
Canarias, Spain
Located a few kilometres to the west of Maspalomas on the southwest coast of Gran Canaria, the Anfi Tauro Golf Course is one of Spain’s gems that was destined for a place in the Continental European Top 100 rankings.
Located a few kilometres to the west of Maspalomas on the southwest coast of Gran Canaria, the Anfi Tauro Golf Course is one of Spain’s gems that was destined for a place in the Continental European Top 100 rankings.
5
Anfi Tauro thoroughly deserves it's position as No1 in the Canary Islands. It holds this crown for a variety of reasons which I will cover below. But firstly a bit about Anfi Tauro. It was a mammoth design achievement from the firm of von Hagge, Smelek & Baril.
The golf course is set with a contrasting backdrop of dramatic, dark, volcanic mountains and the shimmering blue Atlantic Ocean. Stunning vistas are all around, none more so than when stood on the 17th green looking towards the ocean.
The build project was considered to be one of the most ambitious ever attempted in Europe and it literally required the movement of mountains. More than 3 million cubic metres of earth were shifted to create today’s carpeted fairways that snake across ground that was formerly barren rock. The result is an 18-hole course that wouldn't be out of keeping in Utah or Arizona, a desert course with craggy rock formations and vast sandy waste areas that are punctuated by three lakes.
Factor in the ever-changing wind and you’ll find the Anfi Tauro golfing test is rather exacting. There is interest aplenty here for even the most demanding of golfers.
Design wise it ticks all the boxes you could expect from a course created in such difficult terrain. The course plays in multiple directions with plenty of elevation changes and very importantly plenty of variety in the hole designs. The course has 5 tee options so is playable by all levels of golfers and as for calibre, after a gentle start the course simply improves continuously throughout the round.
The opening holes are gentle enough with nothing particularly standout about them, but they deliver solid routing and impeccably presented quick greens.
The 1st plays downhill and is a short par 4, a very gentle handshake - you'll be disappointed if you don't get a par and a chance for an early birdie, but beware the front to back sloping green. The 2nd, a dog right par 5, does present more than one option on how to play the hole and the 3rd, a par 3, is a long hole, 210 yards, played from an elevated tee, where the interest is the putting surface.
But then the course really starts to pick up. A cart journey over a rocky hillside leads you to the 4th tee, elevated, playing down to a long dog leg right par 4. Take the palm trees on the dog leg to shorten the hole but get it wrong and you could be losing a shot.The 5th then switches direction and plays up hill. Not long on the scorecard but the green sits above you so an extra club or 2 is required. Again the green complex is excellent. The contouring and slopes and breaks on the greens have been standout and the 6th continues to deliver, a long par 3 played across the top of the hill with views of the Atlantic in the distance. A large bunker left protects the offset green which slopes initially towards the front repelling anything less than a full shot.
The 7th introduces the 1st of 3 ponds, very much in play on your approach as it tucks into the left hand fairway and the green itself, which has a severe false front and slopes down towards the back left. A pin placed here is very hard to attack. The 8th offers an intriguing green, nestled at the bottom of 60 foot cliffs, a dramatic setting. The 9th is a good finishing par 5 to complete the front loop. It sweeps right to left around a lake, which also comes into play on the 18th, the green is a double green.





Andy Cocker
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Round Information
Date Played
January 18, 2026
Round Time
3 hours, 15 minutes
Standout Holes
#13, #17, #18
Rating Breakdown
Strategy
Facilities & Amenities
Throughout the front 9 there has been good bunker placement, not excessive, but well placed, especially around the greens.
If you think the front 9 was good, wait until you step on the 10th tee. The 10th and 12th plays uphill, generous fairways but both require carries over a ravine and with red stakes right and rock left, accuracy is key. The 12th is similar to the 10th but is a par 5. Sandwiched between these 2 holes is a par 3 played towards the sea, a downhill par 3, 203 yards long off the back tees. It's an exacting shot as the green has a false front and also is raised with run off left and right and a sloping left to right and front to back green.
The jewel of the par 3's is the 13th, which is literally cut into the side of the mountain where an old fashioned stone wall on the left serves as a hard reminder to keep your ball to the right. It's a 2 tiered green, visually stunning, playing downhill as all 5 par 3's do but offering tremendous views to boot. Having forced myself to hit to the back of the green, I was left with a 10 foot birdie putt that I duly missed!
The 14th is a gorgeous downhill par 5, playing straight but with the green tucked behind a pond. The 15th the last of the par 3s. I guess my only criticism of the par 3s is that they are all long! The 15th is the shortest at 168 yards but the other 4 are all between 203 yards and 229 yards! The 15th green slopes front to back and your ball will run through, so whilst shorter in length, still plenty to think about.
The final 3 holes are a fitting and strong finish to what has been an excellent round of golf. The 16th is a short dog leg right par 4, played uphill to a green tucked behind palm trees and a green that is tiered so find the wrong part and your ball could trundle some 30 foot back down the green away from the pin.
The 17th was my favourite par 4. Only short, but you need to be straight, trouble all the way down the left (rocks and fall away) and a cliff to the right. The green has subtle borrows and contouring but the views stood on the green towards the Atlantic are to die for.
The 18th is a left to right par 5, this time the pond from the 9th is only the right hand side. The green (this part of the double green) has 3 tiers, the highest and narrowest part of the green tucked behind the pond. It is a fine finishing hole.
Anfi Tauro is golf on steroids. It delivers on all aspects of golf course architecture. Whilst the par 3's could do with a little variance in length, they still looked and played differently. The rest of the design is stellar, a course that didn't ebb and flow, just consistently got better as the round progresses, with the runs 4 -9 and 13 - 18 both standout.
Combine a round here with the 18 hole par 3 course, for an unforgettable time. As an added bonus pace of play was only 3 hours 15 minutes.
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