Playing San Roque Old Course
The Best Golf Value in Spain and A Reality TV Surprise
We almost missed the most historic part of our entire trip! While walking past the room right next to ours at the gorgeous San Roque hotel, we spotted a small bronze plaque on the door. It turned out the entire European and American Ryder Cup teams from nineteen ninety seven lived in these exact rooms. Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie, Nick Faldo, and legendary captain Seve Ballesteros all slept behind these very doors before playing Valderrama just five minutes up the road. We were completely starstruck.
But the absolute funniest part of our stay was the other guests. The only other people in the hotel were a massive television crew filming the French version of Love is Blind! So picture this perfectly. There were incredibly gorgeous French reality television stars falling deeply and dramatically in love all over the romantic property. And then there was us. Just two deeply happy Icelanders in our fifties dragging our heavy golf clubs through the lobby trying not to ruin their romantic camera shots.
If you are planning the ultimate Southern Spain golf holiday, grab your favorite drink and let us tell you exactly why booking San Roque Old Course is the smartest decision you will make. We have played over fifty golf courses across Europe, and this is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular rounds we have ever experienced.
The Ultimate Valderrama Alternative
Let us talk about the real numbers because a luxury golf trip to Spain requires a solid budget. San Roque Old Course is a par seventy two masterpiece designed by Dave Thomas and Tony Jacklin, and it is currently ranked as the seventeenth best golf course in Spain. The green fee for two thousand twenty five is three hundred euros, and that crucially includes your buggy.
To put that incredible value into perspective, the legendary Valderrama is just five minutes up the road. A round there will cost you well over six hundred euros and the buggy is not even included! San Roque Old Course gives you a truly extraordinary championship golf day for half the price. That is literally a second round of golf or a fantastically indulgent dinner saved.
Classy Calm and Serious European Tour History
Some luxury golf resorts try extremely hard to impress you with flashy entrances and staff in matching outfits telling you how special you are. San Roque does not need to do any of that nonsense. It has the calm, quiet confidence of a person wearing a perfectly tailored navy blazer who does not need to talk too much to command the room.
The sprawling three hundred forty acre estate used to belong to the Domecq family, one of the most powerful Sherry dynasties in Spanish history. You check in for your round inside their spectacular historic summer mansion. The golf history here is equally heavy and beautiful. Seve Ballesteros personally redesigned every single bunker on the course. Furthermore, for fifteen consecutive years, this exact layout hosted the grueling European Tour qualifying school. Golf legends like Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and Justin Rose literally started their professional careers fighting for their tour cards on these very fairways. You can absolutely feel that glorious, tense history on every single hole.
Unbelievable Service and Immaculate Course Conditions
From the moment you arrive, the thoughtful details elevate the entire experience. When we signed in, the excellent professional starter handed us beautiful quality water bottles. There are fresh ice water stations every three holes to keep you hydrated in the gorgeous Spanish sun. The wonderful staff even had frozen slushies waiting for us at the halfway point and fresh ice packed into our buggy cooler. I left two clubs at the pro shop to get new grips, and they were perfectly finished by the time we completed our delicious post round lunch.
Before you even reach the first tee, you will encounter the most magnificent practice putting green we have ever seen in Europe. It sits right next to the restaurant terrace, meaning you can enjoy a lovely lunch, sip a glass of Spanish wine, and putt with zero rush. The speed matches the course exactly. The actual course winds gracefully through a stunning mature cork oak forest. It is a classical parkland layout that demands immense patience. The driver is not always the answer here. The tight fairways and tricky dog legs punish aggressive players, but the patient golfer will score beautifully. The conditions are completely immaculate from the first hole all the way to the eighteenth.
Our Final Verdict on San Roque Old Course
San Roque Old Course is not flashy or trendy. It is simply classy. It is the exact kind of place where you automatically behave a little better for about twenty minutes until the golf actually starts and you inevitably revert back to your normal self! After playing dozens of courses across Europe, this was easily one of the most complete, joyful, and well run golf experiences we have ever had.
We are two Icelanders who firmly believe life should be lived to the absolute fullest. You do not stop having fun because you are getting old. You get old because you stop having fun!
If you want to see the stunning fairways, the hilarious reality television romance vibes, and our full joyful review, come watch the video right here.
Here is the full review video about the San Roque The Old Course:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgYiFbSEt90
San Roque The Old Course website:
https://sanroqueclub.com
