Club Golf Barcelona

Club Golf Barcelona opened in 1989 as Club de Golf Masia Bach, José María Olazábal's first course design, laid out on hilly ground at the edge of the Penedès wine country some 27 kilometres northwest of Barcelona. A 2007 refurbishment brought a new clubhouse and a course redesign, and the club took its present name. Vineyards and the Montserrat massif frame the setting, a quiet, cultivated stretch of Catalonia within easy reach of the city and El Prat airport.

The 18-hole Masia Bach course plays to a par of 72 over 6,271 metres, and its fairways roll hard enough that most golfers choose a buggy over walking it. Olazábal put the ground to work: 28 fairway bunkers, 48 greenside bunkers, water in play at several holes, and a run of blind approaches that reward local knowledge over guesswork. The par-four 8th is the one to remember, water tight along the left of both fairway and green, out of bounds waiting on the right. The course has carried real weight in professional golf, hosting the 1991 Spanish Professional Championship, the Peugeot Tour Spain in 2003 and 2005, and the Ladies European Tour's Catalonia Ladies Masters in 2007.

A 9-hole Executive course offers an easier round for newer players or a warm-up before the main event. Book Club Golf Barcelona for a test that has earned its reputation among low handicappers, and pair it with the Executive nine for a relaxed second round.