Spain By The Golf Planet Holidays Team · Golf-travel specialists since 1981 · Published 28 June 2026 Most golf within a short drive of a capital city is flat and kind to tired legs. This one is not. The LiDAR survey records 201 metres of total climb across the eighteen, and that single figure tells […]
Most golf within a short drive of a capital city is flat and kind to tired legs. This one is not. The LiDAR survey records 201 metres of total climb across the eighteen, and that single figure tells you most of what your legs need to know before the first tee. The land tilts and folds the whole way round, so very few approach shots are played from a level stance. Sidehill lies are the norm, not the exception.
The prevailing wind comes off the east. Because the routing turns through every point of the compass, that same breeze helps you on one hole and fights you on the next, often within a few minutes of each other. Reading it correctly matters here as much as reading the greens. Par sits at around 72 on our derived numbers, though the routing, not the total, is the real examiner.
Think about the 15th before you think about anything else. It plays as a par five and climbs uphill all the way to the green, and on a typical easterly day the wind sits behind you. That pairing is a trap dressed up as an invitation. The slope quietly shortens every drive while the wind tempts you to keep chasing it, so the play is position over power. Treat it as an honest three-shot hole. Put the tee shot in the fairway, lay up to a full number you actually like, and a four is there for the taking without a single brave decision. Try to force the second up the hill and it usually pulls up short, leaving a fiddly pitch from a hanging lie.
The 8th asks the same questions in a slightly different accent. Another uphill par five with the breeze at your back, it flatters the long hitter and then punishes him. Reaching the green in two means carrying the climb and trusting a downwind club to stop, which is a lot to ask. Lay up. Leave a comfortable third and let the wind work for you on the short shot rather than the long one.
The 2nd completes the set, and it comes early enough to catch you before you have found any rhythm. Uphill again, wind behind again, it is the hole where players who came out swinging hard tend to make their first mistake. The patient line is the same one that works on 8 and 15. Find the short grass, accept that the hill is taking a club off your second whether you like it or not, and build the hole in three sensible pieces.
There is a thread running through all three. They are the course’s par fives, they all climb, and on a standard day they all run downwind, which is exactly why power is the wrong instinct on each of them. Get greedy and the slope eats the shot. Stay disciplined and they are scoring holes.
It is worth knowing that the wind does not always assist. The 16th, another of the longer holes, plays downhill but turns into the breeze, so the drop and the wind cancel each other out and you should club up despite what your eyes tell you. The closing 18th tips uphill with a crosswind, a fitting last test for the legs.
Where our specialists would stay in Spain
| Hole | Par | Plays | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | ~5 | Uphill, downwind | Comes early; lay up rather than chase the breeze |
| 8 | ~5 | Uphill, downwind | Two is greedy; a comfortable third is the smart score |
| 15 | ~5 | Uphill, downwind | The signature hole; the slope quietly punishes greedy drives |
| 16 | ~5 | Downhill, into wind | The wind flips here; club up despite the drop |
This is a course for the golfer who enjoys thinking their way round and does not mind a few blind, sloping stances. Big hitters can score well, but only if they leave the driver in the bag when the hole tells them to. Steady players who plot their way through the par fives will get on with it nicely.
On walkability the data is blunt, and so are we. With 201 metres of climb, this is hilly ground and a buggy is advised. Most visitors will want one, and it makes the round more enjoyable rather than less.
For timing, Mallorca’s shoulder seasons are the sweet spot. Spring, roughly March into May, and autumn, September into November, give you firm turf, sensible temperatures and an easterly breeze that has to be respected rather than survived. Midsummer is playable but hot on a course that asks this much of your legs. Winter golf is mild and quiet if you do not mind the odd cooler day.
That 201 metres of climb is the headline, and it is not for everyone. If you genuinely prefer to walk and you struggle on hills, this will be a long afternoon, buggy or not. There is no flat stretch to coast through and recover. Go in expecting a physical round on uneven ground, take the buggy, and the terrain becomes part of the fun instead of a slog.
We arrange tee times at Son Vida Golf Course as part of a tailor-made trip to Mallorca, with a hotel to match and the rounds you want to play. See what it’d cost
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