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.