Mar Menor Golf Resort Top 100 Review

Mar Menor Golf Resort is an 18-hole, par 72 championship course measuring 6,153 metres from the white tees, located near Torre Pacheco in the Murcia region of southeastern Spain, approximately five kilometres from the Mar Menor lagoon. The course occupies 59 hectares on the site of a former citrus orchard, surrounded by mountains in the Murcian interior. It is distinctive in having been designed by two separate architects, giving it a genuinely split character across its two halves.

The front nine was created by Dave Thomas, known for his work on the Brabazon Course at The Belfry, and presents a more traditional, precision-oriented test with narrower fairways, minimal rough, and generous greens well protected by large bunkers and water hazards. The back nine, by Nicklaus Design, offers a contrasting American-style layout with wider fairways, more generous rough, and a bolder, more risk-reward character. Water features prominently on both nines, coming into play on three consecutive holes in each half. The most notable sequence is the 13th, 14th, and 15th holes on the back nine, which wrap around a large lake and are referred to locally as the course's "Amen Corner." The 13th, a right-to-left dogleg par 4 of 323 metres, is rated the stroke index 1 hole, with bunkers threaded across the fairway and water guarding the right side of the green.