G OL F
78
FROM LEFT: Club de Golf La Dehesa; Real Sociedad Hipica
Espanola FAR RIGHT, TOP AND
BOTTOM: Golf Santander
CLUB DE GOLF LA DEHESA WHERE IS IT? 30km west of Madrid WHAT’S IT LIKE? For a British club golfer, this is the perfect home from home. Te relaxed members’ club welcomes strangers with an absence of airs and graces – by no means always the case in a country where protocol can prevail. Te walkable layout rambles across open countryside, the stands of pines interspersed with deciduous trees. For the first-timer, hole 1, a short downhill par-4 with card-wrecking potential in the form of an angled blind shot across a ravine to the green, comes as a bit of a shock. Negotiate it and the way is clear for the rest of a benign front nine along the river. Te fairways are wide, the water fowl at peace and the
views of the snowy Sierra de Guadarrama outstanding. Beware complacency: Manuel Pinero, one of Spain’s leading golf architects, ramps up the technical challenge on the back nine. A horseshoe lake provides a spectacular climax to both loops, although the tee shot to the island green at the 18th is more likely to end up in the water. CONTACT Avenida Universidad 10, 28691 Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid; tel +34 (0) 91 815 7022;
golfladehesa.es PRICE 18 holes weekdays €50, weekends €85, with member €27/€45. Buggy €28; club hire €35 (Callaway). CLUB HOURS Weekdays from 9am summer, 9.30am winter; weekends 7am summer, 8am winter. MAXIMUM HANDICAP 36 recommended.
MAR CH 20 19
FACILITIES 18 holes, 6,037m, par 72. Driving range, practice area and putting green. AFTER THE GOLF La Dehesa has a traditional 19th hole in the form of a semicircular bar with high stools and zinc-topped tables. Breakfast from 9am; three- course lunch with drink and coffee €25. Restaurant open until 9.30pm. La Dehesa has tennis, squash and padel courts, a football pitch, kids’ play areas and a pool.
REAL SOCIEDAD HIPICA ESPANOLA WHERE IS IT? 30km north of Madrid WHAT’S IT LIKE? Te Sociedad Hipica Club de Campo opened as an equestrian centre in 1901, attaining royal status when golf was incorporated seven years later. At the end of the Spanish Civil War, the clubs merged, eventually finding a permanent home near the Escorial in 1990. US architect Robert von Hagge used every trick in the design book to devise two superb courses on hilly terrain. Te snow-capped sierra provides a magnificent backdrop to multi-level fairways and tight, hostile greens. Campo Norte, host to the Spanish Open in 2007, is
the more prestigious. Laid out in two loops of nine with long walks from green to tee, it is a buggy must for all but the most resolute pedestrians. Doglegs dominate, putting a premium on club selection and strategy. Tere are four large lakes on the back nine, but the front nine sets more subtle traps, notably on the 4th, where a creek
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