Menor (little sea) is almost totally separated from the Mediterranean Sea due to the "La Manga del Mar Menor" which means "the sleeve of the little sea". This very small strip of land is around 13 miles long and makes up the lagoon of Mar Menor. The La Manga Club is the main golf resort here with three 18 hole courses, and various type of accomodations, either in a hotel or condo/villas. The North and South Courses routed through a valley surrounded by mountains and with views of the Mar Menor, open but parkland style of golf. The West course is pure parkland with tight tree lined fairways up into the hills surrounding the resort. There's a little break on rates if you stay at the resort, but maybe 10%. It's a very upscale facility, and centrally located if you're traveling the Southern Costa Blanca area. The North and South courses were originally designed by Robert Dean Putman, with the South course redesigned by Arnold Palmer in 1992, and is know as the best course to play here if you're going to play just one. Palm tree lined fairways, water in play on all but 3 holes, and well bunkered. The front nine is longer with a couple of 200 metres+ par 3's, while the back is shorter and more course management is required. The South Course is a great layout as well, and has hosted the Spanish Open, Q-school for the European Tour. The course is routed over rolling land, with forced carries over the numerous barrancas, and is a challenging parkland style design with palm tree lined fairways, water, and a good amount of bunkering, both greenside and near the landing zones. It's overall a little shorter than the South, with tighter fairways and larger greens. From the White Tees 5753 Course Rating 70,5 Slope Rating 126 Par 71. The West Course is a hilly, parkland style of course with tight tree lined fairways with constant elevation change, most fun to play if you can manage your tee shot. The front nine is very tight, while the back side moves up into the hills, is more open and easier on the game. The West course was our favorite, seemed to have more character to it, the views from the higher parts of the course were excellent, and it really required you to rely on shotmaking to score well. From the White Tees 5971 Course Rating 71,1 Slope Rating 136 Par 72. Overall, a great selection of golf courses, conditions were superb, service first class, in a very scenic setting and area.