31/12/2022
The award-winning, and championship, Hacienda Riquelme Golf Course is a cleverly structured Nicklaus Design, 18 hole, par 72 links-styled parkland golf course with no two holes the same. The golf course has been built to international and championship standards, featuring four sets of tees per hole, with shots made difficult by undulating fairways, deep bunkers, wild grasses, olive trees and water hazards. It has a range of elevations and uses the strongly contoured greens divided into several sections by random dramatic elevation changes, making putting the main challenge.
The golf course is nestled in the heart of a beautiful enclave in an idyllic landscape; golfers here can enjoy a truly tranquil round of golf. At Hacienda Riquelme you can not help but allow yourself to be seduced by the fantastic Nicklaus designed golf course; it thoughtfully combines every type of distance and challenge; designed to constantly push you and to make use of all your resources and talent.
The natural landscape of the Hacienda Riquelme has been perfectly preserved; throughout the golf course's construction and most of its natural features have been intricately incorporated to create the fantastic golf course that stands today. The golf course is routed in a format that groups several holes together that share a similar design and characteristics, whilst keeping the surrounding residential development on the perimeter to retain the tranquil ambiance.
The golf course is 6416 metre (7016 yards) long from the back tee so, although it is not the longest of courses in the area, golfers will be required to think their way around this challenging course in order to score well. The wide fairways and open greens compensate for this. Golfers should not be lured into a false sense of security by the open fairways as there are still plenty of challenges throughout. All this provides an exceptional golfing experience, presenting challenges to all levels of golfer.
The golf course differs from the others in the GNK Golf Circuit (a group of golf courses in the Región de Murcia, which make up Europe´s best golfing challenge). GNK Golf is a unique golfing experience, with the highest quality and design standards. However, playing golf at Hacienda Riquelme is a different experience, both by its topography where large fairways predominate with gentle slopes, and for its beautiful, but at the same time, a very demanding game route with five large lakes and large numbers of bunkers, which are the hallmark of this course, covering an area of 71 hectares with a stunning mountain backdrop and panoramic views of the coast.
On Hacienda Riquelme, all of the residential properties are set back and further away from the course compared to some other golf complexes, giving a greater feeling of space. Hacienda Riquelme Golf offers ample fairways, combined with bunkers and hard to approach greens, all ready to complicate your game - this is a fun course that will bring the best shots out of every player. The course has been sculptured on land, which was once olive groves, and many mature trees have been retained in strategic positions. Whilst the fairways are quite expansive, the bunkering is prolific, capaciously cavernous with some almost 10 feet deep. With wide fairways, players have plenty of space to maneuverer their shots through the natural hazards.
The golf course weaves its way through and around groves of olive trees, and five large lakes. Three of the large lakes come into play on six holes, and the golf course is complemented with lush landscaping, further enhancing both the golf experience as well as the extended views from the surrounding development.
Taking advantage of the site's larger scale, the course features wider-than-average fairways, allowing players plenty of room to play, whilst creating numerous strategic options. This means that many of the holes border other golf holes, and not houses, creating a more open and natural golf experience whilst maintaining a level of privacy for golfers.
The boldly contoured greens are sure to be the most talked-about feature of the course. The greens of Hacienda Riquelme Golf are wide and many of them are raised, which makes access to them difficult. At first glance, the greens appear to be generously sized. However, many greens are multi-tiered, and broken into several sections, by strong elevation changes. Additionally, the greens also feature numerous subtle random contours and rolls, further complicating putting, making it crucial golfers play to the correct section of the green, in order to set up the easiest possible putt.
The unique bunkering creates a dramatic look, sure to set Hacienda Riquelme Golf apart from other courses. Many of these large rugged bunkers are very deep, with sand flashing, in places, up to three meters deep. The edges of the bunkers are cut in a jagged manner, further adding to their distinctiveness, whilst accenting the more rugged nature of the course.
In an interesting contrast to the other GNK Golf Circuit courses, Hacienda Riquelme Golf's playing surfaces has a novel feature as it has been grassed with the latest Paspalum Vaginatum Supreme variety to make golf more sustainable on a national level. The course also stands out for being one of the first fields in continental Europe to use Paspalum on its entire surface. This variety of grass has many similarities with the Bermuda grass, but it tolerates a high salinity in its irrigation water, decreasing the need for large amounts of freshwater. as well as being resistant to drought and high temperatures. It is also more competitive against weeds than similar grasses. Weeds can be controlled by the application of saltwater, in which weeds will die and the grass will survive. This leads the grass to stay in tip-top condition all year round, with less water usage.
All of these features combine to give Hacienda Riquelme Golf an older look and feel, establishing the resort as one of the most unique stops along the GNK Golf Circuit.
Unlike other courses in the GNK portfolio, it will punish if you stray off the clearly defined fairways and grassy areas. The challenge isn’t solely confined to keeping the ball on the fairway, though. Riquelme has some of the most severe bunkering I've ever encountered, in terms of depth, placement, and sheer quantity, and the undulations on the greens make finding the right section a priority.
