La Manga Club is an outstanding golf resort located close to the cities of Murcia and Cartagena in south-eastern Spain, on the Costa Calida. The resort is easily accessed from Murcia International Airport as well as Alicante.

Golfer and businessman Gregory Peters embarked on the then daring project of developing the resort in 1972, basing the concept on similar resorts in America at that time. The resort was built in under a year, and was the first of its kind in Spain as it was dedicated almost exclusively to golf and opened with two courses – at a time when golf was practically unknown in the area. The resort subsequently added a hotel, apartments, football and cricket pitches and a tennis centre with 28 courts. Manuel Ballesteros, brother of Seve, was the club pro for many years and Seve himself had strong links with the club, as did Victor Garcia, father of Sergio. Arnold Palmer won the 1975 Spanish Open in fine style at La Manga, eagling the last hole to claim the title.

Today La Manga Club is spread over almost 6 square kilometres of land with some 10,000 homes scattered around the courses – sumptuous villas to small apartments – with many restaurants, bars, shops and the inevitable real estate agencies. The resort has become home to many British and northern European expats, who come to enjoy the gloriously warm sunshine, particularly in the autumn and winter.

There are now three golf courses at the resort. The North and South courses opened first, and as the resort became busier, it became obvious that a third course was needed. The West course was then commissioned and Dave Thomas and his brilliant design team set about making a special piece of golfing excellence. The course is on the edge of the La Manga estate, but easily accessed by golf buggy or car. The North and South courses are beautifully manicured and provide a wonderful challenge for those eager to find their ball and do battle with barrancas (which is the Spanish word for ravine), and water hazards of varying proportions.  If you dodge the ravines and your ball does not plop into a water hazard on these courses, you are likely to find it and be able to hit it easily. This does not mean that the North and South are easy courses, but there is less of a premium on detailed accuracy.

The West course is in entirely different. It is the strategic, shot-maker’s course. It twists and turns through undulating, sometimes hilly land with each fairway surrounded by trees, together with barrancas and water hazards.

The course affords astonishing views over the whole of the La Manga complex and onto the Mar Menor and Mediterranean beyond that. The 18th tee is probably the most scenic view in Spanish golf.

Construction of the first nine started in 1986 and was completed in just nine months. At first it was called the Atamaria Course, as it was much closer than the other two courses to the site of the original village of the same name. However, the name was soon changed to La Princessa. In 1991 work began on a second nine-hole course, immediately adjacent to La Princessa. Initially it was called Las Sabinas but its name was later changed to La Princessa II. In 1996 after the two courses had been made into a single eighteen-hole course, it was renamed the West Course. 

During the pandemic, the West course was closed for just over 18 months. This was necessary to preserve funds as the new owners of La Manga were having to deal with some extreme cash flow issues brought about by having no customers whatsoever and not being allowed to trade at all. It would be obvious to suggest that the package of measures offered by the Spanish government was not anything like as generous as that offered to businesses in the UK. So the West course was closed while the North and South remained open. In the summer of 2021 the course was re-commissioned, but much work has needed to be done to get the condition of the greens, tees and fairways back to their former lustre. 

Happily, the project is now fully underway and whilst there are still some improvements to be made to the greens, which are obviously not in as good condition as the owners would like, there is real progress and golfers are happy to be back on this beautiful track. 

Dave Thomas sadly died a few years ago and today Dave Thomas Design is run by his son Paul. Golf Features caught up with Paul and asked him about the project. 

“Dad was very fond of the West Course at La Manga. The original intention had been to add a full 18 holes, giving the resort 54 holes of championship golf, but circumstances prevented the project being completed in one go.  The project was built in two separate nines, but there were considerable concerns from eco-warriors who delayed the construction of the second nine by several years.  Eventually, these concerns were addressed to the satisfaction of the environmentalists and the work was completed on what has now become many people’s favourite course at La Manga, namely the West Course. 

“I was not heavily involved with this particular project but remember having several long conversations with my dad about it. The first loop of nine holes is very different from the second, but both hold dear to his principles of great shots being rewarded. Of particular difficulty, was the routing of both nines so that they provided a great test, but one that was also workable as a golf course. That and the barrancas. The barrancas, or ravines as we would say in Britain, are very common in this part of Spain and take away surface water in times of extremely heavy rainfall. Almost all of the year these ravines are dry, but provide a wonderful hazard for golfers. The barrancas on the West Course were seemingly positioned to frustrate golf design. Dad really wrestled with this project, but the end result is one we are all very proud of.”

If you are fortunate enough to play golf regularly at La Manga, it would take a golfer with a hard heart not to love the West course. It is a genuinely picturesque track and requires clever manoeuvring of the ball to ensure that an easier approach shot is available. The greens are undulating and fast and need to be treated with respect: regular players know which side to leave their ball.

For further details on golf, accommodation, and holidays, please visit the website www.lamangagolf.com.

More details on Dave Thomas Design are available at: http://www.dtlgolf.com