Página de inicio

The Capital´s Golf Courses

There are more than twenty golf courses where this addictive sport can be practiced

Golf is extremely popular in Madrid, and each year the number of golf players increases at a staggering rate. The Federación Madrileña accounted for 64,665 members at the end of 2003, the highest figure in the whole of Spain. It is closely followed by the Cataluña region with 45,000 licenses, and this number increases every year by at least 10 per cent. Therefore, the capital is provided with more than 20 golf courses, some of which are open to the public, and others are reserved for members.

An increasing number of people want to learn to play golf but, even though all golf fields are suitable for different levels, “we try to teach them the basics, otherwise they will end up interfering with the regular running of the field,” explains the manager at Federación Madrileña de Golf (Madrid’s Golf Federation), Alfonso Fernández de Córdoba.

The first step previous to start playing is to affiliate to the Federation, either in person or via the Internet, and begin to take lessons “in open or roofed courts” until the instructor determines that his or her pupil is ready to play in the field. This is the time when “one needs to ask the Federation for that particular player’s handicap,” a mandatory step almost in every field in Madrid.

Handicap refers to the 36-strokes advantage given to the beginner; the number decreases as his or her game improves until reaching zero, which is the so-called “professional’s handicap,” says Fernández de Córdoba. Tests aiming at obtaining that handicap are performed either at the player’s club or at the Federation (if the golf player is autonomous), and consist of a few strokes and testing the player’s knowledge on basic golf rules and common courtesy.

In most fields around Madrid and within the Federation itself there are schools for beginners and advanced players imparting “one-on-one classes or group lessons for everyone,” says Fernández de Córdoba. Additionally, there is the possibility of learning by playing in roofed courts, many located in the city center, “pretty good for beginners.” Such is the case of Azca Golf, Orense Golf or Club Ortiz Abasota. On the other hand, golf clubs are equipped with practice fields where players can perfect their style.

Olivar de la Hinojosa Golf Club

In Madrid “most clubs are private, and it is hard to gain access to them,” points out Alfonso Fernández de Córdoba. Although some of these clubs “allow entrance to non-members whenever members are not present,” the best option is to find those fields open to the public. Club de Golf Olivar de la Hinojosa is one examplo of this type of public golf club. It is located in one of the plots transferred by Madrid’s City Council at the Campo de las Naciones area.

It is equipped with two golf fields, “one featuring 18 holes, par 72, where you need to be affiliated and have the corresponding handicap, and the other equipped with 9 holes, 2 pars 4, where only license holders can play,” says the club’s director, Gregorio Fernández Irún. The club welcomes on average 260 people per day. You can “make reservations up to 15 days in advance by calling on the phone,” says its manager. In order to play 18 holes, you need to pay 39 euros (9 holes at 16 euros).

Olivar de la Hinojosa also features “one of the largest schools in Europe, nearly 2,000 pupils per semester, ages ranging from 4 to 80 years old,” points Fernández Irún. Lessons cost 176 euros quarterly. The added-value of this club is its practice court and tennis and paddle facilities, with its corresponding schools.

Villa de Madrid Country Club

C.C. Villa de Madrid was born in 1984 when the City Council decides to build on the land leased until then to the Real Sociedad Hípica Española Club de Campo (Spanish Royal Equestrian Society Country Club). From then on, the premises were slowly completed and has greatly increased its membership, with “a waiting list of more than 16,000 people,” says Alfonso Fernández de Córdoba.

According to the data provided by Federación Madrileña de Golf, the club has 5,465 affiliated members, placing the club first in the ranking of Spanish golf clubs based on member affiliation. Nevertheless, Villa de Madrid is a field open to all non-affiliated players wanting to use the premises. By paying the entrance ticket (only cash accepted) and the applicable rate for using the premises.

