Son Vida - Balearic Islands - Spain

My first round on Vida whilst staying onsite at the Arabella resort was very enjoyable. First thing to say is that although I give both this course and Son Muntaner a 4-ball ranking, Muntaner is the stronger course. The Son Vida front nine is the shorter of the two halves and the nine that you certainly have to plot and plan from the tee. Plenty of history here as nine of the holes were the first to open on Mallorca and these are the holes that are most tight. A very gentle short par-4 gets the round underway followed by a decent length par-3, First hole to highlight for me is the 3rd ; this is a 400 yard par-4 with woods all the way down the left, a couple of landing point bunkers to the right and a really tough uphill shot to a back to front sloping green, stroke index 1 for obvious reasons. The second par-3 comes as early as the 4th hole and this like two others (8th and 16th) is very short and very downhill – fun holes to play but fairly similar to be honest.

I like the 6th hole a lot – this is the only par-5 on the front nine and very, very tight from the tee – trees either side and a lone bunker on the left at 220 yards – your second shot is key to set-up a pitch to an offset green. The closing hole (350 yards) on the front nine is all about the drive as it is very tight and anything going right will be in trouble. The second par-5 on the course comes at the 11th and is the best hole so far; dog legging left, moving uphill and then a small turn to the right towards the green – stroke index 2 and will test everyone.

The course closes very well – the 18th is a strong par-5 with water in play left from the tee and front and right around the layup positions and another tricky offset green – the hole does remind me of the 18th at close by Son Gual and that is a real favourite.

Overall, a course worth playing with many standout holes – very impressed with the Arabella resort on and off course.

I played the Son Quint and Son Vida courses today, as a warm up for a round on the Sun Muntaner course tomorrow.

The Son Quint is a decent track, with fairways squeezed quite tightly into a compact property and water brought into play sparingly at only three holes.

The Son Vida is a lovely old Fred Hawtree course, with plenty of short, tight fairways set out on rolling terrain and an absolutely wonderful set of four short holes, three of which play sharply downhill from seriously elevated tee positions (built in an era when architects knew how to construct eye catching par threes, of course).

The playing corridors are hemmed in by trees and/or housing on either side of the fairway on many of the holes from 1 to 12 and I thought that I’d hate that sort of confinement. Instead, I really warmed to the idea of having to fully concentrate to keep my ball in play and I thought the last six holes were actually too open, hankering for the strictures of the earlier holes to remain in place until the round concluded.

Again, apart from the par three 16th and par five 18th, water hazards were kept to a minimum on the course, which is always a bonus in my book.

There’s a new clubhouse under construction at the moment, strategically located above the 18th green, and it’s due to open in Spring of next year. I can’t help but feel a pang of regret that the current atmospheric old building which has served golfers well for over half a century will be demolished and the 10th hole changed from a short par four to a par three, all in the name of progress.

Can it really have been all of 25 summers since Seve won the Open de Balearas on this course?

Jim McCann.

Son vida is one of three courses within the arabella group and by far the shortest of the three.It is really close to the Castillo Son Vida und the Sheraton hotel and the holes are nestled between the wonderful villas of Son Vida. Very narrow fairways on holes 1-11. From hole 12 to 18 the fairways oepn up and you have more space for misses. With about 5600 meters this is not the longest but with the small greens and narrow fairways also challenging.

Played Son Vida for the first time in January 2015. The course opened in 1964 and it shows in the design (short, narrow, small greens). This means that if your tee-shots are wayward, as often is the case when you play off-season, your options are two: use your irons or select another course. Although I have grown up on a tight woodland course, I am no fan of playing close to other people's houses and I take it that a few of the "se vende" signs on the neighbouring properties might be from homeowners who have tired of adding golf balls to their collections. The section from hole 13 has more room, but is still quite tight and you have to watch players on other holes instead. A clear plus is that it was possible to play in 3 hours playing early in the morning. Only that may entice me to return soon.

Eight of us played this course and we were disappointed with it. The starter was rude (until we were leaving and he thought he might get a tip). The course was mediocre. Nice food and club-house. We played Son Gual & Alcanada as well, but chose this one as we thought it might be easier to score for the poorer golfers in the group, which was the case. We won't be returning though.

The course is a nice parkland course close to Palma de Majorca. It is part of the Arabella Sheraton Golf Resort which includes three 18 hole courses (Son Vida, Son Quint and Son Muntaner) and one 9-hole executive course (Son Quint Executive). I played Son Vida in the last week of August 2010. The course is relatively short (5600 metres from the yellow tees - the course only has red and yellow tees). The main difficulties come from the very narrow fairways. The first 12 holes are not very spectacular and I had the impression that there is just not enough space for the course because of all the residential developments. Holes 13-18 are nice and the fairways open up and the holes are getting longer. Hole 18 is clearly the signature hole - a nice double dogleg par 5 with two lakes and a large green right in front of the club house. The greens were in really great shape and the staff was friendly. The par 3's are interesting, but I had the feeling that they are a little bit the same (three short par 3's play from elevated tees). I think a ranking of #74 in Spain is a little bit overrated and Son Muntaner and Son Quint are more interesting and more of a challenge.

The first tee at Son Vida gives you a taste of what is to come. Short dogleg, not too much bother and a slight annoyance that you won’t be hitting more than a 4 iron on a par 4. The first eleven or twelve holes are all pretty short and tight, surrounded by houses which while impressive add nothing to your enjoyment of the round. The course is clearly played a lot and the pace was slow to start off with (not helped by two early par 3s) but it speeded up thank goodness. Carts on paths only did nothing to help anyone’s speed of play. It is only on the back 9 that the course opens up and there is the opportunity to hit a driver off the tee and open the shoulders. All in all probably a 3 ball club which is in fine condition but feels squeezed into an area probably not conducive to great golf course architecture.