Spain is undoubtedly a sports lovers paradise. The spirit and passion exhibited by the success of that country’s national team and its soccer clubs, the zeal seen when Rafa Nadal wins at Rolland Garros and the enthusiasm when Alonso pops up champagne on the Formula 1 podium.
Websites like The Spain Event help making your holiday the best it can be, so whilst youre away why dont you delve into some sport and unwind? Aside from all that, Spain has a very romantic affair with golf. This affair started when the then young Seve Ballesteros briskly walked onto the tee in the seventies and wielded his chauffer with the same dash of Zorro’s sword.
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Golf in Madrid- some local heroes
After Seve’s trail blazer, an array of Spanish golfing giants have come through the ranks and each of them is defined by their unique style and character for instance the extra emotional Garcia, the graceful Gimenez and the genius Olazabal among others.
With such interesting and rich golfing heritage, it is highly expected that the country possesses a range of amazing venues that will give you the perfect environment to put your golfing skills to the test. There are numerous championship courses across the country without forgetting the popular island hotspots that offer you amazing challenges and day outs for golfers of different caliber.
Below, we are going to take a sneak peek of some of the best courses around Madrid which are a perfect opportunity to blend amazing golf with a weekend of city based outing in the capital of Spain.
Centro Nacional De Golf
This course that is within easy reach of the city and it is a popular course for both the locals and tourists. It offers a fair challenge to all as well as breath taking views of the city. It is made up of an undulating parkland course of 6622 meters long with a clubhouse that looks down at the final holes to create a perfect auditorium feel to the close. It is worth noting that this course hosted the 2009 Madrid masters.
Club De Campo, Villa Madrid
Located on the periphery of the city, it is one of the most famous sports club in the whole country with an astonishing membership of over ten thousand people enjoying numerous facilities such as tennis, hockey, diving, equestrianism and lastly golf.
This venue has two championship courses that have hosted several European Tour Events for over forty years for instance eight Spanish Opens. This is the course where the late Ballesteros won his fiftieth and final tour event in the year 1993. This is a standout memory to note since Ballesteros has helped design some part of the Amarillo course
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If you stay in Madrid than the rich history of the venue and the quality levels of the course and its amenities make it something you need to add on your program.
El Encin
This course is located a bit far from the capital precisely about twenty miles away. It is undoubtedly a state of the art and challenging course that any golf lover would like. It is designed to address all the standards as the course ranges from the enormous ones ( more than 7500 yards away from the back tees) to the more average ones (5400 yards).
It is known as a high quality course for the people visiting the city as it is set in serene and quiet surroundings that offer a perfect day out from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Santander
This is the other course that is linked to Seve since he co designed it with the help of Rees Jones. This is one of the courses that is known as one of the leading golfing courses in Spain. Just like El Encin, it offers different standards with up to six distinct settings. It is also almost the longest course in the whole country.
Regardless of its young age since it was opened in 2005, it is growing fast especially in terms of reputation and it is proving a popular golfers paradise to people visiting Madrid.
A beautiful park setting with the ever growing trees piling up the challenge and appeal, this is a course that in some years is hoping to challenge the likes of Valderrama as the leading course in Europe.