Well after flying from a cold UK where I was chipping ice off my windscreen I find myself on the patio outside the clubhouse at Golf Costa Adeje, enjoying a buffet lunch in shorts, polo and factor 50 sunscreen, what a difference a four hour flight makes.
After hitting a few balls into the nets and shaking off a bit of rust I am standing on the par 5 first hole. Now I do think courses that open with a par five especially when you are playing holiday golf are the way to go. This is not an overly challenging course and if you have managed to warm up properly you can get off to a flying start maybe with a birdie or better or like me after a large lunch making the green in three and taking two putts for par doesn’t put you on the back foot straight away.
Top: Par 3, 7th hole with mountain backdrop Green: Above LtoR: 4th, 6th and course overview
As I pick my ball out of the hole and replace the flag I take a look back down the fairway and I am stunned by the view, the Atlantic Ocean is just shimmering in the background beyond the terracotta clubhouse, it's a a breathtaking sight worthy of a pause to really soak it in.
Those views hit me again as I stand on the tee of the par 5, 3rd hole, but more of those in a second because just in front of the tee is what the Spanish call a barranca and I am sure if you put your tee shot in there you will be calling it something completely different! But Barranca is a deep rock filled gully that you have to carry with your drive, fortunately there are three teeing options so you can choose the one that suits or challenges your golf game.
But its your shot into the green that will get most of your attention as the green from the fairway looks like it floats in the Atlantic Ocean behind, course designer Pepe Gancedo has certainly made the most of this wonderful piece of land.
As I get to my drive on the 4th hole and look back up the fairway the series of steps that I have just came through look like individual plateaus, each step imbedded with stones give it a unique character, which is topped off by another infinity type green, it’s a fantastic golf hole.
What also gives the course that eye catching pop is the black waste sand areas, reddish/pink rocks/barrancas, wild flowers, cactus and palm trees, it really is a beautiful setting.
I could keep raving about each hole, but this could turn into an essay rather than a review and it is only my first day on the island. I will finish with this, as I sit back in the clubhouse a cool lager shandy in hand, José “Pepe” Gancedo I raise my glass to you sir, what a wonderful start to any golfing road trip.