During the working week, visitors must pay 44.80 euros, unless they enter the premises before 10 am, when the rate goes down to 35.80 euros. On Saturdays and during holidays, the rate goes up to 84.70 euros. “It’s easier to go during the week,” says Fernández de Córdoba, “since club members come on the weekend.” Among its facilities stand out two 18 holes long rounds, one black and one yellow, designed by Javier Arana and Severiano Ballesteros; plus one round with 9 holes, par 3. It is mandatory to be affiliated and have the appropriate handicap.

Puerta de Hierro Sports Club

The Centro de Tecnificación de Golf (Golf Modernization Centre), located at Parque Deportivo Puerta de Hierro (the old Parque Sindical, or union park), is its newest facility. Inaugurated on October 1, it is the result of an agreement entered by the Golf Federation and the Autonomous Community of Madrid. “The field is completely financed with public funds and its rates are very affordable, fixed by the Community of Madrid,” says Alfonso Fernández de Córdoba.

Madrid’s Golf Federation is responsible for organizing the sports program and managing the new facility. The centre is equipped with “9 short holes, par 3, a 300 meter practice field with 58 stands, and approach and putting green areas.” The Centro de Tecnificación offers golf lessons for all levels, “from beginner courses to higher competition training,” says the Federation manager. More specifically, introductory, beginner and advanced courses are given throughout a period of nine months.  

National Golf Centre

The city of Madrid now boasts a new golf practice facility with the opening of the National Golf Centre in the northeast of the city. This idea is the brainchild of the Real Federación Española de Golf (Royal Spanish Golf Federation) which hopes that its important initiative will help encourage the creation of similar facilities in some of the country’s other Autonomous Communities.

The National Golf Centre has been created on a 62-hectare plot of land bordered by the Mirasierra district, the M-40 ring road and Monte de El Pardo, on land ceded by Madrid City Council. The area is one of the city’s green belt spaces and the project has been planned with complete respect for the environment, blending perfectly with its natural surroundings. The facility is nevertheless well placed for speedy access to all parts of the city, with an underground station only 400 metres from the entrance and two bus stops.

Fields in the Autonomous Community of Madrid

Further away from the city, though still inside the Autonomous Community of Madrid, we find other fields where anyone can go and play golf. Such is the case of Golf Park, a very peculiar facility which stands out because “you don’t need to be affiliated or have the handicap in order to play,” says María Rubio, its marketing director. “Golf Park is the exception amongst golf fields, because we want everybody to come and play.”

To enter the field you only need to make reservations in advance, and the rate is 20 euros per person for the first 9 holes, and 8 euros per person for the second 9 hole round. At Golf Park there is also a field with 9 holes, par 3. “The holes are short, the longest being 100 meters long, and feature all kinds of obstacles,” says María Rubio. Like other clubs, this one also holds a golf school “with 18 instructors using Jack Niclaus’s method,” since this is one of his franchises. The facilities, located at Parque Empresarial La Moraleja, include as well one practice field.

Yet another affordable field for the general public is located near the capital. It is called Las Rejas Golf. “In order to play one must be affiliated,” explains Marta Meiras, coordinator at Las Rejas Golf, “but handicaps are only required for the long round.” In Majadahonda “we provide 9 long holes and 9 short ones, the latter runs during the summer up until midnight; in the winter time, it stays open until 10 pm.” Las Rejas school registers nearly 1,000 pupils, “especially in the beginner courses,” she points out. To play “from Monday to Friday you don’t need to make reservations in advance, but if you want to come on Saturday you’ll need to call up the previous Wednesday, or on Thursday in case you want to play on Sunday.”

Besides Golf Park and Las Rejas Golf, there are other fields in Madrid featuring small time slots for non-members, although it is not easy to get one single free hour at golf clubs such as Nuevo Club de Golf de Madrid, Club de Golf Valdeláguila, Club de Golf Lomas Bosque, Las Encinas de Boadilla, Club de Golf la Dehesa and Casino Club de Golf Retamares, among others. Madrid, holding the highest number of affiliates in all of Spain, provides many ways of playing and learning to both beginners and experts. Inside the city itself or within the Community, always in touch with Nature, one can practice a sport which is becoming increasingly popular.

• Print
• Send to a friend