Spain By The Golf Planet Holidays Team · Golf-travel specialists since 1981 · Published 28 June 2026 The first thing the terrain tells you is that this is no gentle stroll. Our measured data puts the total climb across the eighteen at 193 metres, which is a serious amount of up and down for a […]
The first thing the terrain tells you is that this is no gentle stroll. Our measured data puts the total climb across the eighteen at 193 metres, which is a serious amount of up and down for a layout in the hills behind Marbella. The land tilts and rolls, water comes into play on a good number of holes, and the prevailing wind sits in the north. None of that is incidental. It shapes nearly every club you pull, and it rewards the player who reads the ground rather than the one who simply hits it hard. This is the test waiting for you at Real Club de Golf las Brisas.
What stands out most is how varied the holes feel. Some plunge downhill, some grind uphill, and the flatter stretch on the back nine gives you a breather before the wind picks the fight back up. Position matters here. So does patience.
The opener sets the tone, and the data marks it as the signature hole. It plays as a longer three-shotter running downhill, with the wind coming across you. That crosswind is the catch. The slope tempts you to chase distance off the tee, but the drift will push a loose drive into trouble before you have even settled into the round. Treat it as a positional hole. Lay your tee shot into the safe side, allow for the wind nudging the ball, and give yourself a clean angle in. Position over power, every time.
The toughest hole on the card, by our reading of the terrain, is the par five at the tenth. It plays flat, which sounds friendly, but the wind is behind you and that changes the maths. Downwind, your ball flies further and stops less, so a long second can scamper through the green and leave an awkward recovery. Take less club than instinct says. Build the hole in three controlled shots and let the breeze help rather than hurt. Greed is the danger, not the yardage.
Then there is the fifth, another par five and the one hole on this list where the data actively says go for it. It climbs uphill into a crosswind, which makes it longer than the number suggests, yet it sits within reach in two for a player striking it well. If you have the length and the lie, commit. If you are between clubs or fighting the wind, lay up without shame. The climb means a slightly heavy second leaks distance, so factor that in before you decide.
The first hole earns its place among the hardest too. Downhill and across the wind, it asks for a thinking drive on the very first swing of the day, when you are least warmed up. Respect it early.
Where our specialists would stay in Spain
| Hole | Par | Plays | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | around 5 | Downhill, crosswind | Signature hole. Position the tee shot, allow for drift |
| 5 | around 5 | Uphill, crosswind | Reachable in two if you are striking it well |
| 10 | around 5 | Flat, downwind | Toughest on the card. Take less club, the wind carries it |
| 16 | around 5 | Flat, into the wind | Plays longer than it looks, club up |
This is a course for the golfer who enjoys a proper test and does not mind a few decisions getting made for them by the land and the air. Lower handicaps will relish the strategy off the tee and the par fives that genuinely ask whether you go or lay up. Higher handicaps can still have a fine day, provided they play sensibly to position and accept that the climbs and the water reward caution.
On walkability, be honest with yourself. The ground here is hilly and our advice is to take a buggy. At 193 metres of climb across the round, walking it is hard work and it will tire your golf long before the eighteenth. A buggy keeps your legs fresh and your scoring intact.
For timing, the Costa del Sol is at its best for golf in spring and autumn. April, May, June, then September and October give you warm, settled days without the deep heat of high summer, when an uphill round in the middle of the day becomes a slog. Winter plays well too for those escaping colder climates, with softer light and quieter fairways.
That 193 metres of climb is real, and it is the thing to plan around. Combined with the prevailing north wind, the course plays tougher and longer than a flat scorecard would suggest, and a player on foot in warm weather will feel it. Book the buggy, pace yourself through the front nine, and do not be surprised if your usual clubbing is a touch out until you have learnt how the slopes and the breeze work together.
We arrange tee times at Real Club de Golf las Brisas as part of a tailor-made trip to Marbella, Costa del Sol, with a hotel to match and the rounds you want to play.
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