Golf Course Review – Villamartin
The Villamartin course is part of the Grupo Quara group which also owns Las Ramblas and La Finca and is situated a short distance from the sea close to Torrevieja on the South Eastern tip of the Costa Blanca. The course is some 6,151 metres in length (white tees) of par 72 and the designer, Paul Putman, produced a course considered good enough to be used for the Mediterranean Open in 1994 which was won by Jose Maria Olazabal in a play off with Paul McGinley.
To find this course travelling from either North or South, leave the AP7 at the exit for La Zenia and immediately follow signs for Villamartin and the golf course but if you are travelling on the N332 coast road then again take the exit off the large roundabout at La Zenia signposted for Villamartin and in both cases the courses is located to your left just a few hundred metres from the commercial plaza.
In recent years they have extended the clubhouse which contains changing facilities plus the bar, restaurant and pro-shop and as you would expect you can hire clubs, trolleys, electric trolleys and buggies. The course offers a practise area, practise bunker, chipping green and practise putting green.
This is an undulating course with the front nine holes being on the highest point giving excellent coastal and sea views and the back nine holes tend to run through the valleys with a number of ‘barancas’ (ravines) coming more into play and is a challenge to all standards of golfers. There has been an increased amount of work on the course in recent months in an attempt to return the condition to that of the prestigious years of European Tour events. For the mere mortals amongst us the yellow tees are 5947 metres (6,541 yards) and the red ladies tees are 5,090 metres (5,599 yards) with tree lined fairways, dog-legs and blind shots all adding to the golfing ‘mix’ that is Villamartin. The relatively short 7th hole is a good example of golf at Villamartin being a sharp left to right, cork tree lined, dog-leg hole of only approx 300 metres which can be driven if you give it a ‘belly wobbler’ but you can easily get into trouble trying to play too safe. Water hazards are not as numerous as on the newly constructed courses so you may be tempted to get out that new ’Pro-V1’ but be wary because the designer has incorporated a number of features to ‘prise’ that valued golf ball from your grasp or you may just find them disappearing into the gardens of the mansions lining the perimeter of the course.