The phrase “la Cañada” roughly translates to English as “the glen”, and by the time you reach the 18th hole here at La Cañada golf club you will realise why the golf course has this name! From the men’s tees you are confronted with a huge carry to the distant fairway of over 150 metres and the yawning tree-filled chasm below sits ready to swallow up even a slightly mis-hit shot! Even the ladies tees which are considerably further forward and to the side of the ravine present a real challenge to many golfers as this angle of attack also requires a brave shot over the drop below – just with a shorter carry to the fairway.
However, don’t be fooled into thinking that la Cañada is simply about the 18th hole only as the preceding 17 holes offer a variety of golfing challenges as the course winds its way along the narrow tree lined fairways to the well protected and designed greens – that to be honest are the finest feature of this course.
Situated literally next door to the Spanish golfing heavyweights of the Sotogrande enclave at La Reserva and Valderrama, la Cañada is quite a different proposition to these courses and offers visitors a warm welcome both on the course and in the busy clubhouse which has recently been refurbished. In fact, the late Jaime Ortiz Patino – founder of Valderrama – also had great involvement here at la Cañada and the club keeps a museum-like room of photos and other memorabilia of important moments in the history of golf in the area, so be sure to ask to see it after your round…
The practice facilities are also very good here at la Cañada Golf, to the extent that the R&A have commissioned the club to be the venue of an experimental artificial-turf green and artificial bunker complex which they are going to use for sustainability studies which will be vital in the future as golf courses around the world look for ways to reduce their environmental impact; another feature of la Cañada which is worth checking out!
