Guys Golf Weekend in Sotogrande

A few months back, Bhavin saw the LIV Golf schedule and noticed they would be coming to Andalucia, so he immediately started organizing a guys' golf weekend and invited RJ and I to join! We figured it would be a great time to get out of town and enjoy some guy-time, and also see some professional golfers!

Friday, July 12: LIV Golf Event

On Friday morning, I loaded up the car with my golf clubs and a small bag and picked up both RJ and Bhavin. We left Bhavin's house in El Puerto at 9:30 am, just in time for me to realize I had forgotten my passport (so I couldn't get into the LIV Event), so we had to journey back to my house to grab it!

Real Club Valderrama

After the 1 hour and 45 minute drive from Rota to Real Club Valderrama, located just 20 minutes north of Gibraltar, we parked and jumped on the bus to the event! We were greeted by a stunning course, which I looked up and would cost approximately €600 per person with a green fee, cart, and the required caddy fee.

We headed straight to the driving range and putting green to watch the pros warm up. We found out Bryson DeChambeau, two-time major champion and reigning US Open Champion, would be starting on Hole 3 at 1:15 pm, so we grabbed a couple of beers and made our way to the Number 3 green. When he arrived at the tee box, we discovered he was in a group with Phil Mickelson, a golfing legend! What an awesome grouping to follow around all day!

After nearly four hours of following these guys around, watching them hit absolute bombs, it was time to head to our AirBnB. Not that I was keeping count, but I dapped or knucked Phil and Bryson over six times each! What an awesome group to watch for my first-ever professional golf event!

Restaurante Don Diego Sotogrande

After checking into the AirBnB, we went to dinner at Don Diego Sotogrande, a Peruvian/Asian infusion restaurant. I enjoyed a really good steak with rice and Thai Red Curry (don't ask me what's Peruvian about that, because I have no idea!)

Following dinner, RJ and Bhavin wanted to go to Casino Admiral San Roque which was nearby! After watching them blow through a couple hundred bucks at the Roulette and Blackjack tables, it was time to call it a night!

Saturday, July 13: Day of Golf

After watching the pros play yesterday, it was time for us to play a few rounds!

Dona Julia Golf Club

The next morning was an early one; our tee time at Dona Julia Golf Club was scheduled for 8:10 am. This was a hilly course that provided nice views of the Mediterranean Sea throughout! We finished our round at noon and quickly headed back to the AirBnB to grab a quick lunch of PB&Js and hot dogs.

La Hacienda Links Golf Resort

The next course of the day was even nicer than the first. The clubhouse was stunning and had a perfect view of the Met with Gibraltar off in the distance to the right (unfortunately I didn't get a picture, to which Katie was upset!) This being a Links course meant that the rough would be high and the hazards a plenty! Fortunately, Richard and Ryan sent me two-gallon Ziploc bags full of balls, so I had quite a few spares, and boy were they needed!

After the round, I contemplated why I ever decided to pick up golf. Then it was time to head back to the AirBnB for showers and dinner. Knowing I want to save money for future trips with Katie, I ate another PB&J and a hotdog for dinner with the guys!

Admiral Lodge: Casino Admiral San Roque

After dinner and a shower, the boys wanted to go back to the Casino. Since it was a Saturday night, it was much busier than the night before. I watched on as a group of young Spanish men blew through thousands of Euros on the Blackjack table. They were playing €500 hands and made numerous trips to the ATM to get more money! Thank goodness I'm not a betting man; I just enjoy watching others lose their money.

Sunday, July 14: Morning Golf & Home

Estepona Golf

The next morning, we made our way to Estepona Golf for our last round of the trip! This course wasn't very nice, just being marginally nicer than our course on base here in Rota. They were renovating their irrigation system, so Hole 1 was completely ripped up! They were also running their sprinkler on many of the holes, just cutting them off right as we were about to tee off, so a lot of the fairways and greens were soggy.

Despite that, we had a good time and I got some good pointers from RJ on how to fix my swing. I guess that man's part-time job working at the Base Golf Course is coming in handy! During the last three holes, I started to figure things out a little bit more and actually felt like I was making progress.

Click Here to See My Golf Swing

My golf swing is so janky, please don't judge. I haven't been playing but for a couple of months!

After two-and-a-half days packed full of golf, it was finally time to head home! Along the way home, we stopped at a Taco Bell, which Katie was disappointed to hear I had without her!

It was a great trip with the boys, but it definitely made me realize that I prefer to travel with Katie. Not to say I didn't have a good time with the fellas, it's just very different traveling without her!

Thanks for reading, until next time!

¡Salud!

Bryan