Sep 27

Sep 27 Real Club de Valderrama Golf Course: An Iconic Name in Golf

A Profile of Valderrama, One of the Great European Golf Courses

The Real Club Valderrama is one of the best-known golf clubs in the world.

Image of Valderrama golf course, some trees overhanging a green with 2 large bunkers

It is located in the resort of Sotogrande, San Roque in the Andalusia region of southern Spain, a few miles from Gibraltar, and has a single 18-hole course, along with a 9-hole par 3 course.

Valderrama was constructed in 1974 as "Sotogrande New," to the designs of leading American golf course architect Robert Trent Jones. Renamed "Las Aves" in 1981, it was acquired by Jaime Ortiz-Patiño in 1984.

The golf course was redesigned and expanded by the original architect and became "Valderrama.”

By 1999, Valderrama was rated the top course in mainland Europe by Golf World magazine.

The practice ground was called the best in Europe by Nick Faldo.

It is currently considered one of the top golf courses in the entire world and is certainly the best golf course in Spain.

Let’s take a closer look at exactly what makes this golf course so special.

Signature Hole at Valderamma

The 4th - La Cascada

La Cascada is the course's signature hole. It is a par 5 with a pond to the right of the two-tiered green.

Before the 2016 Open de España, three national teams of four players tried to complete La Cascada in the fastest time.

The French team of Raphaël Jacquelin, Alexander Lévy, Grégory Havret and Romain Wattel took four shots to complete the hole in 34.87 seconds, breaking the previous Guinness world record by half.

Not many holes in golf have had world records set on them.

European Tour Originals presents The Fastest Hole of Golf. Sergio Garcia hosts as Spain, France and Denmark try to break the Guinness World Record

It is 533-meter par 5 to be exact and it is pretty straight for the most part.

However, the fairway is extremely narrow and the hole ends with trees and a pond surrounding the very small green.

This hole will certainly test every golfer’s abilities and is not for the faint of heart. It is also interesting that the course puts its signature hole so early in the scorecard, being that it is only the fourth hole out of eighteen.

Either way, it is the signature hole nonetheless and is certainly a tough hole as well.

Famous Tournaments at Valderrama

The 32nd Ryder Cup was held at the Valderrama Golf Club marking the first time the event was contested in continental Europe.

The European team won the competition by a margin of 14½ to 13½ and retained the Ryder Cup, making it one of the great European Ryder Cup victories.

The Europeans held a 10½–5½ lead heading into the final day, but the Americans mounted a comeback by winning the singles matches 8–4 but fell just short.

Colin Montgomerie halved the final match with Scott Hoch (conceding a 15-foot (4.6 m) par putt on the final hole) to seal the outright victory for the Europeans.

This was the first of six consecutive victories at home by Europe, a streak that remains intact through 2018.

The 32nd Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande, Spain.

The club's course was also the traditional host of the now-defunct Volvo Masters, hosting the event from 1988 to 2008, with a five-year break when the event was moved to the Montecastillo Golf Club.

The Volvo Masters was the concluding official money event of the European Tour season until 2009, when it was replaced by the Dubai World Championship.

The tournament reverted to its original name of "Volvo Masters" in 2005, having been known as the "Volvo Masters Andalucia" between 2000 and 2003 for sponsorship reasons.

The prize money for the inaugural event was £351,690, and by 2008, this had increased to over €4 million, making it one of the richest events on the tour.

The field consists of the top 60 leading money winners on the European Tour, and from 2005, an invitation has also been issued to the previous year’s winner regardless of their standing on the money list.

Valderrama - An incredible golf course

The course is also known for its immense beauty and signature shape.

Many holes are surrounded by trees along the fairway while incorporating many bunkers in just the right places. The trees are what make this course unique.

With trees on almost every hole, it brings professionals back into their younger lives as amateurs and makes for a little extra challenge if you do not hit the fairway.

Overall, this course is beautiful and its signature hole is the fourth hole of the course, known as the La Cascada, a long par five.

Finally, this course has been host to a Ryder Cup and the previous Volvo Masters, giving it a little extra touch of history.

It is a top-notch course and if you get the chance to play it, I highly recommend you take it!

Valderrama Yardage Chart