Golf d'Aro

Golf d'Aro was designed in 1990 by Ramón Espinosa and named Best Golf Course in Europe two years later by the European Society of Golf Course Architects, a rare distinction for a course this young at the time. It sits more than 300 metres above the coast in the hills behind Platja d'Aro, bordering the protected Gavarres massif, and is the only course on the Costa Brava with the sea genuinely in view.

The layout is undulating and demands precision from the tee, with strategically placed bunkers and water hazards that force you to use every club in the bag. Holes 6, 14 and 15 carry the toughest reputations on the course, testing both terrain and shot-shape in equal measure. Large, fast greens reward a controlled approach, and the views, out to the Mediterranean on one side and across the Gavarres on the other, are worth pausing for on every hole.

The clubhouse is a restored 1870 Catalan farmhouse, and the club also runs a 9-hole pitch and putt alongside the championship course for a shorter session. Book Golf d'Aro for one of the most complete settings on the Costa Brava, a course that rewards good course management as much as it does raw distance.