La Moraleja Golf Course III

La Moraleja III Golf Course sits on the Algete estate of Real Club La Moraleja, twenty minutes north of Madrid, and dates to 2013 — one of two Jack Nicklaus Signature layouts built here after the club expanded beyond its original Alcobendas courses. Nicklaus took flat farmland and shaped it into rolling parkland, and the result was ranked by Golf Digest as the second-best course in Spain within a year of opening, behind only Valderrama. As part of a private club, advance booking is essential rather than a formality.

Strategy matters more than power here. Wide fairways and generous greens give the impression of an easy round, but three large lakes touch half the holes, and more than 1,200 planted trees are maturing into real trouble for anything off-line. Sixty-eight bunkers punish the loose approach, and Nicklaus has built in options on nearly every hole — the course rewards a player thinking two shots ahead over one swinging for distance. A powerful fade plays particularly well.

Facilities run to a driving range, academy, and locker rooms, all kept to the standard of a club that also picked up a maintenance award from World of Leading Golf. This is a rare chance to play a private Nicklaus design without a member on your card — book ahead and make the most of it.