La Zagaleta, Old Course

The Old Course at La Zagaleta is the private course of the best-known gated estate in southern Spain, 900 hectares of wooded hills above Benahavís. American architect Bradford Benz built it in the early 1990s, and Marc Westenborg reworked it in 2016 and 2017 with new Bermuda grass on tees and fairways, upgraded drainage and irrigation, and rebuilt bunkers. It is a par 72 that rolls through cork oak and pine, with four tee options on every hole. No two holes run side by side. Apart from the 9th and 18th, which return to the clubhouse, you rarely see another hole or another group. Deer and mouflon live on the estate. Only members and their guests play. There is no green fee to quote and no way for a visitor to book. In September 2023 it hosted the PING Junior Solheim Cup, the junior match between Europe and the United States.

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What the internet says

Reviews are rare because almost nobody gets on. On Leadingcourses, the Old Course rates 9.5, the highest single-course score in this guide, inside the club's overall 9.2 from 182 reviews (read 2026). Top100 user reviews average 5.0 of 5, and that site ranks it 29th in Spain. A June 2026 guest described exceptional conditioning and total quiet, and called it more forgiving than the New Course but still a test. The one recurring caveat is access itself: members and invited guests only.

From the guides

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