FORTY-FIVE years ago, Fernando Mora-Figueroa had an idea that would transform the face of southern Spain. He dug a hole in a piece of grass and put a flagstick in it. Then he dug 17 more. From those beginnings on the first grass golf course on the Costa del Sol, the sport spread across the Spanish coast and inland. You could even argue that without Mora-Figueroa and his holes, there would have been no Severiano Ballesteros and no European Ryder Cup team.

Although the Costa del Sol has almost reached saturation point for golf courses and their attendant white villas, there are untapped areas and Mora-Figueroa’s great-grandson, also called Fernando, is the chief executive and figurehead of the first course to be built in the region around Jerez.

The Arcos Gardens Golf Club and Country Estate is just outside Arcos de la Frontera, a traditional Andalucian pueblo blanco or white town (so called because the locals whitewash their houses every year) that clings to the face of a cliff. You will need more than basic Spanish here, yet the beaches of the Costa de la Luz are only a 45-minute drive away.

Arcos de la Frontera is surrounded by fields and fruit groves. The peace is tangible, not least from the top of the hill four miles away that looks at the town across the maturing golf course. This will be the location for what may be the best spot at Arcos Gardens. Work will start next year on 60 two-bedroom townhouses on the hilltop, with a completion date in 2009. From there, owners will be able to look down on their neighbours in the 400 or so other properties sprinkled alongside the fairways of the golf course. Two-bedroom townhouses of about 130 sq m will sell for between £243,000 and £274,000; three to five-bedroom villas will cost between £342,000 for a 244 sq m villa and £966,000 for one of 375 sq m.

The development will eventually include a spa, tennis courts, restaurants and an equestrian centre; watersports facilities will be near by. The homes have some attractive features, such as vaulted ceilings, spacious showers and sunken bathtubs, and the finish is impressive, but the living space seems a bit small. Still, with only 5 per cent of the site to be built on, there is plenty of outside space.

Arcos Gardens offers a rental programme, albeit with no guaranteed income; remember, too, that nonSpanish residents pay 25 per cent tax on rental income. Most visitors will fly to Jerez airport, half an hour’s drive away; Ryanair flies there once (sometimes twice) a day from Stansted. Seville airport has more options, even if it is a good hour farther away.

Jerez is, of course, the centre of the sherry world and a visit would not be complete without a visit to a bodega. The owners of Arcos Gardens hope that people will also come to Jerez for the golf. Their course is perhaps the development’s biggest draw: it certainly lured Matt Dawson, the former England rugby scrum half, who was putting the finishing touches to his townhouse when I visited.

The course has been designed by Landmark, a US company that also created Kiawah Island in North Carolina, where the 1991 Ryder Cup was held. The golfing facilities are such that the Swedish Golf Federation has bought one of the large villas to use as a winter base for its players.

FACTFILE

To buy at Arcos Gardens, contact: 020-7331 4500 or www.pureintl.com

Council tax is estimated at between €400 and €600 a year; there will also be a monthly community charge of €150 to €350, depending on the size of property.

There is an annual tax on the value of any assets in Spain. This varies from €800 to €8,400 per property.

VAT in Spain is 7 per cent; capital gains tax is 18 per cent.

There are 761,000 Britons living in Spain, the most popular expatriate destination for Britons after Australia.

To search for Spanish properties on propertyfinder.com click here

To find properties in Arcos de la Frontera on properazzi.com click here

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