Roda Golf's Kids' Club: A Parent's Guide to July 2026 Camps

Half past nine on a July morning, and the car park outside Roda Golf's clubhouse is already rammed with estate cars sporting British plates, boots flung open, sun cream and swimming costumes spilling onto the tarmac. Somewhere behind the pro shop, a group of kids in matching neon T-shirts is chanting something about pirates, and one small girl in wellies (in thirty-five degree heat, bless her) is refusing to let go of her mum's leg. Ten minutes later she's belly-laughing on a bouncy castle and nobody's thinking about wellies again.

This is Roda Golf's Kids' Club in July, and if you've never sent your children through those clubhouse doors before, you're in for a pleasant surprise. I've watched three summers of camps come and go from my terrace nearby, and I've picked up a fair few things the resort's own brochures gloss over.

What July Camp Actually Looks Like

The club runs weekday mornings, generally from nine or half nine until one, which lines up nicely with a front nine round or a lazy poolside coffee if you're staying in one of the holiday rentals near Roda Golf. Groups are split roughly by age, with the little ones (four to seven) doing craft tables, treasure hunts around the gardens, and water play that keeps them cool without anyone needing a full swimming session. The older kids, eight upwards, get football on the practice fairway, mini tennis, and on a good week, a junior golf taster session with one of the coaches, plastic clubs and all.

What nobody tells you is that the themes rotate weekly rather than daily, so a "pirates and treasure" week means five days of the same storyline building on itself, which the kids genuinely love. By Friday they're not just doing a treasure hunt, they're finishing one they started Monday. It's a small thing but it makes a real difference to how invested they get.

The Heat Factor

July in Murcia is not July in Surrey. The club wisely keeps the middle of the day, roughly noon onwards, for shaded or indoor activities, and staff are strict about hats and sun cream reapplication. Still, I'd pack a spare bottle of factor fifty in your child's bag regardless of what's already been applied at breakfast. The Spanish sun by eleven o'clock does not mess about, and a coach reapplying it once for twenty children isn't the same as a parent doing it properly.

Insider Tips the Brochure Won't Give You

Book your week before the previous one finishes if you can. Spaces fill up fast in the school holiday crush, especially the second and third weeks of July when half of Santiago de la Ribera and Los Alcázares seems to have the same idea. I've heard more than one parent turned away at the door on a Monday morning because they assumed they could just turn up.

Ask about sibling discounts even if they're not advertised anywhere obvious. It's the kind of thing that gets sorted with a quiet word at reception rather than a line item on a price sheet.

If your child gets tired easily in the heat, request the morning-only sessions rather than the full day, even if it costs slightly more per hour. The afternoon slot on the hottest weeks tends to be quieter and more subdued, which is fine for some kids but a bit of a letdown for the ones who thrive on the group energy of the morning.

And here's the one genuinely locals-only tip: the club occasionally runs a Thursday evening "family fun" hour that isn't part of the official camp programme, more of an informal kickabout and ice lolly session by the practice green as the heat drops off. It's not on any poster. You find out about it by asking the staff directly or chatting to other parents at pickup.

Making a Week of It

Most families I know treat camp week as the anchor for a proper Costa Cálida holiday rather than a standalone activity. Mornings at the club, afternoons at the Mar Menor beaches or one of the Los Alcázares chiringuitos for a lazy lunch, evenings on the paseo watching the sun go down over the water. If you're weighing up where to base yourselves, our guide to the Roda Golf area covers the practical side, from beach distances to the Wednesday market in San Javier that's worth timing a free afternoon around.

For the golfing half of the family, camp mornings are the perfect excuse to sneak in eighteen holes without the guilt. Roda's own course rewards an early tee time before the heat properly sets in, and if you fancy comparing notes with other courses nearby, our rundown of the golf courses around Roda is worth a browse before you commit to a tee sheet for the week.

If you're still deciding whether to bring the kids along at all this summer, or you want to check current camp dates and pricing before booking flights, it's worth a quick message through our enquiry page rather than guessing. Availability shifts week to week in peak season, and a five minute reply can save you turning up to a fully booked Monday.

Watching that wellington-boot girl from the car park tearing round the garden two hours later, sun cream reapplied, pirate bandana slightly askew, it struck me that this is really what July at Roda is about. Not the golf, not even the beach. Just kids being loose and happy somewhere warm, while the adults get a morning that feels like an actual holiday. For more on what else the area offers families this summer, have a look through our family guides on the blog.