Golf - ARCOS GARDENS
Poster: Peter Leonard 29/11/2007
With 66 existing golf courses, and at least 35 other projects on the drawing boards, the Costa del Sol is Europe’s premier golfing destination. This month, continuing our series on the courses of the “Costa del Golf”, and expanding our horizons, we move inland to the picturesque Andalucian hinterland and feature Arcos Gardens (in Cádiz province). When it comes to golfing pedigree, Arcos Gardens stands out in two key aspects. In the first place, development company Landmark National has created many of America’s most celebrated clubs, including PGA West, La Quinta, Mission Hills, Kiawah Island and Palm Beach Polo. The second is location. In line with the company’s long-time philosophy “to find special properties with inherent beauty and natural characteristics, and develop them in a way that retains these qualities and protects the natural environment”, Landmark has designed the Arcos Gardens championship course on land owned by one of Andalucía’s venerable families. The site offers 360-degree views over the surrounding countryside, with a backdrop of the historic Arcos de Frontera township.Arcos Gardens’ mission is “to create a community that shares the values and traditions of the local area”, while also offering modern-day luxuries and an extensive range of amenities – both within the estate (which will include 500 homes on 176 hectares – or a housing density of between five and six per cent) and nearby, including spa and fitness facilities, tennis and paddle tennis courts, swimming pools and a “concierge and lifestyle service”.The Arcos Gardens team began developing the project nearly four years ago, with the centrepiece a 300-year-old
cortijo − now converted into a “lifestyle hotel”, the Hotel Cortijo Fain, and doubling as a temporary clubhouse. According to director of golf Ashley Northridge, the course is versatile enough to challenge top-level amateurs and professionals, while also being “user-friendly” to accommodate daily play. “By strategically locating trees and hazards the course has wide, forgiving fairways yet still manages to place a premium on accuracy. Greens are of medium size with moderate, but not severe, contours. The course contains a mix of bunkers, creating a variety of challenges for players of differing driving distances.”Arcos Gardens has also placed great emphasis on providing state-of-the-art practice amenities, with not a mat or net in sight, large grass tee hitting areas at both ends of the range, several target greens, a target fairway, a short-iron target area and even a fairway bunker.
