©Photogolfer/Dreamstime.com

Passion could be Spain’s middle name given its unbridled enthusiasm for
colorful bullfights, flashy flamenco dancers, sun-drenched beaches and majestic
landscapes. Spain also caters to another global passion — golf. With one
of the highest concentrations of fairways in Europe, Spain weighs in as a leading
golf getaway, luring golfers with literally hundreds of courses. Like so many
other European countries, Spain’s history also includes golf, with the
first golf course constructed in 1891 in Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Islands.

Offering more than 300 days a year of pleasant Mediterranean weather and geographically
diverse scenery, Mother Nature smiles on Spain. Golfers can swing their clubs
almost any day on backdrops ranging from the rolling green hills in the north
to the hundreds of sun-drenched beaches in the south.

Spain’s uniqueness also includes an alluring treasure chest of history
and architecture. No matter where the golfer decides to play, chances are sightings
will range from Roman relics to Muslim palaces and from proud, solitary castles
to medieval towns. Spain’s long history is also displayed within its prehistoric
cave paintings, Moorish palaces and Gothic and Renaissance cathedrals, often
merging with modern Spanish architecture. This mingling of cultures is largely
due to Spain’s prime location on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic
Ocean.

The best approach to playing golf in Spain while pursuing non-golf experiences
is to divide and conquer. With 400 courses to choose from, many of them championship,
it’s not possible to swing your clubs at them all.

Perhaps you’d like to begin in Barcelona, one of Spain’s busiest
Mediterranean ports and a city packed with 2,000 years of history. Enjoy a day
or two of exploring and then pack your clubs and drive north to the Costa Brava
courses.

Maybe you prefer the beaches of southern Spain along Costa del Sol. There are
plenty of courses here, too. Or if you still crave the pulse of a city and the
allure of its nightlife, stay in Madrid while enjoying championship golf nearby.

It’s all possible. No matter where you swing your clubs, you can have
your golf, eat well, stay in amazing accommodations and benefit from centuries
of Spanish hospitality.

One of Spain’s emerging golf regions despite substantial tourism, Costa Brava
is located along the border of France and in the shadow of the Pyrenees Mountains,
also easily accessible from the U.K. and Ireland. You’ll travel along
the renowned rugged coasts, crystal waters and sandy beaches north of Barcelona
and pass through medieval villages like Girona. The majority of courses here
are within close proximity to the city’s airport, including the famous
PGA Golf de Catalunya.

The Pyrenees peaks are best enjoyed when teeing up on one of the fairways of
the Golf de Catalunya’s two 18-hole courses. The first and only Spanish
ETC course (Europe’s version of the Tournament Players Club), Catalunya
is currently ranked among the world’s top 100 golf courses. But don’t
let the beauty of the course distract you. Your game will be tested with trees
crowding the fairways, strategically placed bunkers and tempting lakes. Daring
golfers will find trouble on the third hole — the par-5, 489-yard hole
requires a long drive down a tree-lined fairway to a green lined by risks on
both sides, including three bunkers on the right and a lake on the left.

The first continental European golf course designed by Greg Norman is the Real
Club de Golf El Prat, located 30 minutes from Barcelona. Golfers choose from
five nine-hole courses where each swing is different from the last. This uniquely
Norman course is built into the diverse landscape of forests, open spaces, grain
fields, hills, ravines, drops and naturally large and rolling greens. Earlier
this year, El Prat was the venue for the Spanish Open.

Costa del Sol is so famous for its golf courses that it has earned the nickname
“Costa del Golf.” With dozens of worthy courses within driving distance,
golfers could spend their entire vacation here. No need to check the weather,
as this area gets an average of 327 sunny days a year. And then there’s
the warmth of the locals, a rich cultural heritage, fabulous beaches and charming
villages. Well-known golf architects have made their mark on Spanish golf, and
Costa del Sol is one of their favorite regions.

Costa del Sol’s legendary reputation heated up when the region played
host to the Volvo Masters and the Ryder Cup at the Valderrama Golf Club and
Real Club de Golf Sotogrande. Both courses were designed by Robert Trent Jones,
Sr., yet they are very different.

