You have to feel sorry for a course like la canada, which is totally overshadowed by neighboring sotogrande, valderrama, and la reserva, both of which are within a five-mile radius. It's easy to see why the course is always ignored by visiting golfers because there's top spanish golf course rivalry like this.
La canada was a great 9-hole course for 20 years before the club hired dave thomas in 2002 to add nine more holes to the original robert trent jones senior design, making it an 18-hole course.
The thomas holes currently make up the front nine, which are clustered on the main road, while the rtj back nine is positioned on a more undulating terrain with good bunkering and impressive greens. The par five 10th and (stroke index 1) hole 12 are certainly the better holes on the course, but the best is saved for last, where a valiant tee shot through an daunting ravine is expected at the 18th, with fine views of the guadiaro river and mediterranean sea in the backdrop.