Dave Thomas, the creator of the golf course you love next to your La Manga Club property

Doubtless, one of the reasons you chose a La Manga Club property was to enjoy our first-class sport facilities and top services. If you live in the resort, you’re surely already familiar with the jewels in the crown: our wonderful golf courses. These three professional-level courses are designed for the enjoyment of amateurs and pros alike, and offer spectacular views of our natural surroundings to boot. What you may not know, however, is that the thoughtful design of our West Course is the work of Dave Thomas. Today we’re tipping our hats to this excellent player and course designer, thanks to whom you can enjoy, in the privileged surroundings of our tourism resort, the excellent distribution of the 18 holes of the West Course that have made it a top golf challenge.

David Charles Thomas (Newcastle upon Tyne, August 16th, 1934 – Spain, August 27th, 2013) was a renowned Welsh professional golf player who had a number of big wins in a variety of European tournaments in the ‘50s and ‘60s, including the News of the World Match Play, the Belgian, Dutch, and French Opens, and the British Golf Open, where he was a finalist a number of times.

After his successful career, which included participating in 19 Grand Slam Tournaments and 4 Ryder Cups, Thomas was forced to retire early due to arthritis. But far from closing his shutters, he decided to dedicate himself to his other great passion: golf course design.

Thanks to his tenacity and deep understanding of the game, Thomas became one of the most in-demand golf course architects of his time. He designed more than 100 courses the world over, in Europe, Africa, China, Japan, and South America. Together with Peter Alliss, he created the world-famous Brabazon, in Belfry, that, among many other tournaments, hosted the Ryder Cup in 1985, 1989, 1993, and 2002.

But if there’s one place in the world where Dave Thomas’s legacy remains as strong as ever, it’s in Spain, where he designed no fewer than 14 courses. A great admirer and lover of this country, he even made his home in the south, where he drank in the sun and the warmth that he so enjoyed. He passed away in Spain on the 27th of August, 2013, at 79 years old, leaving an untouchable legacy that includes La Manga Club’s West Course and many others.

Many golf lovers like Dave Thomas find themselves drawn to Spain every year for its wonderful courses and sun, but our sport and leisure resort is one of the only places you can find three exceptional 18-hole courses in a privileged enclave next to the Calblanque Regional Park and the Mediterranean Sea, with unparalleled privacy and a wonderful climate.

Dave Thomas’s West Course, within walking distance of your La Manga Club property, offers constant challenges for players thanks to its numerous changes in elevation. Sand traps abound on the front nine, so your drives have to be extremely precise. The back nine, situated on the more elevated terrain, are a bit narrower and also demand great technical prowess. It’s a distribution that has put the course into the list of the Top 100 in Europe.

As you can tell, this exceptional course, together with the North Course, designed by Robert Dean Putman, and the South Course, initially also designed by Putman and redesigned by Arnold Palmer, as well as a great Pitch & Putt designed by Severiano Ballesteros, means La Manga Club offers unparalleled sport facilities. We not only proudly offer 3 golf courses among the Top 40 in Spain, but also hold the title of “Royal Golf La Manga Club” from the Spanish monarchy. Onward and upward!