Real Club de Golf Guadalmina: the course and homes for sale nearby

The South Course, the older of the two, is Javier Arana's work, built in two stages of nine holes and remodelled in 2002 by Stirling & Martin, who enlarged the greens and added water. It is a par 72 of tight fairways lined with mature trees, and the routing crosses the A-7 so that part of the back nine runs beside the sea – the tee of the par-3 11th is almost on the beach.

The North Course, also par 72, is Folco Nardi's: shorter, with wider fairways and flatter, less heavily bunkered greens, but more water – the Arroyo del Chopo stream comes into play on five holes, including the last three. Houses line many fairways, and a ball over a garden wall is out of bounds. A 9-hole par-3 course completes the club, and the Ladies European Tour returned in 2020 for the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España.

The South is the stiffer test and suits accurate drivers; the North is shorter but still asks for straight hitting. Both can be walked; buggies and trolleys are for hire. Guadalmina is a busy club, owned by its members since 2021, and visitors book by phone or email rather than online – well ahead, and with a handicap certificate.

Reviewers tend to praise the greens and the holes by the beach. The usual complaints are value for visitors and traffic noise on the holes nearest the main road.

For practice there is a covered range for 40 players, Aza's Corner with Toptracer on mats, a chipping and putting green and a golf school. The clubhouse has a restaurant and changing rooms with saunas. Spring and autumn are busiest; in summer, start early.

The club lies on the western edge of San Pedro de Alcántara, in the municipality of Marbella, on both sides of the A-7. Guadalmina Alta, inland of the road, is built mainly around the North Course; Guadalmina Baja, between the road and the beach, surrounds most of the South. San Pedro's centre is next door.

Guadalmina Baja is largely villas on generous plots, while Guadalmina Alta mixes apartments, townhouses and villas. Across Guadalmina and San Pedro, our listings near the courses are mostly apartments, with a good number of detached villas and some townhouses.

We work for the buyer alone and, before any viewing, check how close a home is to either course and what it looks onto.