The New Course was added to the San Roque estate in the early 2000s as a modern counterpoint to Dave Thomas’s parkland Old Course, and it could hardly be more different. Perry Dye, son of the great Pete Dye, was handed a difficult brief: a tight site of barely 45 hectares, roughly triangular, running parallel to the sea, with a protected nature reserve along one boundary and a large hill covered in cork and oak at its centre. Hundreds of trees were transplanted and an enormous amount of earth was moved. What emerged is the boldest, most dramatic golf course in the Sotogrande area, and today it operates separately from the Old Course, with its own clubhouse, its own restaurant and its own identity.

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A club in its own right

This is the thing most guides still get wrong. The New Course is no longer run as part of The San Roque Club alongside the Old, and it should not be thought of as the second course on a single estate. It now has separate management and its own facilities: its own clubhouse, its own pro shop and practice ground, and its own restaurant, the 19th Hole. Under new ownership there has been sustained investment in bringing the course back up to standard after a period of neglect.

In practical terms that means you book the New Course directly rather than through the Old, and the two are priced quite differently. Where the Old Course sits in the premium bracket, the New is one of the better value rounds in the area, with visitors reporting green fees at a fraction of its neighbour’s.

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The course

Perry Dye put more variety of design feature into this layout than anything else on the coast. The bunkering alone runs the full range: sand and grass, pot and sleepered, shallow and cavernous, some of it enormous. Rock retaining walls, built from material dug out during construction, run through the property, and two large lakes both irrigate the course and provide its drama, with the 7th and 14th greens straddling one and the 9th and 18th separated by the other. Seve Ballesteros had a hand in the design work.

It sits on the higher ground of the estate, and the views are exceptional, out over the sea, the villa-clad hills and the mountains inland. That elevation brings wind, and it brings steep barrancas and deep valleys that make the course feel intimate: each hole reveals itself only as you walk into it, and cart paths are kept largely out of sight.

It plays to a par of 72 and demands respect. Fairways are tight, and a miss can genuinely mean a lost ball, though such areas are classed as lateral water hazards to keep play moving. Blind drives feature in a few places, and Dye’s downhill-sloping greens are a family hallmark. The 18th is the hole people remember: a par five reachable in two, guarded by water and deep bunkering, where a round can be won or thrown away in a single swing. The par-five 2nd, with its wide inviting fairway, and the 9th, ringed by water, are the other standouts.

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Course facts

• Opened: early 2000s, commonly given as 2003
• Architect: Perry Dye, with input from Severiano Ballesteros
• Par: 72
• Site: approximately 45 hectares, adjoining a protected nature reserve
• Style: modern, dramatic, with barrancas, rock walls and two large lakes
• Tournament history: the club hosted the Open de España in 2006
• Status: open to visitors, operating independently of the Old Course

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The 19th Hole

The clubhouse restaurant has become a genuine attraction in its own right, and it is worth building time into your day for it. The 19th Hole serves international and locally inspired cooking using local ingredients, and visitors consistently rate it among the best clubhouse food in the area, with one reviewer describing the terrace setting as feeling more Caribbean than Andalusian. It is a proper post-round destination rather than an afterthought, and a pleasant place to sit with a cold beer and compare scorecards.

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Playing as a visitor

The New Course is welcoming to visitors and easier to book than most in the area, and it suits mixed-ability groups well: strong players find plenty to think about, while the wider landing areas on several holes make it more forgiving off the tee than the Old Course. The difficulty is concentrated around the greens rather than in the driving.

Green fees vary by season and are considerably lower than at the Old Course and the private Sotogrande clubs, which makes this one of the best value championship rounds in the area. Confirm current rates directly with the club when booking.

The terrain is undulating, with real elevation change, so a buggy is worth considering, though the course is walkable. Normal golf attire and soft spikes apply.

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What golfers say

Opinion on the design is emphatic. Several reviewers rate it the more interesting of the two San Roque courses and one of the best modern layouts in Andalusia, praising Dye’s shaping, the pot bunkering and the way the course uses the terrain. The staff are repeatedly described as friendly, flexible and helpful.

Being straight about it, conditioning is where opinions divide. The course suffered under previous ownership and reviewers have noted greens that can be bumpy and fairways that run dry in high summer. Most temper that immediately with the price, pointing out that the green fee is a small fraction of the Old Course’s and that you are getting a world-class design for a modest outlay. Recent feedback suggests the new ownership’s investment is showing.

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Getting there

The San Roque estate sits inland of the N-340 between Sotogrande and San Roque town, roughly fifteen minutes from Sotogrande marina. Gibraltar airport is about 17 kilometres away, a short taxi ride, and Málaga is around an hour and a quarter.