For many years now Spain has been synonymous with holiday golf.
In the deep South of the country the courses along the Costa del
Sol are extremely well frequented by all standards of European golfers.
We, however, have looked further afield, searching for tranquillity
and superb quality courses that are, as yet, largely undiscovered.
However, with these courses recently appearing in the Golf World
European Top 100 it is clear that now is the time to play in the
real Spain – before the rush...
Food and wine are hugely important to the Spanish where both fresh fish and seafood are very much in evidence along
fine hams, olives and cheeses. The provinces of Rioja and Navarra,
well known for their rounded, oaky wines, are not far distant but
there are many other, more local, wines of note: those from Penedes
and Arragon are particularly worthy of investigation.
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The North-Eastern corner of Spain clings fervently
to its past and retains a distinct identity complete with its own
language – Catalan, which is more widely used here than Spanish.
There are indeed some large resort style towns along the beautiful
Mediterranean coast but these are predominately to be found further
south towards Barcelona. Contrastingly, the villages east of Girona
are by and large either small fishing villages or medieval walled
towns sitting on hilltops dominating the fertile, sun-drenched plains.
One does not have to sail too far east from Barcelona before the Balearic islands are reached. Theie reputation is one of wild partying, but in truth away from a couple of scary corners the majority of Mallorca is quiet and calm. Here there are an extraordinary number of golf courses, all of a very good standrd. If you have always dismissed Mallorca as a youthful den of iniquity, then maybe it's time to reconsider.
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