SOTOGRANDE, SPAIN | I take the short stroll from my room at SO/Sotogrande Spa & Golf Resort, across the scented central garden of the property, to the Society Clubhouse for breakfast, all the while watching the sun stretch above the blanket of woodland that sweeps down to the Mediterranean Sea, wondering how four golf courses can be so hidden within the canopies of all those trees. After coffee and a selection of Cádiz charcuterie, cheese and bread it’s time to make the short drive to La Reserva Club.
The heat is rising, burning off the dew that sits across a Cabell B. Robinson design that twists around a clubhouse full of memorabilia celebrating the career of Academy Director Manuel Piñero and his Spanish peer Severiano Ballesteros. I’m taking on the undulating, cork tree-lined front nine that offers views of the layered valleys around Sotogrande with the dark peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range beyond.
Being British, taking a buggy is not my ideal mode of transport but today it plays into my hands because it supports the packed schedule. We’re first out and fly ’round, finding time to sit on the clubhouse verandah afterwards drinking in the views (and more coffee).
On return to the resort, I head out for a spin on an e-bike. The trails between the cork trees are narrower than the fairways earlier in the morning – I can smell the bark and the leaves – but my driving is straighter, too. The power boost comes in handy on the steep slopes, but I minimise the help to get a sweat up and maintain the pace on return with a sauna in the spa and a swim in the outdoor pool (where the views over the Med are now crisp and clear).
I’ve been dropped a hint that the tapas at Society Clubhouse are worth close consideration. The Málaga anchovies are salty, the Padrón Peppers provide a kick, and the Patata Bravas crispy, garlicky and hot.
I’m not done with the activity, however. Real Club Valderrama – the Augusta National of Europe and right at the heart of Sotogrande – is calling. Host of the 1997 Ryder Cup, there are memories of Seve around every corner. And if I thought the bike trails had twists and turns, they were nothing on the fairways of this Robert Trent Jones Sr. layout.
My ball clatters into the trees and, because this is my perfect day, more often than not it clatters back out again. As with all visits to courses that have witnessed famed shots, I’m keen to replicate them. There’s no taking on the par-5 17th green in two, however. I hit it in three and feel more than happy.
There’s no time to dwell afterward. It’s back to the resort for a final quick change before a transfer to Trocadero Sotogrande and an Andalucían feast for the senses. Iberico ham croquetas, tuna tartare, chorizo, and beef carpaccio with truffle mayonnaise to start. Then salt-baked turbot to share. The wine flows, tales are told and the night ends with a Brandy de Jerez followed by a well-earned deep sleep.
Matt Cooper