Río Real Golf Marbella

About Río Real Golf Marbella

Río Real Golf is an 18-hole course on the eastern side of Marbella, about 3 km from the town centre, laid out on the banks of the Río Real as it runs down to the Mediterranean. Javier Arana, who had already designed Guadalmina, built it in 1965 for Ignacio Coca's Hotel Los Monteros. In 1993 Luis Figueroa, Count of Quintanilla, bought the course and its land, separating them from the hotel.

The par-72 course descends gently towards the sea between pines, palms and flowerbeds. Arana's design makes you think: fairways and greens are often angled in conflicting directions, so you must either find the right side of the fairway or shape the ball into the green, and the 4th is the classic example. Easy pars are scarce.

The course has its own history. Sebastián de Miguel won the Spanish Professional Championship here in 1967, the European Mid-Amateur Championship came in 2009, and the actress Deborah Kerr and the screenwriter Peter Viertel once lived overlooking the fairways. Today the estate includes a boutique hotel, a restaurant, padel and tennis courts and the Academia Río Real Golf, a teaching centre directed by Sergio de Céspedes with 3D swing analysis and a Toptracer range.

October to May brings the best conditions. In summer, take one of the first tee times of the day, before the heat builds, and finish before midday.

Río Real Golf Marbella in pictures

What you’ll find

• 18-hole golf courseGolf tournamentBookRound of GolfBook
• Golf cartsGolf cart rentingBook
• Golf club membershipAnnual membershipApply
• Golf clubhouse restaurantRestaurant diningBook
• Golf driving rangeGolf practiceBook
• Golf instructorsGolf lessonBook
• Golf shopGolf club fittingBookRent golf equipmentRentSell golf clothesBuySell golf equipmentBuy

Nearby places to visit

Below the course, Playa del Pinillo (2 km) is a long, narrow beach on Marbella's eastern seafront, and Playa del Cable (2 km) is named after the 1950s cableway that carried iron ore to ships, whose concrete pylons still stand in the sea. Two more courses are close by: Santa Clara Golf Marbella (3 km), a mostly flat 18-hole layout from 2001 opposite the Los Monteros hotel, and Higuerón Marbella Golf Resort (3 km), the former Marbella Golf & Country Club. All are within a few minutes' drive.