There is nothing unfair about this golf course, but if you’re playing good golf and hitting the ball in the right areas, it’s perfectly feasible to notch up a good score. As with almost all golf courses, we cannot deny that there are some relatively nondescript holes, but the vast majority are brilliantly designed and individual in their character.
The large, sprawling greens are even-paced and are maintained in superb condition, and the designers should be highly acclaimed for fashioning so many good holes out of a barren, flat, and water-deprived portion of land.
Although the course concludes with a hole dominated by water, the sheer beauty and quality of the bunkering will last long in your memory!
Not unlike any of the other Nicklaus Design golf courses, Hacienda Riquelme is a fantastic golf course throughout, and is certainly an essential component of your next golf break to the Región de Murcia!
The GNK Golf Academy offers individual and group golf lessons from PGA qualified instructors. The involvement of GNK Golf, through its Academy, in the training and in the improvement of golf, places special emphasis on the rules of etiquette.
For further information, please visit: http://www.gnkgolf.com/academia
In addition to the superb golf course, Hacienda Riquelme boasts some of the best practice facilities on the GNK Golf Circuit, all maintained to golf course standards. This practice facility has been designed to focus on iron play and short game skills and allows you to loosen up, before making your way to the first tee.
There is a full-length driving range with 20 natural turf practice tees, with three target areas that are shaped to resemble actual golf holes.
They feature the same bunker style as the course and should create a unique setting for players to hone their iron and wedge play.
The practice area also features an extra-large large practice putting green, with multiple tiers and contours to emulate the course's greens.
As well, there is a separate short game, and chipping, green. With double-size steep-sided green-side bunkers facing off to the extensive chipping green. And a multi-tiered approach fairway with semi-rough areas facing onto the chipping green.
Finally, fairway bunker facing off to the driving range, designed for practicing long-range bunker shots. Players looking to concentrate on their iron and short game skills should look no further than this facility at Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort.
The Golf-Pro Shop is open to customers with a range of golfing attire. You'll find golf balls. spare gloves as well as having manual and electric trolleys, buggies, and clubs for hire.
Course Facts:
Opened - November 2007
18 holes
Par 72
Architect - Nicklaus Design - https://www.nicklausdesign.com/course/riquelme/
Hosted the European Tour School Stage 2, 2010 & 2011
Also, each February, Hacienda Riquelme hosts the Spanish National Juvenile Male Tournament.
Description of holes:
https://haciendariquelmegolfresort.com/documents/GOLF%20COURSE%20DESCRIPTION%20HOLE-BY-HOLE%20HACIENDA%20RIQUELME-192628.pdf
Map of holes:http://www.gnkgolf.com/storage/multimedia/Hacienda-Riquelme_-_HOYOS_PDF1563883330.pdf
Lengths:
Back (white) tee: 6356 metres Slope: 137 Rating: 73.4
Medal (yellow) tee: 5854 metres Slope: 130 Rating: 70.7
Youth / vets (blue) tee: 5552 metres Slope: 130 Rating: 75.1
Ladies (red) tee: 5084 metres Slope: 124 Rating: 71.8
Slope tables:http://www.gnkgolf.com/storage/multimedia/Slope_HR1564583624.pdf
Don’t forget to bring your handicap certificate - maximum handicaps: gents: 28 ladies: 36
Soft-spikes required.
Services: Clubhouse, pro-shop, hire of buggies, clubs (not pre-bookable), electric trolleys, handbooks, practice area: putting green, chipping green and bunkers, changing rooms with showers and lockers for male and female golfers.
For a “hole-by-hole” review of the golf course, please visit:
https://haciendariquelmegolfresort.com/documents/GOLF%20COURSE%20DESCRIPTION%20HOLE-BY-HOLE%20HACIENDA%20RIQUELME-192628.pdf
More information is also on our golf society page, please visit: https://www.hrgrgolf.es/
For more information about Hacienda Riquelme Golf Course, please visit: http://www.gnkgolf.com/campos/haciendariquelme
And in order to make a reservation to play on the course, please visit: http://www.gnkgolf.com/reservas
PGA Professional's review:
“Someone has managed to find Mr Nicklaus a very fine tract of land to work with here at Hacienda Riquelme and I feel that he has produced a very worthy addition to the Nicklaus Trail. The course has a very 'linksy' feel to it in places and the obviously rough cut look to the bunkers adds to this. One thing you will all be glad about is the lack of these dreaded wasteland areas to be found on many courses in our region. Another pleasing aspect to the layout is how the properties have been set back from the course itself and at no time do they feel as if they are encroaching on your game. Many of the yardages of the greens are quite deceptive as many of them are slightly elevated and heavily protected by bunkers so as a general word of advice take a club more than you think."
as quoted in https://www.agolfingexperience.co.uk/golf/hacienda-riquelme-1085
