Golf in Gran Canaria
Golf in Spain began here. The Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas, founded in 1891, is the country's oldest club, and its course on the rim of the Bandama volcano still looks down over the island it started. Today the game lives in the south, where Maspalomas runs beside one of Europe's great dune fields, Meloneras touches the ocean and Salobre's two courses thread through desert hills. The courses that matter, the season, costs and how to plan it.
Photograph: Maspalomas Golf, by Jos Hoogenraad, via Google
Why golf in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the round island with everything on it: a miniature continent of dunes, pine forest, volcanic peaks and year round sunshine an hour or two ahead of the Moroccan coast. For golfers its claim is double. There is history, because the Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas at Bandama, founded by the British community in 1891, is the oldest golf club in Spain, and its current Mackenzie Ross course from 1957 plays along the rim of a volcanic caldera at 400 meters with the whole northeast of the island below. And there is the modern south, where Maspalomas Golf, another Mackenzie Ross design opened in 1968, runs flat, palm lined and honest beside the protected dunes and lagoon of the Maspalomas nature reserve.
Around those anchors the south coast has built a compact, walkable golf destination. Meloneras, the Ron Kirby design between the Maspalomas lighthouse and Pasito Blanco, brings the ocean into play on its seaside loop; Salobre's Old and New courses turn the arid hills behind the coast into a desert golf landscape unique in Spain, all rock, ravine and emerald fairway; and Anfi Tauro adds a bold canyon course to the west. Fees are gentle by resort standards, multi round cards stretch them further, and everything south of the airport sits within half an hour of everything else. Few destinations make a five round winter week this easy.
The regions
Maspalomas and the dunes
The golf capital of the island: Maspalomas Golf beside the famous dune field, the lighthouse promenade, and the resort towns of Playa del Ingles and Maspalomas with every grade of hotel behind the beach.
Meloneras and Pasito Blanco
The polished western end of the southern strip, where the Meloneras course touches the sea and the five star hotels line a quiet promenade, the natural base for a golf and spa trip.
Salobre and the desert hills
Ten minutes inland, a different planet: the arid ravine country of the Salobre valley holds 36 holes of desert golf and a serene resort hotel away from the coastal bustle.
Anfi Tauro and the west
The steep southwest coast around Puerto de Mogan, the prettiest harbor village on the island, with the canyon golf of Anfi Tauro and winter sun that lasts all day.
Las Palmas and Bandama
The capital, its city beach at Las Canteras and, in the hills behind, the historic Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas on the Bandama crater rim with El Cortijo nearby, the island's heritage golf day.
The courses that matter
Maspalomas Golf
The island's essential round: a flat, generous, palm lined par 73 laid out by Mackenzie Ross beside the protected Maspalomas dunes, five minutes from the southern hotels. Wind off the dunes is the defense. Indicative 2026 fees around 120 to 143 euros.
Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas
The oldest golf club in Spain, and one of the great settings in European golf: a par 71 along the rim of the Bandama caldera at 400 meters, with the crater on one side and the ocean on the horizon. Visitors are welcome; the heritage day trip every golfer here should make.
Meloneras Golf
The seaside round: a Ron Kirby design between the Maspalomas nature reserve and the harbor at Pasito Blanco whose closing seaside holes play right above the Atlantic. The most photogenic course on the south coast and steps from the five star strip.
Salobre Old Course
Spain's closest thing to Arizona: emerald fairways threaded through arid hills, ravines and rock at the Salobre resort ten minutes behind the coast. With its sibling New Course alongside, a 36 hole desert golf address unique in the country.
Salobre New Course
The wilder half of the Salobre 36: shorter and tighter than the Old, climbing higher into the ravine country with dramatic drops and panoramas across the southern mountains. Play both and pick your favorite; most groups split evenly.
Anfi Tauro
A bold par 72 in the Tauro canyon near Puerto de Mogan, rock walls framing wide fairways and white sand bunkers. Part of the multi round card family with Maspalomas and Meloneras, and the strongest golf on the steep western coast.
Designers, dates and access verified June 2026 from the clubs and leading databases. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking.
When to go
| Season | Conditions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| November to April | The famous winter sun: low to mid twenties Celsius, dry in the south | High season; book courses and hotels early and expect peak rates |
| May to October | Warm to hot, tempered by trade winds; south coast stays comfortable | The value window, same courses at lower rates |
| Any month | Occasional calima, a hot dusty Saharan wind, for a few days at a time | The only weather to plan around; otherwise golf is a twelve month game here |
Almost all the golf sits in the dry south of the island. The greener north, including Bandama, runs a few degrees cooler with more cloud, pleasant rather than problematic.
