Best golf courses on the Costa Brava

Golf Girona, a Fred Hawtree parkland from 1992, rounds out the cluster a few miles from the city centre. Hawtree rated it among his best work for its old-fashioned, isolated feel. One steer from us: if your handicap is in single figures, put the Empordà Links ahead of Platja de Pals on the card. The von Hagge mounding and quick greens ask harder questions, and the open ground gives the wind something to work with.

“PGA Catalunya retained top spot as Spain’s No.1 ranked golf resort and placed in the Golf World Top 100 Resorts of Continental Europe.” Golf Business News, 27 October 2022

The pedigree is real. The Stadium has staged the Spanish Open on multiple occasions and the 1999 Sarazen World Open, and for years it hosted the Final Stage of European Tour Qualifying School. The gentler Tour Course (par 73, opened 2005) shares the same designers but gives you wider fairways, which is what makes the resort work for a group of mixed handicaps. The obvious base is the five-star Camiral Hotel, from £515 (≈ €595) (≈ $695) (≈ CA$965) (≈ AU$975) (≈ NZ$1,175) (≈ CHF 555) (≈ kr 6,535) (≈ kr 6,655) (≈ kr 4,485) pp, roughly a 15-minute transfer from Girona Airport and one of the shortest airport-to-golf hops in Europe.

If the group is torn, base in Girona or at Camiral itself rather than Barcelona. A city base sounds appealing until you have done the hour-and-a-quarter drive north before an 8am tee time twice. In Girona, the Ciutat de Girona Hotel, from £250 (≈ €285) (≈ $335) (≈ CA$465) (≈ AU$475) (≈ NZ$565) (≈ CHF 265) (≈ kr 3,165) (≈ kr 3,225) (≈ kr 2,175) pp, puts the old town and its restaurants on your doorstep. On the Pals side, the Hotel Terraverda at Empordà Golf (from £295 (≈ €335) (≈ $395) (≈ CA$545) (≈ AU$555) (≈ NZ$665) (≈ CHF 315) (≈ kr 3,745) (≈ kr 3,805) (≈ kr 2,565) pp) sits right on the von Hagge fairways, and La Costa Golf & Beach Resort, from £335 (≈ €385) (≈ $455) (≈ CA$625) (≈ AU$635) (≈ NZ$765) (≈ CHF 365) (≈ kr 4,245) (≈ kr 4,325) (≈ kr 2,915) pp, pairs Platja de Pals with the beach. And should the trip deserve a cliff-top send-off, spend the last night at the Aigua Blava Hotel in Begur, from £520 (≈ €605) (≈ $705) (≈ CA$975) (≈ AU$985) (≈ NZ$1,185) (≈ CHF 565) (≈ kr 6,595) (≈ kr 6,715) (≈ kr 4,535) pp. For Mas Nou, the Park San Jorge Hotel at Platja d’Aro fits, and the Petit Palace Opera Garden, from £430 (≈ €495) (≈ $585) (≈ CA$805) (≈ AU$815) (≈ NZ$975) (≈ CHF 465) (≈ kr 5,455) (≈ kr 5,555) (≈ kr 3,745) pp, covers Barcelona if flight times force a city stay.

Girona’s monthly highs run from about 13-14C in January, through 17C in March and 20-23C in May, peaking at 28-31C in July and August before easing back through 25-27C in September, 21-22C in October and 16-17C in November. July and August are the months to be careful with. Book early-morning or late-afternoon tee times in high summer and leave the middle of the day for the pool.

One honest warning. October is the wettest month, averaging roughly 82-95mm of rain, so an autumn trip trades comfortable temperatures for the highest chance of a wet round. July is the driest month at about 38mm, though it brings the peak heat with it. Winter (December to February) stays mild and playable at around 13-14C and is the quietest, cheapest season, but it is also when the Tramuntana, the cold dry wind off the Pyrenees, blows hardest and can last for days. April is the windiest month overall, worth knowing if the exposed Empordà Links is on your card.

Golf Planet Holidays is a ground-only operator. Your package covers hotel, green fees and resort transfers, hand-built around your dates, and flights are an optional ATOL-protected add-on rather than part of the price. From Girona Airport, typical resort transfers are short: about 25 minutes to Lloret de Mar, 35 to Tossa de Mar and around 40 to Palamós. From Barcelona, the southern resorts are roughly 1 to 1.5 hours by road.

A few practicalities. Spain runs one hour ahead of the UK all year, uses the euro, and UK passport holders travel visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180. Your passport must be less than 10 years old on arrival and valid for at least 3 months after you leave. From late 2026 UK travellers will also need an ETIAS travel authorisation, a visa waiver rather than a visa.

Low handicaps come for Spain’s No.1 course. Mixed-ability groups pair the Stadium with the forgiving Tour Course from a base at the Camiral Hotel, while couples and four-balls get coast, dining and short transfers in a single week, with the Hotel Terraverda a strong-value way in at £295 (≈ €335) (≈ $395) (≈ CA$545) (≈ AU$555) (≈ NZ$665) (≈ CHF 315) (≈ kr 3,745) (≈ kr 3,805) (≈ kr 2,565) pp. The region also runs deep on well-priced hotels and villas, part of why it recorded 67% growth in European golfers across 2013-2015. And if your priority is a sea-view round, Club de Golf d’Aro Mas Nou is the only course here that delivers it.