Top 20 golf courses in Spain

Blessed with a superb year-round climate and terrain of great variation, Spanish golf courses are among the best in Europe. Here’s All Square’s countdown of the top 20 golf courses in Spain.

Our list includes legendary venues such as Real Club Valderrama, Camiral and Finca Cortesin – but which comes out on top?

20: Real Sociedad de Golf de Neguri

Algorta

Real Sociedad de Golf de Neguri is a fun course for all levels of golfer that sits 60 metres above sea-level with several holes running along cliff-tops overlooking the Cantabrian Sea.

19: San Roque Club – New Course

San Roque

Designed by Pete Dye with his signature features of big bunkers, large greens and railway sleepers adorning the course, San Roque has hosted the DP World Tour Qualifying School.

18: Infinitum Golf – Hills

Tarragona

Varied and challenging, Infinitum offers stunning views across the Mediterranean, with fairways that run through thick pine and olive woodland.

17: Abama Golf

Guia De Isora

Beautifully conditioned with endless sea views and elevated tees. Draped across natural undulations, Abama is set alongside banana plantations with over 25,000 palm trees and 22 lakes.

16: T Golf Calvia

Mallorca

T Golf Calvia is one of the most popular courses in Mallorca, around 12km from Palma. Wide fairways make for a fun and accessible challenge and the course runs through rolling hills, pines, lakes, bunkers and the biggest greens on the island. A highly enjoyable parkland layout and the views are gorgeous, set between the Mediterranean the Tramuntana Mountains.

15: Club de Golf Alcanada

Puerto de Alcudia

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr, Alcanada sits on the northern tip of Majorca. Perfectly manicured and the elevated tees add to the excitement as do two reachable par 5s and four entertaining par 3s, two of them over 200 yards.

14: San Roque Club – Old Course

San Roque

Designed by Dave Thomas with help from Tony Jacklin, San Roque Old Course sits on raised ground with panoramic vistas. The front nine is especially good and it hosted the 2005 Spanish Open.

13: Club de Campo Villa de Madrid – Black Course

Madrid

Great course due to dramatic terrain and some sound design work from Spain’s most decorated golf architect, Javier Arana. Bunker restyling from Manuel Pinero has improved the Black Course at Villa de Madrid even further.

12: Real Club Sevilla Golf

Alcala de Guadaira

Designed by Jose Maria Olazabal, this is a demanding but highly enjoyable course with more than 10,000 trees. Sevilla Golf has hosted the WCG World Cup and Spanish Open.

11: Real Club de Golf Las Brisas

Nueva Andalucía, Marbella

Robert Trent Jones Snr. design given a facelift by Kyle Phillips in 2014. Las Brisas is a hilly course with an American feel due to its abundant water hazards and extensive bunkering.

10: Real Club de Golf El Prat – Pink Course

Barcelona

Incredible 45-hole golf complex designed by Greg Norman. The two nines that make up the Pink Course were his favourite. The front nine through pine forests and a more open back nine with great views offer tremendous variety.

9: Real Puerta de Hierro – Arriba Course

Madrid

Harry Colt design renovated by Kyle Phillips in 2000. Real Puerta de Hierro – Arriba Course is a minimalist layout with generous fairways, carefully positioned bunkers and well-defended large greens. Very few flat lies make it a demanding test and it’s in superb condition.

8: Real Puerta de Hierro – Abajo Course

Madrid

Robert Trent Jones Jnr. renovated Abajo Course in the late 1990s. A lengthy, testing and strategic layout with huge white sand bunker complexes and vast contoured greens throughout. Hosted the Madrid Open 19 times.

7: Son Gual Golf

Palma

Son Gual is a beautiful site looking out over Palma, Majorca’s capital. Bunkering is extensive and water is plentiful, but the hazards are out in the open, and those who can shoot straight will score well.

6: Finca Cortesin

Casares

Host of the 2023 Solheim Cup, this course by Cabell B. Robinson now has a new and exciting drivable par 4 opening hole. Finca is a highly manicured layout that weaves through a valley of olive trees and the views of the Casares Mountains from its hilltop position are stunning.

5: Golf Santander

Madrid

Opened in 2005, Rees Jones worked with Spanish superstar Seve Ballesteros to create a first-rate tournament-ready layout on a site just outside the nation’s capital. Thousands of trees and shrubs and abundant ponds and creeks will keep you on your toes.

4: La Reserva Sotogrande

Sotogrande

Designed by Cabell B. Robinson in 2003, La Reserva is a fun challenge with wide fairways, various water features, large undulating greens and panoramic views. Joint host of the 2021 ARAMCO Team Series, a professional golf event on the Ladies European Tour.

3: Parador de El Saler

Valencia

Some holes are flanked by beautiful pines, some by towering sand dunes and others up and down hills. Former host of the Spanish Open on the DP World Tour, El Saler has a few pot bunkers which add to the links-like feel at some holes.

2: Camiral Golf & Wellness – Stadium Course

Girona

Opened in 1999, this parkland/woodland layout designed by Angel Gallardo hosted the Spanish Open on the DP World Tour in 2000, 2009 and 2014. Camiral is a beautiful course with pretty lakes framed by pine trees and the Pyrenees mountains. Elevated tees offer incredible vistas.

1: Real Club Valderrama

Sotogrande

Host of the historic 1997 Ryder Cup when Team Europe led by Seve Ballesteros beat Team USA, Valderrama is stunningly beautiful and kept in immaculate condition. The par 5 4th which plays past a pond to a double-tiered green, and the par 5 17th with a green that slopes down to an emerald lake will live long in the memory. Fantastic.