Spain doesn't have to mean Marbella, and the Costa Brava is the proof. North of Barcelona, you get Catalan coastal villages, the Empordà wine country, and a stack of courses that quietly outperform their southern cousins on conditioning and crowds.
PGA Catalunya's Stadium Course is the headline — a legitimate European Tour venue with the kind of routing that rewards thinking your way around. Club de Golf d'Aro hands you Pyrenees views from elevated tees, and Golf Empordà gives you 36 holes of Robert von Hagge design without the tee-sheet circus. Add Barcelona an hour down the road, the Dalí museum in Figueres, and a wine region most American groups have never heard of, and you've got a trip that works for the guys who want to play 36 a day and the guys who want a long lunch.
Dogleg's Pick Courses
Where to Play
In order of conviction. Every course on this list was chosen deliberately.
PGA Catalunya — Stadium Course
€175+The headline track and the reason most groups book the trip. Angel Gallardo and Neil Coles routed it through pine and cork forest with elevation changes that don't show on the scorecard, and the par-3 13th over water is the photo everyone takes home. Pay the green fee, hit the range early, and don't expect to score — this thing has hosted the Spanish Open for a reason.
Club de Golf d'Aro — Mas Nou
€100–€175Sits up in the hills above Platja d'Aro with elevated tees that hand you Pyrenees-and-Mediterranean views on multiple holes. Ramón Espinosa's routing is tight in spots and the greens are quick — bring your short game. The drive up from the coast is a switchback grind but worth it.
Golf Empordà
€50–€100Thirty-six holes of Robert von Hagge design on the Empordà plain with the Pyrenees as the backdrop. The Forest course winds through pines, the Links course plays more open and exposed — you can do both in a day and not feel like you played the same course twice. American groups don't know about this place, which is exactly why you should go.
Club de Golf Costa Brava
€50–€100The old man of the region — opened in 1968, designed by Hamilton Stutt, and still the most charming track on the coast. Tight, tree-lined, walkable, and not long by modern standards, which means accuracy matters more than power. A perfect day-three round when your back is barking and you just want to play golf.
Golf Empordà — two courses on the Empordà plain with the Pyrenees as backdrop, designed by Robert von Hagge, and completely overlooked by groups that fly into Barcelona and head straight to PGA Catalunya.
Where to Stay
Lodging Picks
Ranging from splurge to smart. Pick based on what the group wants and how much time you'll actually be at the hotel.
Camiral Golf & Wellness (PGA Catalunya)
$$$$On-property at PGA Catalunya, which is the move if golf is the centerpiece and you don't want to drive after the round. Rooms are modern and comfortable, the bar is fine for a beer after 36, and you can roll out of bed onto the Stadium Course. The trade-off is you're isolated — there's no village to walk to for dinner.
Mas de Torrent Hotel & Spa
$$$$A restored 18th-century farmhouse in the Empordà countryside, Relais & Châteaux property, and the right base if you want food and wine country to be part of the trip. Twenty minutes from the von Hagge courses, forty to PGA Catalunya. Not cheap, but the kind of place where a non-golfing spouse would actually be happy.
Hotel Peralada Wine Spa & Golf
$$$Attached to Golf Peralada and the Peralada winery, which is a useful combination. Solid mid-range rooms, a casino on property if anyone in the group wants to chase poker after dinner, and easy access to Cadaqués and the Dalí museum. Less polished than Camiral but cheaper and better located for the northern courses.
Hostal de La Gavina (S'Agaró)
$$$$Coastal grande dame in S'Agaró, walking distance to a quiet beach cove and twenty minutes from Club de Golf Costa Brava and Mas Nou. This is the option for groups who want the Costa Brava coast experience — long lunches, sea views, the whole thing — and don't mind driving thirty-plus minutes to PGA Catalunya.
Empordà Villa Rental (VRBO/Airbnb)
$$$For groups of six or more, renting a stone farmhouse in the Empordà is genuinely the best play — a full kitchen, a pool, outdoor dining, and the kind of nightly cost-per-head that makes the trip pencil out. Look around Pals, Begur, or Sant Pere Pescador for the best mix of access and atmosphere.
Hotel Llegendes de Girona Catedral
$$$If you want a night or two in Girona itself — and you should — this is a small hotel tucked into the medieval old town a block from the cathedral. Walk everywhere, eat at the right places, no parking headache. Fifteen minutes from PGA Catalunya, so you can golf in the morning and be back in town for tapas.
Where to Eat & Drink
The Right Restaurants
10 picks across the full range — the big dinner out, the post-round decompress, and the morning before an early tee time.
El Celler de Can Roca
fine diningThree Michelin stars in Girona, twice voted best restaurant in the world, and you have to book months out. If you can land a table, do it — this is once-in-a-trip stuff and worth burning a free evening on. If you can't get in, the family also runs Roca Moo and the more accessible Can Roca next door.
Compartir (Cadaqués)
modern catalanRun by three of the original elBulli chefs, in a whitewashed courtyard in Cadaqués. Small plates, Catalan ingredients, smart wine list. The drive out to Cadaqués is part of the appeal — wind through Cap de Creus, eat lunch, walk the harbor, drive back. One of the best afternoons of the trip.
Restaurant Massana
fine diningOne Michelin star in Girona's old town, less of a scene than Can Roca, and easier to get into. Pere Massana's tasting menus lean classical Catalan with technique. Right call for the big group dinner if Can Roca isn't happening.
