El Encin

The sizeable portfolio of von Haage, Smelek and Baril contains more than a dozen European golf projects, including courses in France, Italy and Denmark, and the design company has operated in Spain since the late 1980s, when the Forest and Links 18-hole layouts were established at Emporda Golf Resort, to the north of Barcelona.

The course at El Encin is located half an hour’s drive from the centre of Madrid, just off the main highway to Zaragoza, and it’s the golfing centerpiece of a small 40-bedroom resort that opened for business in 2011, with a sun terrace, swimming pool and restaurant available to golfers to while away the hours when they’re not playing.

The course is laid out as two returning lines on a relatively flat landscape, characterised by an abundance of variously-shaped bunkers, expansive sandy waste areas and imaginatively contoured greens. Two lakes offer visual spectacle and an element of aquatic menace at a couple of holes on the back nine of what is a very engaging layout.

We contacted architect Rick Baril of von Hagge, Smelek and Baril and asked a few questions about El Encin. Click the link to read more: El Encin Q&A with Rick Baril.