The Resort Course

The complex at Praia D’El Rey is vast. It now comprises a 5* hotel and hundreds of villas. As it often the way, the golf course weaves through the villas. This course is, however, a little different from most. It combines routing between the villas which is pleasantly tree-lined, with a wonderful stretch along the coast. The course at West Cliffs maybe more spectacular, but I would argue that holes 12-16 at Praia D’El Rey occupy the best golf land.

The architect Cabell Robinson designed the course and it opened in 1997. I did not know much about Cabell Robinson, but his CV is impressive. Not only did he graduate from Princeton and Harvard, he worked closely with Robert Trent Jones Jnr. It seems that the young Cabell was not that impressed by New Jersey and so became RTJ’s man in Europe. He is responsible for La Reserva, Finca Cortesin and Las Colinas. He also likely had a strong influence in the courses at Las Brisas, Sotogrande and Valderrama.

Anyway, back to our “resort” course for now …

A mix of parkland and links

In my experience, courses which combine too many elements tend to have a bit of an identity crisis. Somehow, however, the mix of parkland and links holes works pretty well here. There are a few holes which are “fillers” and feel a bit weak, but overall, the course hangs together.

The general design makes the course rather more playable than its newer neighbour, but it is still not easy. In particular, some clever green complexes make the approaches quite tough. The parkland stretch from 5 through to 9 also has some tight tee shots. Whilst the back 9 has rather more generous landing areas off the tee, the wind can really come into play and there are some huge elevation changes around the turn.

The Rioja Jug

The draw meant that we would play for the Rioja Jug at Praia D’El Rey. This is an annual trophy from the original Pilgrimage played between me, Charlie, JB and OO. Charlie and I won the first one, but we had to wait until 2018 to regain it. The victory at Lumine was pretty comprehensive, but it was much closer at both La Manga and Goodwood. It would be interesting to see how we fared this time …

The match was, as ever, a butterball team event. Shots for JB (4), OO (8) and Charlie (18). I was desperately hoping that my ball striking would be a little better than it was at West Cliffs the previous day.

The match begins in the wet

Some serious thunderstorms overnight had put the day’s golf in question. Fortunately, the heavy rain had stopped a few hours before our tee time and the course remarkably was playable. This was a testament to the ground and the drainage systems that they have in place. We had a few instances of plugged balls and it was not a day when you got value for a good drive!

Holes 1-3

The first two holes are pretty open and, in the context of the rest of the course, fairly uninspiring. OO made good use of his shot on the first and I replied with a two-putt birdie on the second. All square through two.

Walking to the third tee, I mused that I might have found something in my game and was feeling pretty confident. Whatever I had found, I lost it again pretty quickly as I scuffed my tee shot on the short par three and barely made it into the thick grass past the path! Charlie did the same. He recovered well and his two putt bogey (nett par with a shot) negated JB’s well-made par.

Another long walk to the 4th, back over the main road, and an interesting hole which plays back away from the coast. It’s a short par 4 which looks easier than it is – a raised green with some tasty ridges means you really need to be below the hole. A generous conceded putt gave Charlie the hole as no one else could beat his nett bogey.

Into the woods

As noted above, the stretch from 5-9 plays through the trees. There are houses that border the holes but they are far enough back not to impose. It’s a nice set of holes and provides a good contrast to the more open coastal holes on the back nine.

Hole 5 is a lengthy par 4 and has an enclosed tee box. This makes the tee shot feel rather tighter than it actually is. The angles are quite clever as well – the tee box pushes you right, but you really need to be on the left side. I am not good with this type of hole, as I fade the ball and like to start it up the left. With the trees encroaching, I started the tee shot too far right and over-cut it into the trees. Charlie fared rather better and kept us alive with a half.

Another tight tee shot greets you on the 6th. The hole shapes the other way, from left to right, and you play to a raised green that I suspect is more treacherous in the summer! A well played hole by JB, who made a comfy par, took the match back to all square. The English Seve also reappeared with a remarkable up and down from the trees for an unconventional nett par.

Holes 7-9

The 7th is a good par 5. The hole is essentially straight, but the fairway narrows at just the point you want to hit your drive and lay-up. There is a wide collection area all around the green, which is again large and well-contoured. After some decent drives, the hole came down to the short game. JB took two putts for a well-made bogey. I was hole high in 3, but a duffed chip left me needing something special to get a half. The putter worked, for once, and a 12 foot return putt saved the hole.

Onto the 8th, which is a beautiful little par 3 over the water. The elevated tee box provides some further interest as it is sheltered by the trees. When the wind blows, I suspect this hole causes a lot of trouble! For today, JB and Charlie both found the putting surface. 2 putts from Jonny and 3 from Charlie (making use of his shot!) meant a half with nett pars.

