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IT'S NOT ALL SOCCER IN MADRID...THERE ARE GOLF COURSES TOO!
The first was designed in the grounds of the Santander bank's financial city of Boadilla del Monte, the second on the outskirts of the Escorial monastery, founded by King Felipe II, and the third a stone's throw from Alcala de Henares, birthplace of Cervantes. In a lightning trip from the 21st to the 16th centuries, the Santander, de la Herreria and El Encin golf courses enable you to enjoy three golf courses located close to the Iberian capital, better known for its soccer clubs - Real, Athlético - than for its golf courses. To these three, we must add the Centro Nacional de Golf .
Santander
It was Emilio Botin - father-in-law of Severiano Ballesteros, Chairman of Banque Santander - who had the idea of installing a golf course in the financial district he had built a stone's throw from the city of Madrid. In 2004, he called on John Rees, one of the collaborators of the great American architect Robert Trent Jones. Two years later, with the support of enormous financial and logistical resources, the sumptuous Santander course was built. The first thing that strikes you, even before you hit the first drive off the 1st tee, is the extreme care taken to maintain the course. Secondly, the space available to the American architect enabled him to install six teeing areas on each hole.
Black and white balls are rarely used: there are often more than 1,000 meters between black and red tees...
As for the greens, they are often small (500 m2), rolling and well-protected, and some flag positions are extremely perilous, like 7, a par 3 surrounded by water. But all holes are straightforward and there are no hidden traps. And there's no need to bring a rangefinder, as there are plenty of distance markers on the fairways.
Three special features are worth mentioning: booking is of course compulsory, and payment of the green fee is by credit card. Two types of buggy can be used on the course: those that are allowed to drive on the fairways and others that are restricted to the cement paths. Alternatively, you can walk the course and contemplate the surroundings at your leisure, which are overflown by numerous birds and, at certain times of the year, nesting storks. There's no monastery in sight here, but some very fine modern buildings which, behind their glass or metal facades, house the diligent work of Santander bank employees.
After the game, enjoy an unbeatable value-for-money menu until 4pm.
Golf de Santander also offers the Jim Mc Lean Golf School, considered the world's leading golf school by the specialist press. Over 2,000 students attend each year, and the teaching system is perfectly adapted to the physical characteristics and playing ability of each student. A 5-hole pitch and putt course built by the late Severiano Ballesteros completes the picture.
Green-fee: €120 to €150 depending on season
La Herreria
The Herreria course dates back to 1966, and its setting is a constant reminder of the 16th century and the reign of Felipe II. The imposing shadow of the Escorial monastery, founded by the monarch and whose foundation stone was laid in 1563, looms over virtually every hole. Whether you like it or not, you can't escape history here. Here, in Felipe II's time, everything was noble and robust oak. It was from the wood of these trees that magnificent caravels were built to conquer the world, such as Christopher Columbus's, which docked in the United States in 1492.
Today, more oak trees line the outward holes, particularly the harder ones, such as 1, where the fairway slopes gently downwards, and 2, which gains a little height, marked by a dog-leg right. Having played it in May, this is a fascinating hole surrounded by dense, spring-colored trees. The 8th, with its imposing view of the monastery, is remarkable. In autumn, too, when the trees take on a myriad of ochre and russet hues, this course is a must. The return holes on the higher ground of the estate require a certain physical effort, but from holes 11 and 14, the view over Madrid, on a clear day, is splendid. But above all, if you do play it, choose a Wednesday when you'll have the chance to sample the traditional cocido, a kind of stew made from chickpeas and chorizo.
Real Club de Golf de la Herreria
Green-fee: €80 to €130
El Encin
A hundred kilometers to the east of the Herreria course, beyond Madrid, the El Encin golf course offers its share of challenges. The number of bunkers on this course, designed by Robert Von Hagge (the architect of the Golf National and Seignosse in France), is impressive: no fewer than 21 on hole 2 alone, and the greens are also very difficult, with their rugged profile. Holes 16 and 18 bear a striking resemblance to holes 16 and 18 on the course in Paris. What better place could Von Hagge have found than this desert pampas, bordered by a freeway, within driving distance of Alcala de Henares, the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote? If he were alive today, there's a good chance he'd be swapping his spear for a driver...
El Encin Golf Hotel
Green-fee: €45 to €57
Centro Nacional de Golf
Opened in 2005, this 18-hole course near the Monte del Pardo park is the birthplace of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation. It was the setting for the 2018 Spanish Open won by Ryder Cup player Jon Rahm of Spain. The last three holes are very spectacular as they are played in a natural amphitheater.
Centro Nacional de Golf
Green-fee: €80
Madrid
Madrid unites paradoxes and plays with extremes. A capital of museums, efficient infrastructures and economic dynamism, it also has a village-like atmosphere, with well-defined neighborhoods.
Proud and castiza (of good breeding), today it breathes: it deploys vast networks of bicycle paths, and its monumental avenues have for the most part been carefully cleaned up. Although it has long turned its back on the river that runs through it, the Manzanares - a tributary of the Taje - it has returned its banks to the people of Madrid, adorned with gardens, pedestrian bridges and new alternative venues.
Madrid me mata, proclaimed the graffiti on the walls at the height of the Movida period. It's true, this city is a killer... of pleasure! Because once you've seen the masterpieces at the Prado, been dazzled by Picasso's Guernica at the Reina Sofía museum, or been enchanted by the alleyways of the barrio de Los Austrias, the barrio de Las Letras or the Plaza Mayor, there's no end to your discovery of Madrid.
Practical info
- Documents (EU): valid identity card or passport.
- Best seasons: spring or autumn: pleasant temperatures.
- Direct flight time from Bordeaux: 1h20
- Time difference: none.
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