Las Colinas Golf Course Review

Las Colinas is situated in the south-east of Spain, a 50-minute drive south of Alicante and within the popular golf region of Costa Blanca. With over 20 golf courses within the area this location provides an excellent mix for travelling golfers for golf, sun, and sea.

As well as the golf course, Las Colinas features a mix of holiday accommodation with options of villas and apartments so provides the perfect place to stay and play golf in the area. You can read more from our recent visit here.

Whilst relatively new, this resort style course was designed by respected course designer Cabell Robinson in 2010, it continues to impress having hosted a qualifying stage of the European Tour Q-School and having recently been named ‘Spain’s Best Golf Course’ at the 2021 World Travel Awards.

The course is set within the 300-hecatre site of the Las Colinas resort which is itself set within the Spanish wooded hillside and thus offers panoramic views of the complex and wider region including out to sea. This setting provides a fantastic location for a golf course and a layout offering undulations throughout providing a mix of holes where you will often find yourself playing down or up to the large spacious greens. Additionally, the variety is extended through several elevated tees offering fantastic views and aiding in the design of a course that is fun, enjoyable and challenging to play.

The 1st hole sets you up well for the round ahead. As mentioned, the course is a resort style so features wide open fairways providing a good mix and balance for all golfers. However, don’t be fooled by the opening hole. The fairway may be wide, but this is a tough start if you are looking to make par with placement key to ensure an easy approach to the green. Whilst the bunkers may not massively come into play you will see the mix of bunkers framing the fairways, and greenside bunkers are waiting to snap up any errant approach, a common theme throughout the design.

After a short walk to the 2nd hole, you get more of a feel of what is on offer at Las Colinas. Crafted undulations, a mix of fairways lined with Spanish pine trees and bunkers, and approach shots to elevated greens which present undulation, shape and variety.

The par 5 3rd hole is where you first get to see the impressive landscape and complex at Las Colinas. Standing on an elevated tee, with the fairway stretched out below, and backed by the view of the properties surrounding the course, this will clearly highlight what Las Colinas is all about. This is a long tough hole especially if you want to make the green in two. Once again placement is key off the tee and a hole you are likely to play differently the second time round. With water protecting the green most golfers will be wise to play this as it is - settling for a par will be reward enough on this hole.

The next few holes provide a nice mix of variety and shorter holes and having dropped down playing the 3rd you may hardly notice the return back up which gets you set for the next few holes which are set to impress.

The short par 3 7th is a fun hole to play with the green located a considerable drop from the elevated tee. Whilst seemingly easy, the green with subtle slopes will provide all the test you need when playing this hole. Many will likely leave it short and the rest are likely to go long and slip off the green.

At the highest point on the course the par 4 8th is spectacular. Playing from an elevated tee you are offered amazing views to the fairway stretched out in front of you and to the wider distant landscape of the Spanish hillside. If snapping your trips is your thing, then this hole will most definitely serve as a highlight. Open off the tee, you will still need to pick your spot as the fairway narrows on the approach before reaching a protected narrow green.

The 9th hole loops you back round to the clubhouse and the perfect spot for some half-time refreshments. A relatively short par 4. placement is once again key, playing from a slight dogleg left, with the green elevated and protected once again by bunkers.

The back 9 begins with another relatively easy short par 3 but with a tough sloping green, the approach shot is once more an important aspect of this hole.

The 11th is a brute of a par 5 and the longest hole on the course. The tee shot goal is simply to get the ball up the fairway as far as possible but watching out for the bunkers and Spanish pines protecting to the left. Hopefully your second shot will be the first time you see the green on this hole but you'll likely be some distance away with a slight doglegged approach to your right. The approach to the green is guarded by many bunkers and with an elevated green offering its own undulation, this is another tricky hole.

Thankfully the 12th provides some respite in the way of a shorter par 4 and the next few holes move back to the part of the course that you would have seen standing on the elevated tee of the 3rd.

Just like the 3rd, the 13th is a hole you will likely play differently the next time round. The hole is a slight dogleg right but with out of bounds along the right this will alter your thinking on the tee and require further thought given the water to the left. Hitting it straight may seem the best option but with a long set of bunkers lining the left side of the fairway it’s not that simple.

One thing you may have spotted is that we have yet to mention a signature hole. There isn’t one, there are many! The par 3 14th falls into this category. Standing on a slightly elevated tee, the green is a reasonable long-iron distance away flanked by water to the left and bunkers to the right and guarded at the front by a brook. Accuracy again is key before you make your way to a large generous green.

The next two holes continue to offer variety in design, challenges in the landscape and views to be remembered before you make your way to a tough long par 3 of the 17th. This is a great hole and will likely require a driver or fairway club for most golfers to have any chance of making the green. The bunkers are unlikely to come into play but frame the green beautifully making this another hole to be remembered.

Finally, you face the impressive par 5 finishing hole. Faced with a blind tee shot, the goal on this hole, like the 11th, is simply to get the ball straight up the fairway and hopefully past the brow of the hill. This part of the fairway will then provide a fantastic view of the green in the distance, lake to the right and the clubhouse veranda where you will shortly be sitting to reflect on your round. For those looking to make the green in two then you will have to contend with bunkers on the left and the water to the right and in front of the green. For the rest of us the safe option is plodding up the left, but ensuring you are short of the left side bunkers which opens up the green taking the water out of play.

During our trip we played the course three times and it never tired on us. With so many exceptional holes it is difficult to really stress how impressive this course is. We’ve outlined the carefully crafted design, the variety and challenges of the holes offering a mix of landscape, undulation, Spanish pines, bunkers and water, but only really touched on some of the key features. We have even missed out the view from the 16th tee which sees you playing over the top of the Mediterranean bushland and trees.

Las Colinas is an impressive setting with some exceptional properties on display that you will see during your round. The course matches up to this and offers an exceptional experience with a golf course maintained to an exceptionally high standard that is presented with carefully manicured fairways, well-kept bunkers, first class greens and enjoyment for all.   This is something that the Las Colinas team are aware of and the course is clearly set-up to ensure that all levels of golfers will find enjoyment here ensuring a fair challenge but not too penal and a round that doesn’t take too long in the Spanish sunshine.

If you do plan on visiting Las Colinas during the summer months, the temperatures can reach into the 30s, so it may be advisable to use a buggy, but during our trip we walked the course with the aid of an electric trolley. We didn’t feel any of the walks were that excessive or too strenuous and visitors must also remember that without some of the short walks you would be unlikely to have the spectacular views on offer that are present on the 3rd, 7th  and 8th holes.

We’d ideally recommend visiting Las Colinas. The course is highly rated on Golfshake with 100% of reviewers recommending a visit. With accessibility from most UK airports, close proximity to two Spanish airports, over 300 sunny days per year and a stay that will provide first-class luxury throughout, then Las Colinas is a must visit.

For those golfers among us who simply can’t get enough of playing golf, then Las Colinas has more to offer. Visitors will be able to access the on-site range which in 2022 will feature TopTracer Technology, and for those who like to take their practice to another level then Las Colinas boasts a short game facility that has been designed by Miguel Angel Jimenez.

To find out more and plan a golf break here, then please check out our in-depth stay and play feature.

Also, you can visit the resort website here: lascolinasgolf.com/en/.

Related Articles

Golf Guide to Alicante