A look at 2023 Solheim Cup course, Finca Cortesin, with European captain Suzann Pettersen

Finca Cortesin will host the 2023 Solheim Cup

We visit Finca Cortesin, the course that will host the 2023 Solheim Cup, while European Captain Suzann Pettersen reveals the key holes and the skills needed to succeed around one of Spain’s best golf courses.

There is good reason to suggest the 2023 Solheim Cup will be the most eagerly anticipated in the history of the matches. Europe will try to defend the trophy with a team likely to resemble the one that won last year in Toledo, but with the powerful additions of Swedish pair Linn Grant and Maja Stark.

The USA, stung by a loss on home soil, will arrive in Spain desperate to regain a trophy they used to dominate but have not held since 2017.

The captains are new, interesting and multiple Major-winning champions – Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis.

And the venue will not let the side down. The opulent Finca Cortesin resort in Andalucia is one of the world’s best golf resorts and ranks very highly in our list of the best golf resorts in Europe, and the best golf courses in Spain. It is luxurious and spectacular yet also intimate and cosy. Once on site, players will stroll between their bedroom, team room, gym, range and 1st tee. There will be no shuttle buses for them in this Solheim Cup; every Solheim is something special to qualify for, but this one perhaps just a touch more so.

Finca is matched in Europe only by Ireland’s Adare Manor in terms of a one-course resort, and while the exquisite hotel is a large part of that, the course certainly plays its part. Much of the credit goes to Cabell Robinson for designing a course on difficult land.

Enhancing the American’s work is the fact that other than the early handful of holes, there is no residential development in your eyeline – a rarity on Iberian courses. The renowned Gerald Huggan’s attractive landscaping also adds much, with apparently 20 varieties of flora in evidence in addition to typical Mediterranean trees. Those splashes of color line most of the fairways as they rumble over the rolling hills just outside central Sotogrande.

Robinson needed imagination and nous to make the terrain work. He dealt with it very well, even if a buggy is required as a result of the long distances between greens and tees, and the sometimes steep climbs. The acutely downhill driving range is the golfer’s first clue as to the elevation change here.

The land meant Robinson had to set the 2007 course down in sections, the first of which is the opening six. The 1st is a gentle opener but the tempo soon rises at the par-5 3rd that plays around a lake, then a sporty par 4 of around 340 yards from an elevated tee with water front left. Holes will be halved in birdies on many of these openers.

The middle section is difficult, and will have tested even those playing in the three World Match Plays Finca hosted. It begins with a monster par 4 at 7 and is followed by a three-shotter along a tight fairway. The 9th takes you back to the hotel and on paper looks easier, but the green is a narrow target and you will face what is a common feature of a round here, a challenging chip.

Robinson incorporated deep swales around many greens, so you are often chipping up to table-top greens that are so slick that only well-struck shots will behave.

The greens were relaid in 2017 with an environmentally-friendly type of Bermuda grass and are absolutely pure. Fast and true, there is never any excuse not to putt well on these surfaces, never mind when it isn’t in a Solheim Cup.

There will be an emphasis on the short game next September and those with the ability to shape shots will also prosper. Robinson asks you to hit draws and fades in what feels like equal measure; the double dog-leg 11th on a tilting fairway asks for both in a single hole.

Finca also rewards the clever golfer, those who work out the best lines off tees, the sides of greens to err on, and the occasions when laying up really is the best decision.

The 13th is one such strategic hole, and will make for wonderful viewing. This par 4 has a creek running down the left of the fairway that then cuts in across the front of a green decorated with a handful of scattered ancient olive-like trees. Your line off the tee is so important.

The next hole offers respite, a short par 4 with a wide fairway and big green, giving the golfer chance to draw breath before the awesome 15th, which demands a thump over a bush-covered ravine, then a second off a hanging lie to a sloping green. A four here next September should often win the hole.

There is a 4-3-5 finish, a dog-leg par 4 and a picturesque short hole followed by a reachable par 5 that will see all sorts of scores being made on a course and a resort that will wow all 24 players. If you’ve played in the last two Solheim Cups in Europe and thus follow Gleneagles with Finca Cortesin, you are fortunate to have timed your ascent to the top of the women’s game.

The Captain: Suzann Pettersen

The two-time Major winner played in nine Solheim cups, earning 21 points, before succeeding Catriona Matthew as captain. She reveals her opinion of the 2023 host course, Finca Cortesin, highlighting the key holes and the skills needed to emerge victorious here.

What were your impressions of Finca Cortesin when you first visited?

It is an amazing resort! The facilities are first class. Finca Cortesin is definitely the best venue of the Solheim Cup in my time and possibly in the history of the Solheim Cup. It has so many fantastic facilities, with an incredible hotel and restaurants on-site, as well as one of Europe’s best golf courses. I can’t wait to return here next year for the actual event.

The closer we get, the more excited I get. Every day I have to pinch myself that this is not all just a dream.

It has one of the finest hotels in Europe, not just among golf hotels – what aspects do you particularly like about it?

The atmosphere and feel that they have created around the property is what I love! I think everyone who has been here falls in love with this place. I think that on TV the place will look immaculate, especially with the incredible views of the sea in the background that are often displayed across all areas of the resort.

Also, hospitality-wise, I don’t think you will find a better place to stay.

Will having everything so close together be a bonus for the players?

I think from a player’s point of view, to be able to stay on-site means there will be a lot less time spent commuting on a bus every day. That time really adds up throughout the week. To have all the facilities right there makes time management a lot easier.

What type of player do you think will prosper at Finca?

A good driver of the ball will be key to playing well at Finca. There are some holes that will require really good accuracy. But I also think you need that as well as players who can control the ball in windy conditions. It will be really important to master the balance between the two dynamics.

Can you give any little secrets about how you would like the course to be set-up?

I don’t have a masterplan for how the course could benefit one team over the other! These players are all top-class and have world-class skills. I think Finca Cortesin will be a different sort of Solheim, but nonetheless one that will continue to showcase the skills and talents of all the players to those watching around the globe.

Which holes will offer the most drama do you think?

The finishing holes, starting from the 15th, will be a good thrill. It’s always nice to see some matches that go all the way to the finishing holes, which end up being crucial.

I’ve fortunately played at Finca Cortesin quite a few times and the more I play it, the more I fall in love with it. It’s so peaceful and so quiet. And I get more and more impressed with the conditions and the variety, because every hole on this course is different. It has everything a golfer would want, so I’m sure there will be plenty of drama on course throughout the Solheim Cup.

You burst onto the scene in the Solheim by famously halving with Michele Redman in 2002. What has the Cup meant to you?

The event has brought me some special moments and memories that will last a lifetime. You share bonds and connections with other players and places that you would otherwise not experience. Every other year you get to team up and work together to achieve something as a team and we, the Europeans, are really good at that. You play your heart out for each other, for the team, for the Continent.

Sum up how you feel to now be leading Europe yourself…

Being captain is something you dream of when you are a child and sometimes dreams do come true. I must say I am very fortunate, as this will be one of the biggest honours in my career. The Solheim was what made me realise I was ready for the world stage and now I get to guide the best European squad, as we seek to do a ‘three-peat’ and win it three times in a row!

The 18th Solheim Cup takes place at Finca Cortesin, 22-24 September 2023.

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