La Calèndula (Regencós)
modern catalanIolanda Bustos cooks with foraged herbs and flowers in a small inn in Regencós village. Sounds precious, isn't — the food is grounded and seasonal and the wine list is deep on Empordà labels. Book ahead, it's small.
Can Xifra (Pals)
rustic catalanOld-school Empordà farmhouse restaurant — grilled meats over wood fire, rice dishes, country wine. The kind of long lunch where you order the suckling lamb, finish a bottle, and rethink your afternoon. Ideal post-round on a Golf Empordà day.
La Xicra (Palafrugell)
seafoodCatalan seafood done properly — black rice, suquet de peix, fresh fish from the boats at nearby Calella de Palafrugell. White tablecloth without being stiff. The sort of lunch that turns into 3 p.m. before anyone notices.
L'Escamarlà (Palamós)
seafoodPalamós is famous for its prawns, and this is the place to eat them. Order the gambas de Palamós a la plancha, a bottle of cold albariño, and try not to talk too much. Casual, harborfront, no pretense.
L'Arcada (Girona)
tapasTapas under the arcades on Girona's main square, Plaça de la Independència. Not the best food in Girona but a perfect first-night stop — order the bombas, the patatas, a few beers, and start the trip without overthinking it.
1477 Restaurant (Camiral / PGA Catalunya)
resort diningOn-property at Camiral, set in a restored 15th-century farmhouse. Catalan dishes done well, good wine list, and it solves the 'we just played 36 and don't want to drive' problem. Not a destination meal, but the right call when you're staying at PGA Catalunya.
Federal Café (Girona)
brunchAustralian-style breakfast and brunch place in Girona's old town — proper coffee, eggs done right, the kind of cure you need after a Can Roca tasting menu. Open early enough for an early tee time.
Beyond the Course
When the Group Needs a Break
All of these are mandatory.
Girona Old Town & Game of Thrones Walk
The medieval old town is genuinely one of the prettiest in Europe — Jewish Quarter, cathedral steps, Roman walls you can walk along. If anyone in the group watched Game of Thrones, half of season six was filmed here. Allow a half day, eat lunch, drink coffee, walk it off.
Book this experience →Dalí Theatre-Museum (Figueres)
Salvador Dalí designed his own museum in his hometown of Figueres and it's as weird as you'd expect — surrealist optical illusions, his crypt in the basement, a Cadillac with a rainstorm inside. Forty-five minutes well spent on a non-golf afternoon, especially if you pair it with lunch in Cadaqués where Dalí lived.
Book this experience →Empordà Wine Country Day
DO Empordà is a small wine region most Americans have never heard of — garnatxa, carinyena, fresh whites from the coast. Perelada, Espelt, and Mas Llunes all do tastings. Hire a driver for the day, hit two or three bodegas, eat lunch in Castelló d'Empúries. Way better than another round for the wine guys in the group.
Book this experience →Cap de Creus & Cadaqués Drive
The road out to Cadaqués is one of the great coastal drives in Spain — windswept, rocky, all switchbacks. Cadaqués itself is a whitewashed village where Dalí kept a house (now a museum, worth touring). Lunch at Compartir, walk the harbor, drive back at sunset. Full-day commitment, fully worth it.
Book this experience →Barcelona Overnight
An hour and change down the AP-7 and you're in Barcelona. Sagrada Familia, tapas in El Born, a real night out — the Costa Brava doesn't have nightlife and Barcelona has too much. Build in one or two nights at the front or back of the trip and don't try to commute.
Book this experience →Pro Tips
Before You Book
PGA Catalunya Stadium Course is the reason most groups come: European Tour venue, consistent top-5 ranking in Spain, and genuinely world-class design.
Club de Golf d'Aro Mas Nou is the quieter alternative: 45 holes in the Gavarres mountains, less known internationally, and often better conditioned than PGA Catalunya.
Golf Empordà is the hidden gem: two Robert von Hagge courses on the Empordà plain with Pyrenees backdrop, completely overlooked by groups flying into Barcelona.
Girona is the correct base: 30 minutes from PGA Catalunya, medieval old town, excellent Catalan food scene, and a fraction of Barcelona prices.
Fly into Girona (GRO) or Barcelona (BCN). The GRO RyanAir route from London is often £30 return.
Dogleg's Advice
Most groups land at BCN, drive straight to PGA Catalunya, play the Stadium twice, and call it a trip. That's a mistake. Spend a night up in the Empordà, play the von Hagge tracks, eat in Girona, and you'll come home talking about the food and the Pyrenees backdrop as much as the golf.
What to Know
Fly into BCN and rent vehicles — this is not a walking trip and the courses are spread across the region. Shoulder seasons (April–June, September–October) are the play; July and August get hot, and the coast fills up with European holidaymakers. Nightlife on the Costa Brava itself is sleepy village stuff — if your group wants a real night out, build in a Barcelona evening or two.
Who This Trip Is For
✓ Best for
- →Groups who want top-tier European golf with Catalan food and culture built in
- →Architecture enthusiasts targeting PGA Catalunya alongside Spain's most underrated design
- →Anyone who wants European golf without the cost of Scotland or Ireland
- →UK and northern European golfers looking for a short-haul sun escape
✕ Not for
- →Groups expecting links golf or seaside turf conditions
- →Golfers who need Turnberry-level history and tradition
- →Anyone who can't handle the logistics of two flights (US → Barcelona or Girona)
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