Sotogrande

A Short History of Sotogrande

The idea of Sotogrande was born in 1962, when Joseph McMicking from the Philippines, had the idea to look for land in Spain in order to build an elite urbanisation. After discarding several other possibilities he settled on the purchase of the original Paniagua farm, which had concessionary rights to river water, views of the straights of Gibraltar and also access to the airport in Gibraltar. At the same time he also bought several other farms which were available, including Valderrama and the Sotogrande farm from which the development takes its name. Robert Trent Jones was contracted to design and build the Sotogrande golf course and once the location was decided upon, Mr McMicking started to plan the rest of the urbanisation around it. High quality installations were used and thinking of the future population, an American landscaper was contracted, hence the wide avenues that dominate the development. As Sotogrande started to become known towards the end of the 1960’s, more and more influential people proceeded to purchase land and build their homes. During this time, Mr McMicking’s nephew, Enrique Zobel brought Polo from the Philippines and established the first polo fields alongside the Beach Club. In the early seventies, the upper part of Sotogrande started to be developed, including another Trent Jones designed golf course, called ‘Las Aves’, later to be known as Valderrama. In 1977 the idea for the Port of Sotogrande was born and the bridge built across the river to link the two parts of the community. Whilst in 1978, the International School was founded.

At the beginning of the 80’s, with the growth and popularity of Sotogrande escalating, one of its first residents, Jaime Ortiz Patiño, decided to buy the Las Aves golf course and some neighbouring land and proceeded to build "the best golf course possible".

When the Gibraltar border was finally opened in 1985, the Spanish economy had improved, Sotogrande continued its’ growth and an economic boom began throughout Spain. The Port of Sotogrande was now fully developed. This growth and success continued until the recession of October 1989 which lasted well into the '90's. During this time Jaime Patiño organised the Volvo Masters golf tournament in Valderrama and also managed to secure the famous Ryder Cup in 1997 which put Sotogrande in the forefront of world golf. From the year 2000, polo attracted a wider audience and Sotogrande has become the main centre in Europe, not only for excellent sport but for providing a world class leisure and housing facility, of which it has become today.