How to play Abama Golf Course

The first thing the data tells you is the gradient. Across eighteen holes you cover roughly 367 metres of vertical climb, which is a serious amount of up and down for a round of golf. This is hill country. Holes tip and tilt, fairways run away from you or back uphill into your face, and almost nothing here sits genuinely level. The prevailing wind comes from the south, and because the routing turns through every point of the compass, the same breeze that helps you on one hole will be shoving across you on the next. That combination, steep terrain plus a wind that keeps changing its angle, is what makes Abama Golf Course a thinking player’s course rather than a bombing contest.

The signature hole is the 10th, and it is a treat. It plays as a downhill par five, the kind of hole that tempts you to let the shoulders go. The reward is real: it plays like a hole you can reach in two, so if you have caught your drive cleanly, go for it. The one thing to respect is the wind. It blows across you here, so allow for the drift and start the ball into it rather than chasing the flag straight on. Get greedy with the line and the crosswind will hand your ball to the trouble down the low side.

The card’s hardest stretch is its three-shotters and the closing par four. The 3rd is an uphill par five where power buys you nothing. Position over power is the read. You are grinding uphill into a crosswind, so take your medicine, advance the ball in sensible chunks, and leave yourself a flat-ish number for the approach rather than a half-wedge off a sidehill lie.

The 17th is the brute of the back nine. It plays roughly flat underfoot, but it runs straight into that south wind, so it plays a good deal longer than the yardage suggests. Club up. Treat it as a genuine three-shot hole, keep the ball low and under the breeze where you can, and do not be seduced into forcing a long second that the wind will only knock down short. Patience scores here.

Then the 18th, a closing par four that plays flat and, helpfully, downwind. After the slog of 17 this is your chance to finish well. It is a full two-shotter: take the driver, then a mid or long iron in. With the wind at your back you can be a touch more aggressive off the tee, but keep enough in reserve to control the approach, because a downwind ball lands hot and runs.

Pars and distances above are derived from terrain and layout data rather than the official scorecard, so treat them as character, not gospel.

Abama rewards the golfer who enjoys reading a hole before hitting it. If you like working out where the slope sends the ball and how much the wind is taking off your number, you will have a fine time. The terrain is genuinely hilly, so a buggy is advised rather than optional, and most golfers will be glad of one by the back nine. Higher handicappers should not be put off, but lower handicappers will get the most out of the strategic puzzles the routing sets.

On timing, Tenerife is a year-round golf island, but the shoulder months tend to give the kindest playing conditions. Late autumn through spring, roughly October to April, brings comfortable temperatures and a wind that, while ever present from the south, is usually manageable. High summer can be hot work on a course with this much climb, so if you feel the heat, lean towards the cooler half of the calendar.

The climb is the catch. At around 367 metres of total ascent and descent, this is a demanding walk, and even with a buggy you will feel the gradients in your stance, your club selection and your tired legs late in the round. Anyone with knee or back trouble, or anyone hoping to stroll it on foot, should go in clear-eyed. Take the buggy, take your time, and let the terrain be part of the fun rather than a fight.

We arrange tee times at Abama Golf Course as part of a tailor-made trip to Tenerife, with a hotel to match and the rounds you want to play.

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