Son Gual vs Son Muntaner: Which Golf Trip Wins?
Mallorca's two heavyweight parklands sit twenty minutes apart and answer different questions. Golf Son Gual is the island's purist statement, a family owned Thomas Himmel design opened in 2007 that most rankings call the best course on Mallorca and one of the finest in Spain. Golf Son Muntaner is the flagship of Arabella Golf, a Kurt Rossknecht layout from 2000 in the Son Vida hills with Celebration Bermuda turf, a DP World Tour week on its record and two five star hotels feeding its tee sheet. Here is the head to head, verdict first.
Photograph: Golf Son Gual Mallorca, via Google
The verdict
For the single best round, Son Gual wins. The course Thomas Himmel laid over 156 hectares of rolling farmland east of Palma in 2007 is the most complete test on the island: a championship par 72 stretching to 6,621 meters off the back markers, defended by 66 deep, sharply lipped bunkers, water that arrives exactly when you would rather it did not, and more than 1,000 ancient olive trees standing guard between the family's own vines. The Pamer family built it as a private obsession and run it like one, and the polish shows from the double ended driving range to the greens. It is the course that tops most versions of the best courses on Mallorca conversation and appears in top ten lists for all of Spain, and it sits about ten to fifteen minutes from Palma airport on the old Manacor road, which makes it the easiest world class first round in the Mediterranean.
Son Muntaner wins the trip math. Kurt Rossknecht's 2000 design through the wooded Son Vida hills above Palma is the anchor of Arabella Golf Mallorca, sharing one estate with Son Vida, the island's oldest course, and Son Quint. It was regrassed wall to wall with Celebration Bermuda in 2016, a first for Europe at the time, hosted the Mallorca Golf Open on the DP World Tour in 2022 and the Mallorca Ladies Golf Open in 2023, and plays past Na Capitana, an olive tree roughly a thousand years old. Guests at the St. Regis Mardavall on the coast and the Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel inside the estate get preferential tee times and reduced fees across all three courses, and a shared buggy is bundled into the green fee from March through November 2026. Pick by appetite: the purer single course by the airport, or the fuller resort week in the hills, as part of any wider Mallorca golf plan.
Head to head
| Son Gual | Son Muntaner | |
|---|---|---|
| The course | Thomas Himmel, opened 2007; family owned championship par 72, 6,621 meters from the tips, east of Palma on the Manacor road | Kurt Rossknecht, opened 2000; flagship of Arabella Golf Mallorca alongside Son Vida and Son Quint in the Son Vida hills |
| Tournament pedigree | No tour stops; built instead as a pure members and visitors course, regularly ranked Mallorca's best and among Spain's top ten | Mallorca Golf Open 2022 on the DP World Tour; Mallorca Ladies Golf Open 2023 on the Ladies European Tour |
| Signature flavor | Big, open, manicured farmland golf: 66 deep bunkers, lakes, wildflowers, vineyards and over 1,000 olive trees | Sculpted holes through pines and oaks above Palma, with the thousand year old Na Capitana olive at its heart |
| Greens and conditioning | Classic cool season surfaces kept to a famously high standard year round | Wall to wall Celebration Bermuda since 2016, a European first, built for Mallorca's heat |
| Indicative 2026 fees | About 105 euros midsummer to roughly 155 to 165 euros in peak spring and fall; discounted rounds from about 79 euros in low season | Roughly 90 to 245 euros by season; twilight from about 68 euros; shared buggy included March 1 to November 30, 2026 |
| Buggies and practice | GPS buggy about 45 euros; double ended range, big putting green, chipping area with practice bunkers | Buggy bundled in season; range, short game areas and the Arabella Golf Academy on the estate |
| From Palma airport | About 10 to 15 minutes; roughly 20 minutes from the city center | About 20 to 25 minutes; roughly 10 minutes from the city center |
| Stay on site | No hotel; grand clubhouse only, so base in Palma or Son Vida | St. Regis Mardavall and Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel guests get preferred tee times and reduced fees |
| Who it suits | Golfers chasing the single best round on the island with the shortest possible transfer | Groups and couples wanting 63 resort holes, hotel perks and spa days in one address |
Course facts verified June 2026; green fees are indicative and move with season and demand, so always confirm directly before booking. See our Mallorca green fees guide or check tee time availability.
