Terramar

Club de Golf Terramar lies just outside the small coastal town of Sitges, near the Catalan capital of Barcelona. Terramar was founded in 1922 when Tom Simpson laid out the original holes and the course has undergone many alterations since then – Jim Fazio Golf Design carried out some changes of note back in 1993 when they redesigned, reshaped and regrassed the layout, altering the routing to its present configuration. More recently a major renovation has been completed by Mackenzie & Ebert.

Unusually, the main railway line south from Barcelona cuts through the property and holes 5 to 16 are played on the north side of the tracks (where four ponds come into play) with the remaining holes routed on the coastal side. The four par threes on the card are all testing holes (in excess of 180 yards from the tee) but, contrastingly, three of the four par five holes are relatively short, presenting good birdie opportunities.

A handful of holes are worthy of special mention. On the front nine, the par three 3rd with its tricky little creek in front of the green and the demanding, slight left doglegged par four 8th are the pick of the bunch. On the back nine, holes 12, 17 and 18 are very good. In fact, the closing hole is arguably the best on the card – a right doglegged par four, flanked by pine trees with a gently elevated, well-bunkered putting surface.