Here's an excuse to visit Spain's Costa Del Sol next spring: the Costa Del Golf Challenge tournament

If you’ve been considering a Costa Del Sol golf vacation to Spain, here’s as good of an excuse as any to take the plunge:

The Costa Del Sol Golf Challenge, held March 9th-14th on four area golf courses around Marbella: Los Flamingos, Gran Flamingos, San Roque New Course and La Quinta. The format will be a four-man,l best ball 3/4 Stableford.

One golf package for the event that’s popped up on my radar from Simply Golf Holidays includes five nights accommodations at Hotel Andalucia Plaza, gala dinner, welcome reception, golf transfers and more for €680 (about $950).

And the good news is that right around mid-March is when the weather gets absolutely perfect for golf: 70s temps and loads of sunshine, but before the summer crowds come to Marbella and traffic gets a little hairy and hotel rates hit their peak.

The Costa Del Sol may seem exotic to Americans, but as golf destination it really isn’t all that expensive (save of course, upscale joints like Valderamma and new Finca Cortesin). This is mostly because there’s such an abundance here that you can pick how much you want to spend on golf and hotels. Costa Del Sol really is the Myrtle Beach of Europe, where buddies from the U.K. and Scandinavia often come once a year for a long weekend of golf and nightlife that won’t break the bank during their own snowy or rainy off-season.

In fact, this event is actually a bit similar in cost to the four-round World Amateur Handicap Championship in Myrtle Beach. The 2009 entry fee for that event was $550 for four rounds and 19th hole drinks and dinner nightly, plus lodging. A big difference is the World Am is held in August, which is low-season for the golf courses, while mid-March in the Costa Del Sol begins peak season for golf.

For those who plan on coming to this event from North America, you can fly direct into Malaga from JFK on Delta, and you’ll want to come a few days early or stick around afterwards to do some off-course exploring, whether that’s up into Ronda or to Malaga, Costa Del Sol’s capital, or old town Marbella and lively Puerto Banus (click here for my 18-point off-course guide). If your group is interested in area culinary or wine tours, talk to Sergio Rufio at Cooking Holidays Spain, a passionate, knowledgeable lover of area food and drink. After spending a day with him in Ronda, I know more about Andalucian cured meats than anyone ever needs to know…

If you’re interested in the competition, check out local tour operator Simply Golf Holidays for more information and booking info.

You can follow Brandon Tucker’s golf blog and more on Twitter: http://twitter.com/brandontucker or follow WorldGolf.com at Twitter.com/worldgolf . Have a golf travel question for Brandon? Email him by clicking here