Campoamor Golf Course

Real Club de Golf Campoamor
Orihuela Costa
Near Torrevieja
Alicante
Spain

Having lived only a couple of miles from Campoamor Golf Course (next to Villamartin Golf Club) and played it many times, I can honestly say it is one of my favourite clubs to play. It is completely different from the other clubs in the area (Villamartin and Las Ramblas) with wide open fairways, bigger greens and longer. If you imagined a Spanish course, I guess it would look like this with its palm trees, green fairways (I have seen them spraying it with what I presume is green vegetable dye!) and surrounding orange groves.

The new clubhouse and hotel on top of the hill gives it an impressive welcome as you arrive there, with fantastic views across the course and on a clear day you can see right down to the Mar Menor and the La Manga Strip. Before you book a round here though, check that all the main course is open, as once a year they seem to re-seed all the fairways and use some holes from the short course, if that is the case don’t waste your money! Always book by fax as well and print the copy to take with you. Spring and autumn are the busiest times with golfers from all over northern Europe here to escape the cold and rain. It can be slow sometimes, especially at weekends and although you have to be handicapped to play here, I’ve certainly seen a few hackers who quite plainly haven’t a clue, which can be frustrating if you are stuck behind them.

There are reasonable practise facilities, with an open air range that gets very busy in the late afternoon, plus putting and chipping greens. The bunkers have a very coarse type of white sand in them and you would be well advised to get the feel of them before you play. The greens are usually in good condition and can be very fast on occasions. There is no rough as such, but what I call wilderness areas to the side of most fairways. If you find yourself looking for a ball in one of these areas, be careful some of the plants and palms are very prickly or thorny. In the heat of the summer I always get a buggy, take the cool bag with plenty of cold drinks and take my time, just wonderful.