Golf - Aloha Golf Club

Large and guarded greens at the Aloha Golf Course offer a good challenge and the varied vegetation make each hole different.

This is one of the best known golf courses on the Costa del Sol which has benefited from improvements over recent years. Fairways have been replanted and the clubhouse and changing rooms refurbished.

If you hit straight and manage to stay on the ample fairways you'll be safe.

Address: Urb. Aloha, Nueva Andalucia, a 8 km de Marbella.
Directions: turn off the highway at Puerto Banús and head towards Nueva Andalucía. Map

A TREASURE WORTH FINDING
By Eamonn Power

Not too many years ago finding Aloha Golf was just a matter of driving up past the bull ring in Nueva Andalucia and following the signposts. Nowadays, the area is something of a maze with new construction blocks appearing at all corners, an endless succession of round-a-bouts and not a single signpost indicating the intended destination. Despite all those difficulties the effort is well worthwhile as Aloha is one of the most impressive courses and clubhouses in the area.

MEMORABLE HOLES
The tee of the opening hole drops down in four tiers from the white markers at the back and gives an immediate impression of an immaculately kept golf course. The drive, on this par-5, is into a valley where a generous fairway awaits but a hooked tee shot will dive into a plethora of trees. The big danger is a water hazard on the left which starts about 300-metres from the tee and runs right up beside the green. The very large putting surface is severely sloped and is guarded on the right by a big bunker. Accuracy is all-important and care must be taken not to miss on the left where the ground drops down sharply into the waiting water.

Three lines of olive trees stand in military-style formation up the left of the third but there is plenty of room on the right provided the gardens of the adjacent houses are avoided. The narrow but deep green has a bunker on the front-left but serious dangers await on the right as the ground drops dramatically down into heavy grass and, worse still, a hedgerow. Over the back offers little respite and could well result in a lost ball amongst an abundance of bamboo shoots.

The 12th is a very picturesque par-4 played from an elevated tee down onto a huge landing area where tress and bushes abound. To the left of the buggy path the ground drops down towards water and a ball crossing the path is deemed to be in the hazard. 150-metres from the green there are bunkers on either side of the fairway before it drops down towards a kidney-shaped putting surface guarded on the front-left by a big lake.

The short 13th is played sharply uphill and a very good hit is required to carry the 190-metres to the putting surface: the incline is so severe the palms in the background seem to be touching the sky. The two-tiered green is guarded on the left by a bunker while a gnarled old tree standing on the right is partnered by its much bigger brother further back. It is seldom you come across a par-3 carrying a stroke index of 1 but this one does and it is well merited.

Standing on the final tee a big lake out on the left, with a fountain shooting water high into the air, immediately catches the eye. A dangerous bunker sits in the middle of the fairway, 180-metres from the tee, after which it runs down into a valley before rising up again to a good sized green full of humps and hollows and surrounded by bunkers. Should your approach shot finish on the incorrect level of the green four putts are not out of the question! There are two timber seats at the back where those with a warped sense of humour may enjoy watching player after player come a cropper on this treacherous putting surface.

19th HOLE
Over the past number of years considerable investment has been made upgrading the locker rooms and restaurant and both of those areas now vie with the best that the Costa del Sol has to offer. Following a shower I adjourned to the restaurant where the timbered floors sparkled to match the glasses on the tables, and the friendliness of the staff all combined to make eating there something of an occasion.

A succulent fillet steak baguette, together with a coffee, was reasonably priced and the professionalism of the waiter topped off a memorable day at a memorable golf course.

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