It’s where the European Challenge Tour plays out to a dramatic climax every year, but if you are a keen golfer, you too need to get on the road to Mallorca.
Sunshine, great food, superb golf courses, stunning views of the Mediterranean and a little bit of wind to keep you honest, Mallorca should be high on any list of golf trips for 2024.
Perhaps not as well-known as the Andalucía region of Southern Spain, Mallorca still packs a worthy punch with Pula Golf and Club de Golf Alcanada.
PULA GOLF RESORT
Free unlimited golf (booking the room with golf included)
Pula Golf Resort, run by general manager, Arnaud Sala, is situated in one of the most beautiful and peaceful spots on the island and is the perfect combination of old and new.
Built on the site of an old manor house that dates back to 1581, it has been converted into a luxury hotel and country club, with each suite designed like a mini apartment overlooking the Mediterranean.
Guests are greeted with a typically friendly Mallorcan welcome and can look forward to some exquisite food before and after golf with every meal on the menu in the S’era de Pula restaurant a product of farm to fork.
The golf club is perhaps where we see the blend of old and new come together the most as this classic Spanish parkland design incorporates a traditional golfing test of accuracy off the tee and skill around the greens.
Despite being a relatively new golf course, built in 1995, this 2004-06 José Maria Olazabal re-design has an old style feel and is worthy of the European Tour events it has previously hosted.
An undulating golf course where you can’t see the green from the tee on most holes, the reward for climbing the hills are multiple breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape.
Short by modern standards at 6830 yards, there are several holes where driver is not necessary, meaning you are often hitting a mid-to-long iron for your approach shots and the steep hills provide an extra defence for the shorter holes on the golf course.
Pula Golf has a large, two-level state of the art driving range, one of them covered with a roof. Two practice putting greens accompany a short game area, including three pitching greens and a large chipping green.
Pula Golf also offers a golf academy and a fitness centre.
Mallorca may be an island in the heart of the Mediterranean but Pula is its own oasis, combining both the magnificent countryside and coastal views.
It is no surprise that Pula Golf has been nominated in multiple categories at the 2023 World Golf Awards.
CLUB DE GOLF ALCANADA
Green fee: €110-200. Junior 18-hole green fee €45
Where dreams are literally made.
The Challenge Tour’s Order of Merit season-long rankings, the ‘Road to Mallorca’, comes to its exciting conclusion at this magnificent venue.
Staying in the Viva Hotel, just fifteen minutes from the golf course, this offers the ideal location for a family holiday with some golf thrown in.
Viva Hotel ticks all the boxes as a luxurious destination close to Mallorca’s gorgeous beaches and stunning golf courses while catering to all the family with various forms of entertainment on site as well as an ‘all you can eat’ buffet!
Viva Hotels have an agreement with all the top golf courses in Mallorca, including Club de Golf Alcanada, so it is a no brainer make this your base if you’re visiting on a golf trip.
Club de Golf Alcanada is a tremendous golf course and a fitting host venue for some of Europe’s top young talents.
Director of Golf, Kristoff Both was extremely welcoming upon our arrival at the Challenge Tour Grand Final, and also made sure we were well catered for when we played the golf course on the Monday after the final round.
Club de Golf Alcanada is the true Mediterranean golf experience. Opened in 2003, this Robert Trent Jones Jr design is perched beautifully along the Mediterranean coastline of the Alcúdia peninsula and with panoramic views overlooking Alcúdia Bay to the south and the greater Med to the east.
The golf course is a sharp contrast to Pula Golf Resort. A wider landscape off the tee allows the golfer to open the shoulders with the driver, with the defence of the course provided by the devilishly quick and heavily undulating putting surfaces.
Golfers can enjoy a typically intimate Mallorcan setting, with old olive and pine trees and natural wooded areas framing the holes.
When Irish Golfer Magazine visited the golf course for the Challenge Tour Grand Final, mother nature tried to wreak havoc with high winds and thunderstorms, but in a stroke of fortune, when we played the golf course the day after the event it was in pristine condition with no hint of any previously adverse weather conditions.
The majority of the front nine plays away from the famous lighthouse and the Mediterranean, but once you turn for the ninth hole, the golf course hugs the coastline providing breathtaking views and the most memorable collection of golf holes, though there isn’t a weak hole on the entire golf course.
It is worth bringing a number of balls onto the par-5 13th tee. One for the tees of choice on the day and some for the very back tee markers which are situated on a balcony type tee box overlooking the mediterranean sea.
It is one of the best views in golf, with the pine trees acting as a corridor to frame the fairway and the lighthouse acting as both a beautiful landmark and starting line from the tee.
Rated as the easiest hole on the golf course, it offers a good birdie opportunity and one that will remain long in the memory bank.
From there, the finishing stretch is played along the Mediterranean coast, with a driveable par-4 thrown in for good measure. The long par-3 17th provides a late test before the 18th lends itself to a thrilling finale where players can flirt with glory and disaster.
It is easy to see why Club de Golf Alcanada is a fitting location for a dramatic finale to the Challenge Tour.
The course also caters to all levels of golf with five tee markers to play from, making it a challenge for the elite player all the way to the beginner.
Spain is already a popular destination for golf tourism and has long been a firm favourite for Irish players, and if you’re planning your next trip abroad, Mallorca should be at the top of your hit list!
Leave a comment