An updated timeline on Spain’s Mediterranean coast
At Macenas Mediterranean Resort in Mojácar, Almería, shaping work on a redesigned golf course is largely finished, but its opening remains some way off. In the October 2026 edition of Golf Course Architecture, co-designer Marco Martin said the layout was ready for grass establishment while seeding could be postponed until April 2027. The team expects an opening around October 2027. That is a projection, not a confirmed opening or tee-time booking date, and it supersedes earlier publicity pointing to the 2026 season.
An approachable course, rather than a championship test
The project is designed by Blake Stirling and Marco Martin of Stirling & Martin. According to the resort’s official golf page, Macenas will be an 18-hole executive course playing to par 66, with three to five teeing options per hole. Rather than prioritising championship length, the architects have focused on flexibility, accessible landing areas and a target round time of less than three hours.
The routing uses naturally sloping coastal ground, seasonal drainage corridors and Mediterranean vegetation. Martin highlighted the roughly 175-yard, par-three second hole, played across a natural creek; a risk-and-reward short par-four fifth; and the panoramic par-five 17th overlooking a ravine and the sea. Those details describe the proposed playing experience, not an operating course.
Construction progress and water strategy
Contractor GTM Golf Construction moved approximately 180,000 cubic metres of earth between October 2025 and January 2026, Martin said. Primary earth shaping is complete, while irrigation and drainage were nearing completion at the time of the interview. The next substantial step is establishing grass in a suitable warm-season planting window.
Alongside the golf project, the resort is developing a wastewater-treatment installation estimated at €5 million, designed to process around 2,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day. The intention is to irrigate the golf course and landscaped public areas entirely with reclaimed treated water rather than relying on fresh drinking-water supplies. The developer also lists native-habitat restoration and a nine-hole pitch-and-putt practice circuit among the plans.
Public access remains unconfirmed
As of 26 October 2026, the redesigned course has not been announced as open; verified public green fees and advance tee-time sales are unavailable. October 2027 is the current estimated opening period and may change. The resort is in Mojácar, Almería province, Andalusia, Spain, with the Macenas Social Club contact address at Calle Califato 1, 04638 Mojácar.
Reporting: Marco Martin’s interview in Golf Course Architecture and the official Macenas Golf project description. Image: a genuine archival photo from 27 September 2007 of golf scenery near Mojácar, not a documentary image of the 2026 rebuilding work or completed new layout. Photo by INDALOMANIA, CC BY-SA 3.0, original on Wikimedia Commons; resized without substantive alteration.
