Greetings,

I recently completed a 10 day golf road trip through beautiful Costa Brava, Spain. It was a road trip and encompassed everything I’d associate with the travel golf lifestyle and that is golf, good food, beautiful surroundings and good company.

The purpose of this post is to give you an idea about some of the different golf courses you can play should you do your own golf road trip in Costa Brava or just come visit and wish to play a round or two.

One thing you should know is that Costa Brava has a high concentration of golf courses so if you are doing a road trip, it’s not hard to play a lot of courses in a short amount of time. Also, you won’t use much gas!

We rented a small Kia hatchback which was perfect for the three of us on the trip and in total, over 10 days we used ~68E of gas which was quite ridiculous and goes to show how much great golf is packed into the region in close proximity. We didn’t drive the entire area of Costa Brava but we did cover all the major courses.

Before we go any further, know that I absolutely loved my time in Costa Brava and have been entertaining the idea of a European base for quite sometime. In order to be the base it needed to be somewhere I could play golf everyday, easily access the rest of Europe, be reasonably affordable, have a comfortable climate with good food and friendly people.

Costa Brava has quickly risen up the list and checks all the boxes. Of course, this is just at the idea phase but it’s definitely a strong contender.

Below is a list of the Costa Brava golf courses we played in the order we played them.

PGA Catalunya Resort

The PGA Catalunya Resort features two world class golf courses being The Stadium Course and the Tour Course all a short drive from Girona. The Stadium Course which was originally built for the Ryder Cup has been voted the number one golf course in Spain for the third year running. The Tour Course is a more relaxed course and gentle on the players. We played the Stadium Course and it wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination with lightening fast greens and plenty of trouble to punish an errant shot. That said we had an incredible time and it was a most memorable experience. It’s a challenging course so I’d recommend you play it near the end of your trip when you’re well in the swing of things opposed to the start.

Emporda Golf Resort

Next we played the Emporda Golf Resort which consists of two different courses being The Links Course and the Forest Course. The front 9 from both courses combined are often used for a European tour qualification and give you a great idea of what the resort has to offer. The Links Course as you’d assume is more wide open with big deep bunkers to remind you to swing slow, watch it go and make sure you keep it in play. The scenic Forest Course had some of the most beautiful holes in my opinion and as you can imagine, you’ d want to keep it in the fairway because an errant shot can quickly land you in some big trouble behind a row of mature trees. I really enjoyed this course and the Forest Course was my favourite.

Gualta Par 3 Pitch & Putt

Not far from Emporda and getting its name from the village it’s next to called Gualta, the Gualta Par 3 is a good time for the whole family and golfers of any skill level. It has a driving range, a sharp club professional and the course itself has some creative holes which will test your game.  Near the end, the holes get considerably longer and some awkward tee shots which require some serious precision if you’re looking to score well. The group I was with had a really fun time playing this course and if you’re doing a golf road trip yourself, I suggest you start at Gualta. Making this course your first round will get your wedges warmed up for what’s yet to come.

Golf Platja de Pals

What can I say about Golf Platja de Pals other than it could easily be my favourite course in Costa Brava? It is the oldest golf course in Costa Brava and was founded in 1966; in 1972 it hosted the first European PGA Tournament in Spain. Mature trees line the fairways, it’s a fair test of golf and in wonderful condition.

It also has a great driving range and old world feeling club house with comfy leather couches and a great patio to watch people tee off on the first or finish the 9th hole. It’s also got something for everyone, you’ll need to be wise with the wedge at times and if you’re a long hitter, you’ll love some of the ~500M par 5’s!

Club de Golf Costa Brava

Myself and the crew I was playing with really enjoyed Club de Golf Costa Brava. The course is quite old for the region being opened in 1968 and designed by Hamilton Stutt & Co. The front 9 is quite technical and surrounded by mature pine and cork oak trees. Due to the fact it’s carved out of a forest, it was quite punishing score wise for all missed shots, my favourite hole was the 3rd, a beautiful par 3. It’s a quaint private course with lots of elevation changes which accepts green fees year round and kept in very good condition. The clubhouse itself is a 1841 Catalan farmhouse which sort of sums up the type of character this course has.

Club Golf d’Aro Mas Nou

I absolutely loved Club Golf d’Aro Mas Nou from the moment I got there. It’s 300m above sea level on top of a hill which offers incredible views of the sea, lots of character, lots of elevation changes and a really beautiful firm but fair test of golf. The clubhouse is an old stone building and the course itself was kept in immaculate condition. This is one of those picturesque courses you’ll remember playing regardless of how you played. It’s also a course that looks nice but if you aren’t on your game you might not play so nice. I highly recommend this golf course and if you’re in Costa Brava it’s not to be missed.

TorreMirona Golf Club

The TorreMirona Golf Club is yet another beautiful resort course to play golf in Costa Brava. The course was rather open for the most part making it rather forgiving except for a few holes, namely the first where an errant tee shot could cause quite the headache. The course itself has wide greens, numerous lakes and is incredibly scenic with stellar views of the Pyrenees Mountains from many of the holes. Not only were the greens wide but in great shape and rolled true, which made putting quite a pleasurable instead of a painful experience. If you’ve always thought golfboard’s looked cool, consider trying one here as the pro shop has many to rent.

Peralada Golf Club

The Peralada Golf Club was the last course we played on this trip and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a resort course so you can pay green fees year round and a real mix of everything with some great views. The course also had plenty of big greens, open holes, tight holes, elevation changes, doglegs, lakes, you name it.  The most intriguing hole was the 18th which was a par 3 with a most daunting tee shot to say the least. That said, myself and the group I was playing with all managed to hit the green on the ~178m hole and walk away with a birdie and two pars. That type of finish is always a great way to end a round and in this case an epic golf road trip through Costa Brava, Spain.

I trust this post gives you an idea of what the golf courses are like in Costa Brava, Spain. To the best of my knowledge we played all the championship courses and there are many other par 3 pitch and putts in the region which aren’t mentioned here. Supposedly the pitch and putt scene is growing quickly for reasons I mentioned above when discussing Gualta and that’s because they are fun and accessible to people of all fitness skill levels.

Costa Brava is without a doubt a wonderful golf destination but it’s so much more. We went on this trip for the Costa Brava experience as much as we did the golf. Besides playing some great golf courses we also enjoyed the endless culinary delights, medieval towns, endless beaches, scenic landscapes, friendly people and laid back lifestyle. As I mentioned above, I really enjoyed my time in Costa Brava and it has everything I look for in a destination where I’d not only visit but spend part of my year.

In closing,  I’d like to thank Tourism Costa Brava and the Girona Pyrenees, Catalunya Tourism as well as Travel Concept Solution for putting this innovative campaign together and including us in the mix. As always, Stop Having a Boring Life maintains full editorial control of the content published on this site.

Tips hat,

Rob