Golf Holidays in Spain

Although not a traditional Spanish sport, golf is becoming increasingly more popular throughout the country. Several professional golfers, including Severiano Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia and José Maria Olazábal, are from Spain and have proven to be instrumental in promoting the sport within Spain, making it Europe’s premier golfing holiday destination. Of course, tourists from North America and the United Kingdom also enjoy a round of golf on holiday, so more and more golf holiday packages are being marketed.

The coastal area of Costa del Sol is the most popular golfing holiday destination in Spain simply because of the year round warm and relative dry weather, as well as the beautiful scenery. Even for non-golfing family members and friends, this is a perfect combination as golfers can spend the day on the links and the family can spend the day at the beach, shopping through the many villages and towns or visiting historical, cultural and family fun sites that are numerous along this stretch of coast.

The Costa de la Luz to the west, and the Costa Blanca on the eastern coast of Spain, also offer excellent golfing holiday packages as well as general vacation options for other members of the family. There are fewer golf courses towards the northern and central areas of the country - there are some golf courses located in these areas, but they are just not as numerous.

There are several golf resorts in Spain, such as the Islantilla Golf Resort Hotel, located near Seville and the La Torre Golf Resort located near San Javier and Alicante Airport. The La Torre Golf Resort is a Jack Nicklaus golf course that is the largest of its type in the world. In addition there are three other smaller golf resorts located just a few kilometers from La Torre. The nearby Mar Menor Golf Resort and Spa provides a challenging 9 hole course that is soon to be upgraded to a full 18 hole course also designed by Jack Nicklaus.

The La Quinta Resort, located on the Costa del Sol, is home to the La Quinta International Golf Academy and also provides three separate nine hole courses that can be played either separately or in different configurations. Lessons are available through the International Golf Academy and instructors are considered to be worldclass professionals. There are several golf courses in the area to add a different course to each day’s golfing experience.