The New Course brings together Perry Dye’s lines and the eye of Severiano Ballesteros, beside Sotogrande.
The Breeze of Golf
The New Course is the Seve Ballesteros golf course at San Roque: 18 holes and a par of 72 across 45 hectares beside Sotogrande. Perry Dye created the design with the collaboration of Severiano Ballesteros, one of the best-loved golfers in European history.
Five majors and the European Ryder Cup captaincy of 1997, at Valderrama, sum up his place in the game. Here his legacy is played hole by hole, on a course that still asks for ingenuity rather than power.
Perry Dye, son of Pete Dye, uses sand as a design tool. The 6th has ten bunkers and the 4th has seven. At the 13th, a fairway bunker runs from tee to green, while at the 12th a 70-metre bunker guards the right.
Reading each tee shot matters as much as distance. Study it in the New Course hole-by-hole guide.
Seve also put his name to other courses, including Novo Sancti Petri in Chiclana, Pont Royal in Provence and The Heritage at Killenard in Ireland. Each answers to its own ground. This Seve Ballesteros golf course answers to a landscape of cork oaks and lakes, with the Mediterranean in the distance.
The course rewards boldness with a clear head. The 16th is a par 5 reachable in two, with a heavily contoured green. The 17th asks you to choose your club according to the wind. The 18th brings water to the right on the final approach.
That finish explains why the course suits matchplay so well: an advantage can slip away right up to the last green.
The difficulty is well spread. The 7th is stroke index 1, the 11th is a narrow par 5 at stroke index 2 and the 9th, with a lake in front and to the left, is stroke index 3. The two nines are closely balanced at 3,041 and 3,038 metres from the back tees.
In 2006 the course hosted the Spanish Open. Niclas Fasth won on 270, 18 under par, after a four-hole play-off with John Bickerton, who had closed with a 63 to equal the New Course record.
The course has also hosted European Tour Qualifying School finals. Today any golfer can play it with a green fee.
A golf course bearing the mark of Seve Ballesteros is best enjoyed unhurried. Book your tee time, have lunch at La Criolla afterwards and let the course reveal its lines.
If you are travelling, our guide to golf in Sotogrande will help you plan your golf break. And if you would like to return often, see the terms for members.
Several sets of tees adapt the course to each player, from 6,079 metres at the back to 5,010 from the third set. To see which suits you, check the slope and course rating before you tee off.
The New Course at San Roque Golf & Resort, designed by Perry Dye with the collaboration of Severiano Ballesteros. It has 18 holes and a par of 72.
He is an American golf course architect and the son of the architect Pete Dye. At San Roque he worked alongside Severiano Ballesteros.
Yes. The New Course welcomes visitors with a green fee, booked through the booking engine or on +34 956 921 924.
The 2006 Spanish Open, won by Niclas Fasth at the fourth play-off hole, as well as European Tour Qualifying School finals.
It is demanding from the back, at 6,079 metres and a slope of up to 137, but there are several tee options. The third set of tees measures 5,010 metres. See the official slope rating.
They are separate clubs. The Old Course belongs to The San Roque Club; San Roque Golf & Resort runs the New Course only.
