Spain
The Real Club de Golf El Prat was established in 1954 and for almost half a century the members played on a course designed by Javier Arana beside the airport to the south of Barcelona city centre. The Spanish Open was last held there in 1998 and Thomas Bjorn won it.
When the city airport was extended at the end of the 1990s, it was time for the club to seek new land for their golfing pursuits. A new site was acquired to the north of the city, between Terrassa and Sabadell, and the Greg Norman design team created two magnificent 18-hole layouts with a 9-hole practice course thrown in for good measure.
Constructed on relatively flat land, the 45-hole complex effectively consists of five sets of nine holes, each built to USGA stadium specification. They are big, bold and brash – perfect for holding national and international competitions.
The Open course measures around 7,000 yards from the medal tees with a par of 72. Fairways are generally wide, sometimes plunging quite dramatically. Greens are large with subtle borrows and tricky run-off areas. Trees line five holes on the front nine and at the 14th and 15th holes on the inward half. Fairway and greenside bunker complexes threaten both tee shots and approach play and golfers will find them suitably penal when encountered. The front and back nine start and end with very strong par fives and in between, there are two sets of tough par threes, only one of which is less than 180 yards in length.
Location: The area of Terassa only 22 km from the centre of Barcelona
Click to view map
