Empordà Golf Forest Course

Empordà Forest was conceived in 1988 by Robert von Hagge, his first design in Spain, laid out through pine woodland a few kilometres from Girona as one half of the Empordà Golf resort. It's the more intimate and sheltered of the resort's two courses, tucked away from the wind that defines its sister Dunes course next door.

The course plays to a par of 72 over roughly 6,165 metres, narrower and more wooded than a typical von Hagge layout, with elevated greens well defended by bunkers rather than by length. It rewards strategic, thoughtful play over raw power: water comes into it modestly, most notably around the 6th, and the short par-five 9th is the hole to plan around rather than simply attack. Pine scent and shelter from the Empordà wind make this a genuinely different round from the exposed, links-style Dunes course sharing the estate.

Facilities include a driving range, academy and full practice greens, plus an on-site hotel for anyone staying to play both courses back to back. Book Empordà Forest for the more technical, sheltered half of the resort, and pair it with the Dunes course for a proper contrast in styles on the same trip.