Located in Andalusia, the largest and southernmost region of Spain, just 90
minutes from Málaga, the Valderrama Golf Club is one of the top 50 courses
in the world. Legendary golfers have struggled here, including Tiger, who plunked
his ball in the 17th hole’s front pond three out of four times on this
par 5 in the 1999 WGC-American Express Championship. Tree-lined fairways, talcum-white
bunkers and centuries-old cork trees set the stage for a challenging game. A
private course, Valderrama offers limited tee times to visitors, well worth
the additional effort.

Another top 10 course in Europe, the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande is located
close to the beachfront between the Guadiaro River and Sotogrande Marina. Its
first professional event was the 1966 Spanish Open, just two years after it
was built. The course boasts mature vegetation with pine, cork oak, eucalyptus
and giant palm trees. Firsts at Sotogrande were the use of Bermuda grass on
the fairways and white crushed marble in the bunkers. The greens are large and
the tees long at Sotogrande Old, as the locals call this course, and it can
be daunting. The 417-yard dogleg left on Hole 7 gives players a green guarded
by sands, trees and water, while the back nine’s lucky 13 is a 181-yard,
par 3 with a water-guarded green. An adjacent nine-hole, par-3 course, accented
by dark green trees of the Guadiaro River Valley and distant sierras, might
be the first stop to perfect your game.

Higher handicappers might want to begin at the San Roque Club in the foothills
of the Sierra Bermeja, where the mountains meet the sea. The club offers some
of the best onsite facilities in the south including two contrasting, challenging
but more forgiving courses. Designed by Dave Thomas, the bunkers were later
redesigned by legendary Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros. The challenges of the
Old Course’s front nine are the fairways lined with cork trees leading
into more water hazards on the back. The New Course is a 2003 Perry Dye design,
and your play is rewarded with scenic views while swinging your way through
oversized, steep bunkers and large greens reminiscent of a links course, although
it is a parkland.

Many consider the Real Club de Golf Las Brisas, another Robert Trent Jones,
Sr., design, one of the most underrated — even considering its dramatic
mountain views, water-laden holes and more than a hundred varieties of trees
from around the world, including rare African acacias on the left of 17. Bing
Crosby loved to walk this course, and you’ll see why on the lovely Hole
11, a 206-yard wonder with a high risk of getting your ball wet with the water
stretching from the green’s front center to left side.

The Spanish capital since 1561, Madrid may not be as architecturally inspiring
or enthusiastically historic as other Spanish cities, but it is no less fiercely
proud of its heritage. There’s something contagious about this Spanish
city that wraps around you and makes you want to stay. The pulse of this city
begins with its people and its blend of cultures and colors, then transforms
into its adrenalin-spiked bullfighting, dazzling art galleries, infectious nightlife
and live music, fine restaurants and tapas bars, and a banquet of golf courses.

Built at the beginning of the 20th century, the Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro
golf course is located a few miles northwest of Madrid and is one of Spain’s
oldest and most exclusive clubs, incorporating an oak forest. Golfers must be
accompanied by a member here, although flexibility is given to professionals.
A chance to play at the two 18-hole courses, Abajo and Arriba, is well worth
the extra effort. Both courses test your skills by starting with one of the
four par 3s — and at 175 yards, no matter how you slice it, you’re
in for a challenging par.

In the heart of Madrid, golfers are drawn to the convenience of Club de Campo
Villa de Madrid, a public 36-hole facility. The Black is a Javier Arana 18-hole
course design and a regular European tour venue, built on dramatic terrain and
noted for its creative designs with tumbling ground contours and greenside bunkering.
Notable holes are the par-5 fourth hole with a first shot up over a hill, then
twisting toward a narrow, three-tiered green; and the ninth hole, a par 3 that
plays across treetops down into a deep ravine. Its finishing 18th fairway dips
from the tee, then rises up through bunkers toward the green.

Get your Jack Nicklaus fix at Golf La Moraleja, two 18-hole courses located
west of Madrid Airport. Moraleja I is a challenging 18 holes with Nicklaus’
signature narrow fairways, fast greens and numerous lakes. Your game will step
up a notch when approaching the par-5 18th hole’s tight fairway (out of
bounds both left and right) and large lake guarding the green. A Golden Bear
design, the Moraleja II is a stadium course featuring three lakes, including
the 16th’s peninsula green.