Secret Valley

The verdict

Cyprus has a small but excellent stable of courses, and Secret Valley earns its place by being unlike anything else on the island. Where Aphrodite Hills next door is all sweeping plateau and ravine carry, Secret Valley funnels you down into a narrow, almost enclosed valley, with rocky outcrops, pine and citrus, and an intimacy that makes it feel a world away from the coast it sits beside. It was only the second grass course built in Cyprus when it opened in 1996, and it has been a local favorite ever since.

A par 72 of close to 6,000 meters, it was given a significant rework in 2013 by Tony Jacklin and the team at Golf and Land Design, sharpening the greens and bunkering without losing the original drama of the land. The result is a course that asks for accuracy and clever shaping rather than brute length: the valley does the talking, and the golfer who keeps the ball in play and judges the elevation changes will score. Paired with Aphrodite Hills, Elea and Minthis, it completes a genuinely varied few days of golf in the Paphos hills.

The holes worth the trip

The defining feature of Secret Valley is elevation. Several tees are set high on the valley sides, so the opening exchanges send the ball plunging toward fairways far below, a thrilling and slightly vertiginous way to start a round. Reading those drops, and the way the wind behaves down in the gorge rather than up on the rim, is the whole puzzle of the course. Club selection here is rarely the number on the yardage book.

The par 3s are the standouts. Played across or along the valley, with the green tucked among trees or backed by rock, they reward a committed, well shaped iron and punish anything loose into the surrounding scrub. The par 5s tempt the bold with the chance to gain ground, but the fairways pinch and tilt, and the safe line is often the smart one. Throughout, the mature planting that has grown in over three decades frames every shot and keeps you honest off the tee.

It closes back near the clubhouse with the valley walls still close on either side, a fitting end to a round that never lets you forget where you are. It is not the longest or the most manicured course in Cyprus, but for sheer sense of place it is hard to beat, and it complements its illustrious neighbor rather than competing with it.

Where to stay nearby

The natural base is the Aphrodite Hills resort immediately next door, a self contained village of hotel rooms, villas and apartments wrapped around its own championship course, with Secret Valley a two minute drive away. It makes the most seamless stay and play option in this corner of Cyprus, and many golfers never need to move the car between rounds.

Alternatively, the town of Paphos and the coast road toward Coral Bay offer a wide spread of hotels and resorts within easy reach, letting you mix golf with the beaches, harbor and archaeology that make Cyprus such an easy sell to a mixed group. Either way you are within half an hour of every grass course on this side of the island.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Secret Valley.