May 14 2008 by Ian Davies
HAVING a quick refresher in the clubhouse there are several clues as to nature of the round you are about to enjoy/endure at La Torre Golf Resort.
Pictures, lots of them, of Jack Nicklaus playing out of bunkers.
There's no telling if the shots of the great man blasting his way out of the traps were snapped at this precise locale, but it's a pretty accurate indication of the sand between your toes and up your nose experience the average hit-and-hope hacker is bound to be subjected to.
Any directionally-challenged golfer, particularly those who may be desperately trying to subdue the effects of a Rioja-induced malaise is going to spend a lot of time beachcombing. You see, that's what they do on the courses in this part of the world.
Carved out of the semi-arid scrubland that defines this south east corner of Spain, the millions of tons of water piped into the region maintain baize-green putting surfaces and fairways with the qualities of a living room carpet but sand is the great indigenous resource and it is used to serious landscaping effect.
Apparently, Jack likes his bunkers, so he's come to the right place to continue his vision of golf course design across Europe, and most abundantly at the heart of the Murcia region between Alicante and Cartegena.
Nicklaus had a direct influence in design matters at La Torre and was literally hands-on at El Valle just down the road.
Go in search of a wayward drive on some holes there and you'd swear you'd lurched on to the set of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly... which you probably would have done because it's exactly the spot where spaghetti western maestro Sergio Leone took Clint and friends to shoot it out and pull faces at each other at the back at the end of the 1960s.
No doubt these days, though, rolling up there is sure to cost a few dollars more. And if you're going to stretch the allegory to snapping point, potentially a fistful.
Nicklaus is big news in this part of the world right now, and hand in hand with property developers Polaris he is helping reshape the Murcian landscape.
The pristine courses at both La Torre and and El Valle together with nearby Mar Menor and several others including Hacienda Riqueime, Terrazas de la Torre and La Loma -form centrepieces to the rapidly expanding Polaris empire whose towering cranes punctuate the skyline like industrial oases.
What they are creating across this erstwhile semi-agrarian landscape are more akin to small, self-sufficient townships - with stick and ball thrown in - than mere resorts.
The apartments, large and small, luxurious and more humble are flying up around courses.
And to service these communities gated for top security are super-markets, pharmacies, high-end stores, a la carte restaurants, bars and in a recent initiative, schools.
As a resident, once in, you would never have to leave.
It's a cosy arrangement if you've got the cash and, if you're in to your golf what could be better than having the playing surface virtually integral to your back garden?
So integral are some stretches of the courses, though, that the lucky apartment-dweller may find themselves harvesting quite a collection of balls in their swimming pool. Lucky if they're not kipping on the lie-lo sipping a Martini at the time, that is.
Of course, the Polaris philosophy is buy to retire, buy to rent, perhaps buy to share.
Golf membership packages are part of the deal for buyers but it is not a closed shop for the average golf tourist whose raison d'etre is not a second/retirement home.
But, property investment aside, if you are in the market for hols with a bit of golf thrown in then you can do far worse, and very probably no better than to roll up to the five star InterContinental Mar Menor.
Transfer time from the increasingly accessible Murcia Airport is just 15 minutes and despite its imposing scale, the InterContinental has kept the room count down to under 70 and instead turned the quality up to 11.
All neo-Moorish opulence - the Moors were the controlling force in the southern half of Spain between the eighth and 11th centuries and their influence still pervades the culture. Not least in the form of their crowning architectural achievement, the Alhambra Palace is only a couple of hundred kilo-metres away - the lowest standard room comfortably qualifies for suite status. The size and quality increases in more luxurious increments as you work your way up to the top floor where you could mis-place entourage, family and friends with ease.
Such a glorious realisation of cross-cultural, Afro/European symbiosis, in fact, that a modern day El Cid would just put his sword down, his feet up, tell Sophia Loren to get lost and enjoy a few sherberts with his new mates from north Africa.
Luxury? You almost expect a young Sophia Loren to come in and turn down the sheets... while you're still in bed.
In fact, with its attendant attractions, hitting the course might easily slip the mind.
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