History of "Real Club de Golf Sotogrande"

Founded in 1964, Real Club de Golf Sotogrande is located on prime golfing land close to the beachfront between the river Guadiaro and Sotogrande marina. Anyone lucky enough to have played at one of Spain’s foremost members’ clubs will be able to confirm Robert Trent Jones was right to take pride in what is an extraordinarily good design.


RCG Sotogrande is often voted to be among the top ten golf courses in Europe – and rightly so. “Sotogrande Old”, as it is called by the locals, boasts mature vegetation with pine, cork oaks, eucalyptus and giant palm trees enhancing the natural beauty of the surroundings. The greens are large and the tees are very long, some would say excessively so, but they allow for variations in pin placement and the length of hole. The contours of the greens are typical Trent Jones and the bunkers were the first in Europe to be filled with brilliant white crushed marble. Another “first” at Sotogrande was the use of Bermuda grass on fairways.
It is an undeniable truth that the quality of a course is reflected in the calibre of the winners when a venue has occasion to host important tournaments. That being the case, RCG Sotogrande’s pedigree is nothing short of top-drawer. The first professional event to be played after Sotogrande’s inauguration was the 1966 Spanish Open won by Roberto de Vicenzo with 279 strokes; the clubhouse winner boards show Severiano Ballesteros made the same score twenty-one years later to win the Spanish PGA Championship.
Yet, the “Old” has not only challenged the top professionals, but leading amateurs as well – and the names hand-painted on the victor’s plaques are no less impressive: J.M. Olazabal claimed the Spanish Men’s Amateur Championship in 1983; the Marquesa de Artasona, the ladies’ equivalent in 1977 and, for good measure, Sergio García has won twice here, most recently when he shot a final round 64 over the testing course to snatch the Sherry Cup in 1998.
Club golfers who merely aspire to the heights reached by the above mentioned golfers can perfect their games on the adjacent nine-hole par three course where the dark green trees of the fertile Guadiaro river valley and the outline of the distant sierras also create a lasting impression – and encourage one to dream. In 1994, His Majesty the King Juan Carlos I awarded the Club with the title of Royal (“Real”), being its President Mr. Walter Rodríguez Figueroa. He, who was President from 1989 to 1997, had been preceded by Mr. Afredo Melián and Mrs. Emma Villacieros . He was then followed by Mr. José A. Polanco, Mr. Antonio Martín Urquijo and Mr. Felipe Oriol Díaz de Bustamante who is the President at present.