Las Brisas Real Club de Golf

THE REAL CLUB OF GOLF LAS BRISAS was founded by D. Jose Banus in 1968 with the name of “Golf Club Nueva Andalucía”; He would be his first President until 1981.
For his design he chose the American Robert Trent Jones, considered already then like one of the best designers of the world of golf courses. He had just built the Sotogrande field, and later Las Brisas would also design Los Naranjos and Valderrama. The tour of this Marbella club presents multiple water obstacles: there are ten artificial lakes fed by two streams. The greens, mostly elevated, are heavily protected by bunkers. The result of the work of Robert Trent Jones, which we continue to enjoy today, was truly remarkable and original, achieving a difficult and attractive course. It was also original in the lawn used: “Bermuda” on the fairways and “Pencross Bentgrass” on greens, unusual species in Europe in the sixties; The consequence of all this is a course that requires playing a precision golf. As opinion of great golf players we can reflect the one of Paul Azinger (USA): “Las Brisas does not have a bad hole. In fact it’s one of the best courses I’ve ever played. ”

The original design, the Englishman Gerald Huggan was commissioned by D. José Banús to design the landscaping and the course’s arboretum. Gerald Huggan, a great specialist in subtropical plants, had just returned from Kenya where he had designed the Nairobi gardens. Here at Las Brisas we can enjoy his work and imagination, in a place where there are trees representing all the continents of the world: species from Africa like the Cape Chestnut and the Spiny Acacias; the Indian Laurel and the Mysore Ficus from Asia; Chorisia Speciosa from America; the Green Ash from Mexico; and the Blackwood and the Whistling Pine from Australia, together with numerous species of palms and Mediterranean trees which coexist in great harmony, turning our course into a veritable botanic garden.

During the following ten years our Club was open to the public, serving the needs of tourism in the area and playing host to numerous guests, with 44,000 players visiting the course in 1975. In 1981 the Banús Group sold the course to the businessmen Herman Sauer and Juan Romero who decided to transform the Club into a private Club; to do so, they formed the company Sociedad Campogolf, S.A., which holds the Clubs assets, and 1,320 shares were issued. The Club’s facilities and the golf course were improved. In 1983 the Spanish Open was again held at the Club, leading to a resounding sporting success. The Irishman, Eamon D’Arcy, won the Open with the Spaniard, Manuel Piñero, coming second. Both he and José María Cañizares managed to equal the course record. In 1983, and after a period of consolidation as a private Club, Herman Sauer resigned from the Chair, with elections being called at which D. Antonio Fortuny was voted in as Chairman. During the following years, especially in 1985 and 1991, our Club became the focus of some of the most prestigious national and international competitions like Their Majesties the King and Queens’ International Cup, the Spanish Open, the Nations’ Cup and the World Cup. The Spanish Open held in 1987 was won brilliantly by Nick Faldo, followed by Severiano Ballesteros, only two strokes behind, with the latter beating the course record with 64 strokes in the Pro-Am played the day before the competition.

Kyle Phillips renovated its design in 2015, through the remodelling of the course, this delightful walking venue has been redesigned to respect and improve on the best aspects of the original design, as well as modified to create a new course which will not only continue to bring pleasure to the members, but once again challenge the professional player. Upon the realization of the new practice facility improvements, Las Brisas will be able to offer its members a complete top-level golf experience.