(YourGolfTravel.com)
I’VE NEVER BEEN TO SPAIN. But if I were lucky enough to be considering European golf holidays, I’ve been informed that Spain’s PGA Golf Catalunya in Girona should be on the short list. The very short list.
The site of the recent Spanish Open, PGA Golf Catalunya’s Stadium Course was ranked No. 3 in Europe by Golf Monthly.
Former Ryder Cup player and European Tour veteran Thomas Levet is definitely smitten.
“I love PGA Golf de Catalunya,” Levet said. “It is my favourite course in Spain. It would be an ideal Ryder Cup venue.”
The fact that the Frenchman recently won the Spanish Open on the Stadium Course with an 18-under-par total certainly must have deepened the romance. It was Levet’s fifth European Tour title. American John Daly, who is serving a six-month PGA Tour suspension by playing European Tour events, finished in a tie for 31st place.
Actually, PGA Golf Catalunya was conceived by the European Tour as a venue for the 1997 Ryder Cup matches, but was bypassed due to construction delays. The project was overseen by the design team of Angel Gallardo and Neil Coles, a former European Tour pro with five top tens in The Open Championship. Later this year PGA Golf Catalunya will host the 2009 European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage.
European Ryder Cupper Soren Hansen compared the Stadium Course to America’s pristine fairways.
“We always talk about the wonderful conditions of golf courses in America,” Hansen said, “but now we play in the same great conditions in Europe, and PGA Golf Catalunya is a great example.”
The 36-hole golf resort (the other, less-challenging 18 is the Tour Course) includes a luxury hotel, and is located a relatively short distance from two airports (one is just five minutes away), including Barcelona International Airport.
−The Armchair Golfer
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(Sources included: PGA Golf Catalunya press materials via Landmark Media International for quotes and other information)
I’ve never been to Spain either! You don’t see Spain and golf together often, and this is something new. I’d definitely consider this for a golfing vacation, thanks!
I’ve played golf in Germany, Ireland and Greece back in the 70s and at that time neither Germany nor Ireland had much to offer. Greece, at least at the Athen’s Course, had the finest course I’d played up until that time (go figure). I suspect most of them are equal now to most of the what the US has to offer.
I would love to play in Spain, but first I’ll have to tee it up in the British Isles.