The Basque Country: a destination for golf lovers
The Basque Country: a destination for golf lovers
In the Basque Country, golf has a long-standing tradition thanks to its three hundred-year-old clubs (Real Golf Club de San Sebastián, Real Sociedad de Golf de Neguri, and Real Golf Club de Zarauz), which are among the seven oldest in the country. There are currently eleven noteworthy golf courses spread throughout the Basque Country, some of which were designed by famous players such as Severiano Ballesteros and José María Olazabal. The very different landscapes where the courses are located (in natural parks, with views of the sea, in recovered spaces) make playing golf in this region an unforgettable experience and visiting the nearby area a real pleasure. We invite you to get to know some of these courses, also proposing ideas with which you can complement your sporting activities.
Larrabea Golf Club
Built on an impressive estate once owned by an indiano (a Spanish emigrant who sought their fortune in America and returned to Spain rich) and created in the last third of the nineteenth century, the Larrabea Golf Club is where Jon Rahm got his start. Its location, hardly 15 minutes from Vitoria-Gasteiz, at the foot of the Albertia Mountain (which protects it from the north winds) and between “two inland seas” (the Uribarri Ganboa and Urrunaga Reservoirs) gives it some very special characteristics. The club’s eighteen-hole course respects and makes the most of the original terrain. It is a course with wide fairways and fast, challenging greens.
This club is surrounded by reservoirs and there are excellent restaurants with beautiful views on the shore of one of them (the Uribarri Ganboa Reservoir). The town of Aramaio is also very close, in a valley dotted with traditional farmhouses and restaurants where you can taste an exquisite traditional meal.
Izki Golf
Izki Golf is in the Izki Natural Park, the largest natural Pyrenean oak reserve in Europe. This magnificent place allows nature to fuse with a technical, eighteen-hole course comprised of 98 hectares and a total of 7 kilometers. Designed by Severiano Ballesteros, this course is a true innovation in terms of its architecture, the layout of its holes, its raised and fast moving greens, and its wide fairways surrounded by oaks and holly. This fact makes playing at Izki a unique experience to enjoy golf and nature in its purest state. It is one of the best courses in the north of the Peninsula.
The Rioja Alavesa region, a famous wine-growing area, is located on the other side of the Sierra de Cantabria-Toloño Mountain Range. There, you can visit the renowned wineries, whether the ones with a traditional structure or a more current design –the brainchildren of famed architects–, and some of the wine cellars that run under villages like Laguardia, as well as tasting the local gastronomy. The course is also near the capital of the Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, with its range of tourist offerings.
Meaztegi Golf Club
Designed by Severiano Ballesteros, Meaztegi is located in a spectacular place: the old La Arboleda mines, in the area known as Greater Bilbao. The course runs through a natural space that has been completely recovered from the intense mining activity undertaken during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The traditional eighteen-hole course and the nine-hole pitch and putt course both take advantage of the characteristics of the terrain, using various elements that have been recovered from the old mining activity. The two courses at Meaztegi Golf Club are prepared to allow all players to enjoy, whether they be beginners or professionals. Being located in the Triano Mountains, at an average height of 400 meters, one can contemplate spectacular panoramic views of the sea and the El Abra Port.
In addition to the city of Bilbao, quite nearby, in the Encartaciones region, you can visit the Loizaga Tower, which houses the only Rolls-Royce collection in Europe that includes all models manufactured between 1910-1998. Also interesting is the town of Balmaseda and its La Encartada beret factory museum. Families can discover wild animals and dinosaur reproductions at the Karpin Abentura park. For cave lovers, Pozalagua has an impressive concentration of eccentric stalactites.
Uraburu Golf
Designed by José María Olazabal, this is a course where the terrain’s orography takes on great importance given the steep slopes where some of the holes are located. Its altitude, atop the western slope of the mountain range, makes it an imposing watchtower over the valley. It can be considered a mountain course, but at the same time it offers a very interesting golf experience in which the design featuring wide fairways and demanding greens makes the eighteen-hole course (par 71) a real challenge.
