Son Gual Golf

European Senior Tour heads to Mallorca 13th November 2008 Golf Son Gual, the most prestigious golf course on Mallorca, will host the Son Gual Mallorca Senior Golf Son Gual, the most prestigious golf address on the sunshine island of Mallorca, will host the Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open from May 8-10, 2009, underlining the club’s growing reputation as one of Europe’s finest golfing venues. The course, designed by three-time German Amateur Champion Thomas Himmel, opened in October last year and will host some of the leading players on the European Senior Tour. Andreas Pamer, of Son Gual, said: "We are delighted to have been chosen to host this prestigious event and look forward to providing some of the leading names in European golf with the perfect canvass on which to compete. "It is rare that a golf course succeeds in attracting an event of this stature at such an early stage in its life so it is testament to the efforts of all our team in providing such wonderful and consistent conditions to play golf." Susanna Sciacovelli, Managing Director of IBATUR, Mallorca’s Tourism authority, said: "The Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open is the perfect way to launch Mallorca as an outstanding golfing destination and we look forward to welcoming the leading Senior players to the golf island of the Mediterranean." Andy Stubbs, European Senior Tour Managing Director, said: "We are delighted to be able to visit this exciting new venue on the beautiful island of Mallorca thanks to the vision and commitment of the Pamer family and the support of the Consejeria de Tourismo of the Balearic Islands". "It promises to be a fantastic addition to the European SeniorTour’s 2009 Schedule." Javier Roura, of the PGAE, said: "The PGA of Spain is delighted that such a prestigious event will be held in Spain and will give its full support. We hope that this is just the first of many Senior Tour events in Mallorca and hope that the tournament is a big success." Erwin Langer, CEO of the Official Promoter, Langer Sport Marketing GmbH, added: "It is a great honour to be appointed by the Pamer family to organise this promising new event in one of Europe’s prime sun and golf destinations, the very attractive island of Mallorca. "I’m very impressed with the progress of Son Gual since opening in autumn 2007 and the course and facilities are already extraordinary. We look forward to presenting the players and spectators with an excellent event." Son Gual has already been inundated with membership enquiries even though details will not be announced until early next year and only a limited number are likely to be available.

Son Gual is located on the Spanish Island of Mallorca, the largest Balearic island and their new flagship course, opened its tees for play in October 2007. Son Gual Golf Club is the brainchild of German businessman Adam Palmer – who has a second home on the island. Palmer wanted a decent course on which to play while holidaying in Mallorca. We are planning to visit Son Gual in 2008 so we’ll share our experiences with you afterwards. The following article is courtesy of Simply Mallorca Golf: “The creation of Golf Son Gual began in 1995 when a passionate golfer decided to realise his dream. His vision was to produce a beautiful manicured high quality course to complement the existing golfing opportunities on the island. The foundation stone was laid in 1998 following the purchase of the 160-hectare, Finca Son Gual. From the many high quality designers considered for Son Gual project, renowned golf course architect and 3-time German Amateur Champion Thomas Himmel was eventually commissioned. During the 4 years it took to craft this course over 2 million cubic metres of soil was moved, with the creation of artificial creeks and lakes, together with strategically shaped bunkers around this par 72 course. Son Gual will become known not only for its visual beauty but also for the excitement of playing over a body of water so often in a round. Another unusual feature is Himmel's use of massive bunkering, including one sand trap that measures 240m by 84m, at the par-4 2nd. Ron Swing, golf course Superintendent at Son Gual, told Golf Monthly that cool season grasses like blue, rye, and fescue in the mixed semi-rough, will give the course a lush natural appearance, while the greens and tees will be bent grass. Swing is also lucky enough to be using a highly advanced golf course irrigation system, the only one of its kind in Europe. Son Gual will be a tremendous addition to Mallorcan golf.”