Indicative costs
| Item | Indicative 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maspalomas Golf green fee | Around 120 to 143 euros | The benchmark championship fee in the south; resident and twilight rates lower |
| Southern resort courses (Meloneras, Salobre, Anfi Tauro) | From around 45 to 110 euros by season | Multi round cards across Meloneras, Maspalomas and Anfi Tauro cut the per round cost |
| Heritage golf (Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas) | Visitor green fees below the southern flagships | Confirm visitor windows with the club directly |
Indicative third party figures for the 2026 season, shown to set expectations only. We are a guide, not an operator, and never quote our own pricing. Green fees move with season and demand. Always confirm directly before booking.
Getting there and around
Gran Canaria's airport sits on the east coast, twenty five minutes from Maspalomas and under half an hour from the capital, with year round connections across Europe; the Canaries' winter schedules are among the densest leisure networks anywhere. The southern golf is so compact that many visitors skip the hire car entirely, relying on taxis and hotel shuttles between Maspalomas, Meloneras and Salobre. Take the car if Bandama is on the plan, as it should be, and circle the island's volcanic center on the rest day; the summit roads around Roque Nublo are among the best drives in Spain.
Where to stay
Meloneras is the golfer's base: a quiet five star strip beside the Meloneras course, ten minutes from Maspalomas Golf and the dunes, with the lighthouse promenade for the evenings. Playa del Ingles and Maspalomas town offer deeper value and livelier nights behind the same beach. For seclusion, the Salobre resort hotel sits between its own 36 holes in the desert hills, and Puerto de Mogan suits couples pairing Anfi Tauro with the prettiest harbor on the island. City lovers can even base in Las Palmas, play Bandama and El Cortijo, and day trip south against the traffic.
Plan your Gran Canaria golf trip
Tell us whether you want a winter sun week on the southern courses, the heritage round at Bandama folded in, or a two island trip with Tenerife, and roughly when. One concierge secures the tee times, sorts the base and the transfers, and costs the whole trip to the head, with no obligation.
Gran Canaria golf questions
What is the best golf course in Gran Canaria?
For most travelling golfers it is Maspalomas Golf, the Mackenzie Ross designed par 73 that runs flat and honest alongside the protected dunes and lagoon of the Maspalomas nature reserve, minutes from the lighthouse and the southern resorts. The connoisseur's pick is Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas at Bandama, the oldest golf club in Spain, founded in 1891, whose current Mackenzie Ross course from 1957 sits on the rim of a volcanic crater at 400 meters with views over the island. Salobre's two desert courses are the modern resort alternative. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.
Can visitors play golf in Gran Canaria?
Yes, almost everywhere. The southern resort courses, Maspalomas, Meloneras, Salobre Old and New and Anfi Tauro, are fully public with online booking, and even the historic Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas welcomes visiting green fee players on its Bandama crater course. Indicative 2026 fees run from around 45 to 75 euros at the value end through 120 to 143 euros at Maspalomas, with multi round cards across Maspalomas, Meloneras and Anfi Tauro cutting the per round cost. Always confirm current access and fees directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in Gran Canaria?
The island markets itself on eternal spring, and the golf calendar follows: November to April is the high season, when northern Europe arrives for winter sun and tee sheets are at their fullest and dearest, while May to October offers the same courses at lower rates with reliable warmth tempered by trade winds. The south, where almost all the golf sits, is the driest, sunniest corner of the island year round. The occasional calima, a hot dusty wind from the Sahara, is the only weather worth planning around, and it rarely lasts more than a few days.
How many golf courses does Gran Canaria have?
There are eight courses of consequence for a visitor. In the south: Maspalomas beside the dunes, Meloneras with its Ron Kirby designed seaside holes, the Old and New courses at Salobre in the desert hills, and the canyon course at Anfi Tauro. In the north and center: the historic Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas at Bandama, El Cortijo outside the capital and the nine holes at Las Palmeras. A week based in Maspalomas or Meloneras covers the southern five with almost no driving, with Bandama the worthwhile day trip north.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Course openings, ranking shake ups and the booking windows that matter. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts, access and seasons verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.