Straddling two valleys, Uraburu is located 20 minutes from Bilbao, which makes it very affordable to enjoy a day of golf. For this reason, a good plan would be to sail the Bilbao Estuary and end at El Abra and the Getxo Marina. In the green interior land, there is nothing better than tasting a good meal at one of the roast houses or traditional farmhouses of the beautiful Axpe Valley, with its spectacular barbecued cuisine and its unique interpretation of traditional Basque dishes.
Real Nuevo Club Golf de San Sebastián Basozabal
In San Sebastián, just fifteen minutes from the center, is this high-class and demanding course designed by José María Olazabal. It is located on mountainous terrain and features eighteen holes (par 72). The course is a magnificent watchtower from which one can see the peaks of the most famous mountains in this part of the Basque Country.
In addition to sports activities, the city of San Sebastián will allow you to enjoy the splendid landscape that surrounds the bay made up of the La Concha and Ondarreta Beaches, Mount Urgull, Santa Clara Island, and Mount Igeldo. Strolling through the streets of the Old Quarter, the city center, and the Antiguo and Gros districts, as well as tasting some suggestive pintxos or an excellent meal in the restaurants of famous chefs with Michelin stars, are also good alternatives.
Real Golf Club de San Sebastián
Real Golf Club de San Sebastián is considered to be one of the pioneer golf courses in the country. It was founded in 1910 in the town of Lasarte and moved in the 1960s to a 50-hectare site on the slopes of Mount Jaizkibel in Hondarribia, very near the mouth of the Bidasoa River and the border with France. The course was designed by Pierre Hirigoyen, an international player during the 1930s. Featuring eighteen holes (par 71), this is a very entertaining, winding course – thanks to its location in a hilly area. The layout has a magnificent design surrounded by centuries-old trees, with the majority of the fairways moving along gentle slopes – except for some holes where the fairways are true game changers. The course’s greens are large and their most noteworthy feature is their speed.
A good plan in the surrounding area? Discover the Bay of Txingudi by boat, traveling through a unique natural space to later go out to sea and observe the impressive landscape of the coast from Hendaia to Biarritz and from Mount Jaizkibel to Pasajes San Juan and Hondarribia. When you get off the boat, we recommend strolling through the streets of the majestic historic center of Hondarribia, where the Castle of Charles V –a current Parador hotel– is noteworthy and savoring the fresh fish or some pintxos that have won numerous competitions in the vast array of bars and restaurants of the picturesque fishing district.
Real Golf Club de Zarauz
This club is located on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea, along the Zarautz Beach, and the holes run among sand dunes with spectacular views of the sea, making this course unlike any other in the country. It was inaugurated in 1916 by King Alfonso XIII and Queen Maria Christina. With its 100 years of history, it is the fourth oldest club in Spain, and has stayed at the same location since it was built. The golf course is located in an environmentally protected area, the Iñurritza Biotope, and features a total area of 18 hectares between the north of the beach and the left bank of the Iñurritza Estuary. The nine-hole course follows the style of the British links course. It is characterized by having few trees as well as by the absence of water obstacles – except the sea, which is very present throughout the course due to its proximity. The holes run along the coastline and parallel to the sea. This proximity has caused the soil to have high salinity levels, favoring local flora and fauna of great value. There are unbeatable views of the golf course, the sea, and the area around Mount Pagoeta from the clubhouse’s two terraces.
If people fall in love with something in Zarautz, that something is surely the area’s waves and its beach – one of the longest and most emblematic on the coast and the birthplace of Basque surfing. In nearby Getaria, the village of fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, we must visit the museum that pays tribute to him where we will discover his exceptional creative genius from the time he got his start in San Sebastián to his triumph in Paris. One can taste the excellent grilled fish in the roast houses of Getaria, Orio, Mutriku, etc. – always washed down with excellent Getaria Designation of Origin txakoli wines.
Golf
