Secret Valley Golf Resort Review

Part of his golfing odyssey in Cyprus, Golfshake Ambassador Andy Picken had the opportunity to play the spectacular Secret Valley Golf Resort and shares his thoughts in this new review.

Next to Aphrodite Hills, Secret Valley Golf Resort opened in the mid-1990s.

In 2013 the course was redesigned and improved with Tony Jacklin appointed as the lead architect. He was capably supported by Hans-Georg Erhardt and Snorri Vilhjalmsson of Golf & Land Design Ltd to produce a highly enjoyable but challenging golf course. 

Set out along the floor of a narrow valley, the tree-lined holes are arranged in an out-and-back fashion along the banks of the Cha-Potami riverbed as it moves slowly down towards the nearby coast.

Measuring 5,714 metres from the back markers, it is a track with limited space for error off the tee, particularly on the slightly longer front nine. 

What You Need to Know About Secret Valley

Secret Valley is a wonderfully playable and enjoyable venue.

Well marshalled, by necessity, because it is very busy and popular. Despite this the pace of play was good with no major tee box delays.

Many of the holes are situated on a side gradient that cuts down the effective landing areas and makes the course even tighter for play. Fairways were well conditioned, and the in-house watering facility is well used as the colour and health of the fairways was clear and obvious.

The course had an early season feel and some of the tee boxes looked a little tired. This is probably due to the amount of golfing traffic we saw during our round. Pace of play was good with no delays and there were clear and obvious marshalling efforts to keep play moving. The greens were well maintained and had clearly been prioritised for maintenance. They were true and surprisingly quick.

I enjoyed the location of Secret Valley as it felt as if it was isolated with no residential premises overlooking the golf playing surfaces.  

The Course Layout at Secret Valley

The opening holes are tightly formed requiring a strategic game for success. It feels in places like it has been hewn from the limestone rocks of the valley and there are many side gradients to consider as the fairways meander through the valley floor.

The five short holes on the course all offer challenges despite the lack of length from the tee. They are cleverly placed and well bunkered and none of my playing group scored well on them.

The 6th hole is interesting as it is protected to its front by a wide ravine and gulley that is difficult to access. It attracted several tee shots causing a slight delay as we negotiated the penalty shots.  

A large artificial lake affects play at a couple of holes early on the way home before the round concludes with the shortest par five on the card at the 460-metre 18th, providing a late birdie opportunity for those who can avoid the strategically positioned fairway bunkers.

The Clubhouse & Overall Experience

The clubhouse experience was excellent with superb food and friendly staff offering home cooked, locally produced food of the highest quality. 

A review of the Golfshake data and reviews revealed that 100% of those reviewers would recommend a visit to a friend or would return for another visit. These are reviews by golfers, for golfers, and I could find no reason to argue against the findings.

The clubhouse was welcoming and comfortable with superb quality, locally produced fayre offered with a smile. The staff at the venue were excellent and handled what was clearly a very busy day with a press group and visiting societies with aplomb.

I will return to Secret Valley as it took away my ‘A’ game for the day. Even with this handicap it was still a highly enjoyable golfing experience.

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