Who should pick which
Pick Son Gual if
The round itself is the point. You want the strongest, best conditioned test on Mallorca, a course that asks real questions off the tee, punishes a lazy approach into those 66 bunkers and still sends you off with cava and the family's own olive oil in the clubhouse. It works brilliantly as the opening or closing round of a trip because the airport is barely fifteen minutes away, and it slots naturally into our 4 day Mallorca golf itinerary. Book mornings two to three months out for the peak spring and fall windows, because the tee sheet is deliberately kept quiet.
Pick Son Muntaner if
You want the fullest easy week in Balearic golf. Base at the Sheraton inside the Son Vida estate or the St. Regis Mardavall on the water, play Son Muntaner, Son Vida and Son Quint on three consecutive mornings with preferred tee times, and let the buggy come included from March through November. The Bermuda surfaces stay true deep into the hot months, which matters more than most visitors expect. It suits groups mixing abilities and couples adding spa days, and it stacks well against winter sun alternatives in our Mallorca vs Canary Islands comparison.
Plan your Mallorca golf trip
Son Gual, Son Muntaner, or both inside one Palma week. Tell us roughly when and who is traveling, and one concierge builds the tee times, the hotel and the transfers, and costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Son Gual vs Son Muntaner questions
Is Son Gual or Son Muntaner the better golf course?
For the single round, we give it to Son Gual. The Thomas Himmel design of 2007, a par 72 stretching to 6,621 meters off the back tees, is the course most rankings call the best on Mallorca and one of the top ten in Spain, with 66 deep bunkers, more than 1,000 olive trees and the family's own vines framing the holes. Son Muntaner, the Kurt Rossknecht design of 2000, answers with wall to wall Celebration Bermuda turf laid in 2016, a DP World Tour event in 2022 and a Ladies European Tour event in 2023, and it is the stronger week when you weigh in the hotels and the 63 Arabella holes around it.
How much are green fees at Son Gual and Son Muntaner in 2026?
Both price by season and time of day. Son Gual's 18 hole rate has recently run from about 105 euros in the heat of midsummer to roughly 155 to 165 euros in the peak spring and fall windows, with discounted bookings from about 79 euros in low season. Son Muntaner spans roughly 90 to 245 euros across the year, with twilight rounds from about 68 euros, and a shared buggy is included in the green fee from March 1 to November 30, 2026. All figures are indicative 2026 rates; always confirm directly before booking.
How far are Son Gual and Son Muntaner from Palma and the airport?
Both are genuinely close. Son Gual sits on the old road toward Manacor, about ten to fifteen minutes from Palma airport and roughly twenty minutes from the city center, which makes it the easiest first or last round of any Mallorca trip. Son Muntaner lies in the Son Vida hills directly above Palma, about ten minutes from the center and twenty to twenty five minutes from the airport, with the Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel a two minute hop from its first tee.
Can you stay on site at Son Gual or Son Muntaner?
Son Muntaner wins this one outright. It anchors Arabella Golf Mallorca alongside Son Vida and Son Quint, and guests of the five star St. Regis Mardavall on the coast and the Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel inside the Son Vida estate get preferential tee times and reduced green fees across all three courses. Son Gual is a standalone family owned club with a grand clubhouse but no hotel, so most visitors base in Palma or at a Son Vida property and drive the fifteen to twenty minutes out.
Do you need a buggy at Son Gual or Son Muntaner?
Neither course requires one, but both reward it in summer. Son Gual rolls across wide open former farmland and a GPS buggy has recently cost about 45 euros for 18 holes, with a double ended driving range, a large putting green and a chipping area with practice bunkers included in the welcome. Son Muntaner climbs and dips through wooded hills, and from March 1 to November 30, 2026 a shared buggy is bundled into the green fee, which softens the peak rate considerably. Standard smart golf dress applies at both: collared shirts, tailored shorts and no denim.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts verified June 2026, green fees indicative. Last reviewed: June 2026.