Empordà Golf Resort - world-class golf near Girona

Golf has been played on the Costa Brava since the 1960s. There are also several resorts on offer. One of the best known and best in the region is Empordà Golf, which opened its doors in 2006. The resort has two magnificent 18-hole championship courses designed by Robert van Hagge, who also designed the Old Course at the exclusive private club Les Bordes and the Ryder Cup course at Le Golf National (2018). The "Terraverda" hotel is located directly opposite the clubhouse and has 86 rooms, many with a view of the golf course. It takes around 15 minutes to get from the complex to the sea and is therefore an excellent place to combine golf with swimming, making the Empordà ideal for family vacations including the beach (there are special family rooms). Four-legged companions are also very welcome in the hotel and its restaurants as well as on the two golf courses. Other facilities include a pool, conference rooms, a fitness room and massages.

Parkland golf par excellence on the Forest Course

The Forest Course was opened in 1988 and is a Par-72 course with a length of up to 6,200 meters. The 18 holes run beautifully through a partly very dense pine forest, which always provides cooling shade, especially on very sunny days. Golfers can choose from five different tee boxes. Anyone familiar with van Hagge's courses knows that he alternates challenging ball positions with elevation changes and water - and this course is no exception. The dense pine forest has a pleasant additional effect: you often have the impression of being completely alone on the course, as the trees separate the fairways visually and acoustically. When there are no trees limiting the view, you have great views of the surrounding mountains.

The Par-3 on hole 2, with its elevated green bordered on the right by lush bunkers, shows that the course has its pitfalls. The second Par-3 on hole 5 also has difficult green bunkers. A highlight is the Par-4 on hole 6: a horseshoe-shaped water hazard separates the Fairway from the green and therefore requires a high approach. This pond must also be played over on the following Par-5, which is up to 566 meters long, then directly from the Tee. Hole 9 also offers a peninsula green and, as a double dogleg, also has plenty of bunkers. On the second nine, fairway 11, a dogleg left, is memorable with its steep wall-like raised bunkers in the bend of the fairway, while the fairway of the par-4 on fairway 15 is partly reminiscent of the fairground attraction "The Caterpillar". The bunker landscape in front of the 16th green and the bunker and solitary tree to the left of the 17th are also wonderful. The 18th, a long par-4, brings water into play again over the entire length of the course; the green, which is offset to the right, must also be played over water and is framed by mighty bunkers at the front and back.

Links golf feeling in Catalonia

The Dunes Course is a mixture of links and heathland golf and is therefore much more open than the Forest Course. This van Hagge design was also opened in 1988 and plays as a Par-71 over a maximum of 6,300 meters. The course is slightly less undulating than the Forest Course and the bunkers are more typical of Heathland; fortunately, you won't find any deep pot bunkers here. However, the architect repeatedly brings water into play here too. The Fairways, some of which are clearly undulating, also ensure that balls often take an unexpected direction after landing. The Par-5 on the 8th and the long Par-4 on the 9th are particularly beautiful and challenging, where water comes into play again, and on the ninth it separates the green from the Fairway. On the back nine, a small stone bridge on hole 10 is reminiscent of the Swilcan Bridge in the Home of Golf. The 11th is a typical van Hagge Par-3, where the green carry is to be played over water. After a few more very successful holes, the round ends parallel to the final hole of the Forest Course, only now it runs to the right of the pond and turns left towards the flag - again in combination with numerous bunkers.

The Empordà Golf Resort is ideal as a base for a short golf break and as a starting point for further excursions, both to other golf courses (there are other courses within less than an hour's drive) and to the Catalonian coast. The price-performance ratio is excellent and the service is very courteous.