The front 9 closes with a mediocre par 4. Again, the fairway narrows at the landing area for a good drive. There are bunkers that punctuate the sides of the fairway and a couple more up by the green. A well played hole by JB and OO meant that they would take a slender 1-up lead into the back nine.

Another long walk …

It’s around a 5 minute walk from the 9th green to the 10th tee box. The view from the tee box is, however, just about worth it. So, the back 9 starts with a big par 5. It is made a little easier, as the fairway is way below the tee box (and is very wide). This hole also features the only other pond which protects the green. Nett pars from Charlie and OO (a remarkable recovery after losing his tee shot!) left the hole halved.

The par 3 11th is a very odd hole. This corner of the course is the weakest point – the par 3 plays up hill with its tee box almost forming part of the 12th fairway. The raised green is so much higher that it is akin to a blind approach. Par 3s from both me and Charlie won the hole to bring the match level.

The tee box for the 12th is a chute that plays with the hotel (and netting) down the left and the bushes from the 11th hole down the right. Once it opens up there is plenty of space, with the hole winding round to the left. The tee shot is pretty weird, but the approach takes you down towards the cliffs. The hole is short, so it makes for a fairly easy par 5. JB and OO both secured comfy pars, leaving me with a 3 foot birdie putt for the hole. I’m still not sure how it missed … The match remains all square.

The stretch along the coast

We are now into the business end of the match and playing along a beautiful stretch of coastline. The rain had also mainly stopped. The 13th is a short par 4 that will be drivable in the summer. Today, the ground was so heavy that you were lucky if the ball ran at all after pitching. Three good drives left me, JB and OO within 50 yards of the green. Suffice to say, they both played their approaches rather more elegantly than mine (the divot went further than the ball …). Two putt pars for them both. Charlie had been wrestling with the bunker, but managed to get himself on in three and rescued a nett par for another half.

The par 3 14th is beautifully framed among the dunes. The foam from the crashing waves beyond gave a very atmospheric feel to the hole. Charlie and I got ourselves back in front here with a couple of good approaches. Nett birdie for Charlie was always going to be difficult to beat!

The 15th is a long par 4 that continues along the coastline. There is loads of room to miss right, as this is one of the few occasions where two fairways almost meet and there is only light rough between. Unfortunately, I went left, towards the beach and out of bounds. With JB and OO in play, and both with a shot, it was down to Charlie. This time, nett pars from the others won the whole and took us back to all square.

The match reaches a climax

So, we are all square with three to play. Remarkably neither pair had been more than 1-up at any point. It was going to be a test of nerves through the final three holes …

As mentioned above, the 16th plays back next to the 15th. It’s another par 4 and is fairly nondescript. Charlie came back to the fore here, using his shots well to win the hole with a nett par. With shots for JB and OO on the 17th, this was an important win that put us back in the driving seat.

The 17th is a cracking par 5. It is uphill and plays all of its 485m. The tee shot is reminiscent of those at West Cliffs – it’s a pretty big fairway, but the landing area looked a lot smaller from the tee box. The fairway runs on an angle from right to left, and so there is a challenge to see how much of the corner you can cut. OO and I got away decent tee shots and, with the other two struggling, it was a straight shoot-out. Having been informed of the importance of my approach, I calmly put my 4th onto the green (albeit some distance above the hole). When OO scuffed his 5th, I was feeling fairly confident that I would have at least 2 putts for the match. His 6th landed safely on, leaving him around 8 feet for a nett bogey. At this point, my touch deserted me … first putt left 6 feet short, and second rushed past. Tables turned and, bringing back memories of the early Bridcut/Doward dominance, OO’s bogey putt nestled at the bottom of the cup. A visceral roar erupted … we would go down the last all square.

The return of the Rioja Jug

The 18th is back among the trees and has a parkland feel. There is a reasonable walk up the hill. Not for the first time in the history of this match, it felt a lot further for me and Charlie … With the wind in their sails, both OO and JB put their drives in play. I was in a reasonable position too, but a bit too far right.

The hole bends from left to right and with the trees back in play, anything on the right side of the fairway is blocked out. OO and I both chose to lay-up and take our chances. We both found the edge of the putting surface with our approaches, with OO rather closer. Probably still dwelling on the putting mishaps from the previous green, I chose to chip and instantly regretted it. Two steady putts from OO secured a memorable win and the Rioja Jug would have to leave its home in Lyon.

I’m not sure that any of us played our best golf, but there were some cracking moments. Ultimately, JB and OO were better as a team, with Charlie carrying me for much of the round! The course was a fitting venue for a long-standing competition. I’m looking forward to next year’s edition already …