Guadalmina is an exclusive residential area just west of San Pedro Alcántara that is divided into a northern (Alto) and a southern (Bajo) section. It is an area of luxury villas dotted with townhouses and exclusive apartment complexes overlooking the meandering golf courses that play such a central role in Guadalmina life. Not a lot people know that this is where golf actually began in Marbella, as the Real Club de Golf Guadalmina, opened in 1965, was the first golf course in the area.
What’s more, it wasn’t the brainchild of foreign residents or investors, but of Basque entrepreneur Norberto Goizueta, who first fell in love with the area when he saw it from his yacht in 1933. Don Norberto developed Guadalmina Sur in 1959, and the area has had a strong Basque connection ever since, though when he began to lay out the golf course in the early sixties it confounded farmers in this then still largely rural community.
“Don Norberto,” they said, “why do you seed, fertilise and irrigate, only to cut the grass when it grows. What do you get from such a venture?” To which he famously responded: “It takes a lot of time to harvest a golf course.” Indeed, but by 1973 the 18-hole South Course was ready for expansion, with the 18-hole North Course added as the green focal point of homes in this beautiful, softly undulating area. The South Course, as it happens, is also the only links course skirting the sandy beaches of Marbella.
Golf in the area
In addition to this aristocrat among Costa del Sol golf courses there is more golf variety available within the immediate area, including the equally well-established Atalaya Golf & Country Club. Another classic, this lovely parkland course dates back to 1968 and it too consists of two lovely 18-hole parcours surrounded by greenery and mountain views. Just a little further along is the El Paraiso Golf club, whose flowing course designed by the legendary Gary Player was inaugurated in 1973.
The golf courses here not only form a beautiful green backdrop for those lucky enough to live and own properties in this lovely area on the west side of Marbella, but they also provide a lively hub of social activity in community life here. Contact Winkworth for the best frontline golf properties for sale in Guadalmina.