Marvellous Mallorca – where good golf abounds Last month, we looked at golfing options across the Canary Islands so we’re now turning our attention a little closer to mainland Spain and the island of Mallorca in the Ballearic Islands. One of the clubs we visited near Palma last month published an in-house magazine article which reckoned almost 9 out of 10 rounds on the island are played by visiting golfers (44% Germans, 17.5% Spanish, 14% British, 10% Nordic) and this obviously generates a substantial financial benefit to the local economy. Without the usual large numbers of incoming tourists over the last two years due to covid travel restrictions, it’s a minor miracle that all the clubs have survived. Manfred Mallon, managing director of SIEMA Golf & Print, states in the excellent little pocket book Mallorca Golf Guide 2022: “Almost 90% of the golf courses in Mallorca are economically managed and depend on golf tourists and green fees. And a golf course doesn’t have many opportunities to save money… the maintenance and management measures have to continue. I got a personal impression of the condition of the golf courses at the beginning of this year and I am positively surprised in what good condition the courses are in. If travel conditions permit, come to Mallorca as usual and play your favourite courses.” Most golf facilities are situated in either the northeast or southwest of the island, near the main city of Palma de Mallorca. When we last published a Mallorca article six years ago – entitled Golf in the Spanish Balearic Islands – we stayed near the capital so this time we branched out to the northeast, allowing easier access to the cluster of five golf courses in that part of the island. CARROSSA HOTEL SPA VILLAS Part of the Hamacher Hotels & Resorts group with four holiday residences in Austria and Mallorca, the 5-star Carrossa Hotel Spa Villas sits just outside the small village of Artà, making it the perfect golfing base for visitors playing any of the five golf courses that operate in the local area. There are 75 air-conditioned rooms and suites located in either the 300-year-old historic manor house or in several new single-storey luxury accommodation blocks. The spa boasts an indoor and outdoor swimming pool and there’s a wide range of treatments to complement the saunas and steam bath. Bistro Badia is open all day, offering tapas, sandwiches and salads during the afternoon then anything from steak to fresh seafood in the evening. The Carrossa Restaurant presents fine dining options from 7pm in the evening, with meals served as a 4-course option or à la carte. The wine cellar also stocks the best local and international vintages. A couple of attractive packages aimed at golfers include full use of the spa facilities, along with buffet breakfast and multi-course gourmet half-board. The 4-night Golf Package permits play at two nearby courses whilst the 7-night Premium Golf Package allows guests to tee it up at four courses (one of which is Alcanada). ALCANADA Club de Golf Alcanada nestles to the north of Carrossa, a 45-minute drive to the other side of Port d'Alcúdia, and not only is it the best golf course on Mallorca, it’s also highly ranked in both our Spanish and Continental European Top 100 listings. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior, this is a championship layout that’s scheduled to host the season-ending Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final in November this year. It takes a bit longer to get here than it does to reach the other four northeast courses but it’s well worth going the extra few kilometres to play this magnificent Mediterranean beauty. PULA Located a mere 13 kilometres from Carrossa, the modern-day course at the Pula Resort is quite a bit different to the one unveiled in the mid-1990s. According to Esencia Pula Golf 25 años which was published in 2020, José María Olazábal’s parting shot to owner Romeo Sala after a tournament in 1998 was “do you see this face? Look at it long and hard because it’ll be the last time you’ll see it around here. The course is (expletives deleted)!” Olly was eventually taken to task and between 2004 and 2006 he assisted in transforming the layout into a far more challenging affair so it was only fitting he should win his last professional event here at the Mallorca Classic during the renovation work in 2005. SON SERVERA Less than three kilometres away as the crow flies, lies the Club de Golf Son Servera, where Rafa Nadal holds a membership. It’s the second oldest course on the island and the only one owned by its members so there’s an entirely different feel to this place. Commander John Harris laid out the original 9-hole course in the late 1960s and another nine holes were added just a decade ago by Francisco López Segalés. Five of these new holes (from the 3rd to the 7th) are marketed as “The Pine Trap” and they constitute quite a challenge, with stroke index ratings of 12, 7, 1, 5 and 3. CANYAMEL The 18-hole layout at Canyamel Golf sits four kilometres to the north of Son Servera but there’s no direct road connection between the clubs so it takes 15 minutes by car (about the same time from Carrossa) to get here. The course is a late-1980s José Gancedo design, culminating in a par three closing hole that’s played to a three-tiered green benched into a hillside in front of the clubhouse. Configured as two returning nines, the course plays to a par of 73 with three par fives between the 13th and 17th holes. CAPDEPERA Capdepera Golf is situated a little further inland from Canyamel, with the course dating back to the late 1980s, when Dan Maples designed the layout. Maples is better known for his work in the Carolinas (his grandfather Frank was the long-time superintendent at Pinehurst and a construction engineer for Donald Ross) so it’s anybody’s guess how Dan was ever appointed to set out eighteen holes in the northeast corner of Mallorca! The first twelve holes below the clubhouse are set out in a valley that was once an almond plantation then the last six holes were hewn from a wooded hillside on higher ground, with the signature par three 15th offering panoramic views all the way to the coast. Of course, it would be a shame to come all the way to Mallorca and not play any of the highly rated tracks around Palma so you’ll be doing yourself a big favour by arranging a game on at least one of the following three courses. SON MUNTANER Golf Son Muntaner is the flagship 18-hole course at the 63-hole Arabella Golf Mallorca resort and the layout at this European Tour Destination was designed by Kurt Rosskecht, opening its doors to visitors in 2001. The course was reseeded six years ago, using Bermuda Celebration on every fairway and Agrostis V8 on all the greens. A couple of new holes were also introduced at that time, indicating the willingness of Arabella to continually develop and improve its golf product. T GOLF The course at T Golf Calvia hosted the season-ending Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final in 2020 and 2021 so there’s no questioning its championship-hosting capabilities. Originally opened in the late 1970s as Golf de Poniente, it’s one of the oldest layouts on the island but a substantial investment from new owner Heiner Tamsen since 2015 has taken the course to a whole new level. In recent days, T Golf acquired the Nicklaus-designed facility at Puntiro (which will now be known as T Golf Palma), making it an even bigger player now on the island. SON GUAL Son Gual Golf has enjoyed unparalleled success in the Spanish rankings since the course first appeared on the Mallorcan golf scene, occupying Top 10 positions in the national chart for three editions between 2014 and 2020. It took great vision by the owners to take a predominantly flat, largely featureless property and turn it into the top-spec track that it undoubtedly is – albeit with the expert assistance of architect Thomas Himmel and a very creative construction crew. As Son Gual is positioned less than a 15-minute drive from the airport, it’s an ideal place to either start or finish a golf trip to the island. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses