Costa Esuri Club de Golf

The first half of the West (or River Course) has a lovely, open links-type feel to it, positioned as it is down by the River Guadiana that forms the border with Portugal.Wide fairways and generous greens mean you can open your shoulders a bit, which you may need to as the course isn't short at 7,300 yards off the back tees. But easy walking. Best hole on the front 9 is probably the long par 5 6th, which runs right alongside the river - you can easily be distracted by sailing yachts swishing past, the cries of the wading birds or the cuckoos calling from the olive groves on the Portuguese side.The second half winds its way more inland, where water gradually starts to come into play (more wading birds, plus running commentary on your game from bullfrogs). The course has its own little "Amen Corner"- long par 5 10th with "risk or reward" drive (do you dare take on the corner of the dog-leg? do you take on the ditch with your 2nd?); stroke index 1 dog-leg left 11th with water lurking feet away over the back of the green; and the "signature" par 3 12th, all carry over water and the grave of many a good card. Great par 5 17th, dog-leg round the marshes (can I go for the green in 2?) makes the plain vanilla 18th a bit of a boring finish, like so many courses round here. Only other quibble- the other par 3s are very good holes but not enough variety in length (all long).Superb quality fairway turf, much finer grass than the coarse stuff you sometimes see here.Good service and reasonable though not outstanding food in clubhouse. Pity it overlooks the practice ground and not the 18th green - missed trick by the designers.

Now the East Course - a diamond in the rough, and could be one of the best courses on the whole coast if it was maintained to a good standard.As a design, it is little short of genius, though some holes show that genius can be close to madness (witness the controversial 12th hole, which even its closest friends would call quirky - play it and decide!)Shorter and tighter than the West Course, it winds its way through the hills and valleys of a pretty unspoilt part of the resort for the first half, and stretches out into the wildlife-packed marshes (flamingos, storks, wild ponies, goats and goatherds) in the back nine. No boring holes, and some sequences of holes touch the sublime, e.g. the 4th (dogleg left with drive over scrub onto raised plateau, position is everything), 5th (blind hole, left hand dogleg over brow of hill, driver off tee fatal, eyewateringly tight second with steep bank on left, water on right with fairway gathering down to it - inspirationally good hole), and 6th (uphill 170 yard par 3 over water, scrub, onto raised green that looks 700 yards away). But take plenty of balls as the lady ain't kind to folks who ain't straight and steady. Scandalously underplayed (and, it has to be said, somewhat undermaintained - indeed, closed in the summer) possibly because the clubhouse is by the West course. Both courses together would rate 5 stars in my book if East course wasn't ragged round the edges.