82 GOLF ASIAESCAPE
The par-4 Ist, Salobre
Campo Norte course,
Gran Canaria.The following morning we drop off our
hire car at Tenerife South Airport to catch
a flight to the last island of our Canaries
golf trip. At only thirty minutes, there’s
barely time to buckle up the safety belts
and review the scorecards of our rounds
played so far, before the Binter Canarias
plane hums low over Gran Canaria’s arid
volcanic landscape and angles in towards
the runway.GRAN CANARIA
Experts rate the seven golf courses in
Gran Canaria as among the best in Spain- and the layouts not only entertain and
challenge, but allow you to experience
the island’s varied and dramatic scenery
in all its glory. “Even though there has
been a golf course here since 1891, it’s
only during the last five years or so that
golf course development has really taken
off,” says Pablo Llinares de Béthencourt,
Managing Director of the Gran Canaria
Golf Association.
In a similar way to Tenerife, the
majority of Gran Canaria’s golf courses
are situated in the south of the island,
all conveniently within a 20-30 minute
drive of each other. Just like Tenerife,
when it comes to accommodation we are
roughing it again, this time at the 5-star
H10 Playa Meloneras Palace nestling
in a peaceful beauty spot in Meloneras
facing the sea and in a great location
for accessing the five courses: Lopesan
Meloneras Golf, Maspalomas Golf, Anfi
Tauro Golf and Salobre Golf (Campo Sur
and Campo Norte courses).
Right next door to our hotel along
Meloneras Bay is the new Lopesan
Meloneras Golf. The course begins with
a front nine of fairly open and relatively
forgiving holes characterised by palms
and mountain views, and then gets
progressively more difficult entering the
back nine along the cliff tops. Nearby, is the
excellent Maspalomas Golf, a Mackenzie
Ross design surrounded by magnificent
sand dunes, protected as a nature reserve
and home to a variety of flora and bird life.
A bit further afield and taking full
advantage of Gran Canaria’s amazing
The par-3 6th, Anfi Tauro
Golf, Gran Canaria.© Gran Canaria GolfESCAPE
SPAIN