Alcanada - Balearic Islands - Spain

Wauw ...... what a place, 17 holes with seaside view and sea view, total peace and calm conditions, and a very exciting design and layout. Every hole a challenge, but so fair and welcoming in all aspects. Sure, you have to be on top of your game and you have to produce solid shots, especially from tee......... but we (4 Danish golfers, played here 12 times over 5 years) always enjoy the quality of greens, fairways and teeboxes..... and even the bunkers are so well kept, its actually fun to hit from. The clubhouse proshop is awesome, be careful, you want to buy the whole place...... and the terrace view and setting after an eventful round, is the perfect way to get your pulse down to normal again. Cannot imagine ever again, being in Mallorca, without playing Alcanada ........ Its almost criminal behavior, if you consider yourself a true golfer......... We love it here !!!!!!!!!

Alcanada is a test of golf that nature intended. There is no artifice here and although it is extremely tough and certainly no place for the novice I rate it the best course on the island because it is so natural.

There are no artificial lakes or fountains here, just a quiet peace and the breeze blowing in off the Bay of Alcudia. On a quiet, sunlit day when I played it on a late September weekday it could not be faulted as there is such a natural flow to the holes that leads you up around the slopes and down to the coastal plain of this wonderful course..

My playing partner and I flew round, although we did take a buggy as this is a testing walk for the older golfer, in a shade over three hours. The fairways were green and lush with the ball sitting up nicely and the greens, many of them with some fiendish slopes, were consistently true.

To score well around here accuracy is more important than distance although a number of raised tees give the big hitters a chance to open their shoulders. I could not name a weak hole on the course although with the drama and spectacular views that are on offer on the front nine, with a ravine to cross on the very first hole and some long holes to follow, the last hole is something of an anti-climax. But that is only a minor quibble.

The facilities are every bit as excellent as the course with sensational views out to sea on the terrace and some excellent food and wines to savour. As I sat enjoying a glass of excellent Rioja and gazing out to the lighthouse the club has taken as its emblem my one thought was when can I come back here again to play.

If you are a serious golfer and on Mallorca you must play Alcanada.

My third round here and I like this course a lot and there is a really good club atmosphere with a decent combination of friendly members and visitors from several European countries. It is still relatively a young course, opened in 2003 but the feel is one of a mature course of more than thirteen years. The opening hole is very strong, a par-5 with a blind lay-up, so you need to trust your yardage and use the stroke saver well, the approach is then over a stream to the green around 120 yards away. The 2nd and 3rd holes are both very good but maybe a little similar as back to back holes; both are par-4’s with a slight dog-leg to the left. The 5th is a strong driving hole; just under 400 yards in length and coming from a great tree surrounded teeing area and is my favourite hole on the front nine. The toughest hole against par must be the 8th; 450 yards slightly uphill and although very straight is the strongest par-4. The first four holes of the back nine (pars of 4,5,4,5) are decent holes but do run adjacent to each other and there can be a little bit of a claustrophobic feel here. The 15th hole is the short par-4 that all courses should have and with an accurate tee shot, this is there for the taking. My choice of best hole on the home nine is the 16th, another big par-4 at close to 480 yards and seven fairway bunkers protecting. The 18th is a fun hole to play; around 350 yards with six great bunkers covering the last 130 yards to the green on the left. I would recommend the course to everyone and a special note about the greens; these are great to putt on and will not disappoint. Post round must be taken on the huge terrace looking out to the lighthouse on Alcanada island, very nice indeed.

Great course over some brilliant natural golfing terrain and a terrific opening hole that sets you up well for what is to come. Some lovely holes, framed by the hillside on one edge of the course, and the sea on the other.

Thoroughly recommend it if you are in the area.

Very good indeed.

Played the beautiful Alcanada yesterday and was actually a little dissappointed. This was nearly entirely due to the condition of the greens. Very poor and especially so due to the price of the green fee.The course layout is great and the conditioning of the rest of the course was excellent. A good challenge....... Not too difficult for those like me that dont split fairways. Fantastic surroundings and very enjoyable all in all but For over 100 euros I expect top class greens 😢

I am no fan of RTJ and if you have played a few of the courses he has designed, you will recognise his style straight away. However, could not help to be seduced by the sheer beauty of the site and the intelligent use of the natural terrain; whatever cosmetics were have been applied are subtle, at least to my eye. The first green, however, is crazy. We played with two older members who play the course a lot. They warned us about the risk of going off the green putting aggressively coming down the hole, then proceeded to do exactly that. We both gingerly took three putts to get into the hole. Do not mind that kind of difficulty, but perhaps not on the first hole, so it will be five balls rather than six for me. Already looking forward to the next visit!

For enjoyment best course of Mallorca for sure! As we played the course the 10th of june. Already playing Son Termens, Bendinat and Son Gual this was our last stop. What a beauty of a course! Views spectacular, greens unreadeble, fairways perfect. From start to end challenging. Restaurant and practise facilities perfect. Tops Son Gual for me. Must play course.

Unfortunately,we did not play Son Gual this trip to say which is the better but Alcanada is first rate in every way - facilities, staff, course, design & conditioning. Highly recommended for challenge, beauty, strategy, variety and despite a recent spate of rain & more rain, was in superb condition.

The rankings tell us this is rated second on the island behind Son Gual and that is probably correct but I can certainly understand some golfers having them the other way around. Alcanada has a ‘club’ feel and maybe a little more pleasing on the eye to be honest although not technically as testing. The course has a very strong start; a par-5 with a ravine to cross just short of the green – the 2nd is another decent looking hole, driving from inside a funnel of trees to a dog-legging right to left fairway. This style of hole (which has plenty of trees and mountains in view) continues to the 5th, from the par-3 6th tee the holes are little more open. There are a couple of great elevated tees at the 7th and then at the 13th which invite those long hang-time drives. The sea is in view from a few holes and as ever this is adds a little extra to a course and is more evident from the clubhouse terrace where Alcanada island and lighthouse can be seen. Overall the club is just a really nice place to be, a great atmosphere, decent staff all around and a memorable golf course – although the location is on the north of the island, this is only around a 50 minute journey from the capital of Palma, so it is very easy to play the 1st and 2nd ranked courses on the island in one trip and gets my recommendation

Fantastic course and stunning scenery. I wish i'd played more golf prior to my visit to have done myself justice on this excellent layout, but thanks to the British weather it was only my third 18 of the year and as a result I found it tough going. The condition of the course was magnificent, the greens were true but very tricky with breaks and hollows aplenty.