Tour Report - Gran Canaria, March 2025
It was good to get to a warmer environment away from the colder UK winter; a balmy 22deg C during the day and 16deg C at night. The group of 22 golfers travelled from Bristol, Gatwick and Stansted arriving within a window of 3 hours. The lead group confirming messages of refreshing drinks by the pool while the back stop negotiated the airport challenges. However we all met in a corner of the patio area in the evening for drinks to unwind and get to know one another.
The Lopesan Costa Meloneras Resort Hotel was very well appointed and very large with several early comments of distance travelled to reception and bar requiring GPS assistance.
The start up buffet meal was in the hotel restaurant and provided a gigantic selection of tasty offerings in a market-place style presentation. The Hotel was perfectly placed so we could adventure out most nights to the range of good restaurants only 10min walk away.
The Meloneras Golf Course was well situated relatively close to the Hotel and gave us some good challenges to get to grips with the club and ball particularly traversing the coastal cliffs on the back nine. The views were magnificent, with a clear blue Atlantic Ocean backing the lush green fairways. There certainly were some demanding holes offering a carry of 160yds over a gorge. We played this course twice so we all had the luxury of previous knowledge…mind you it didn’t always help.
The Maspalomas Course generated a relatively flat profile, an ideal course for holiday golf. While the course was not over-challenging it did have a couple of holes that demanded a bit of thought and positioning, especially in a 2-club wind. The golf shop did offer a fair bit of retail therapy for some!
The Anfi Tauro Course definitely lived up to its reputation as the best in the Canary Islands. It’s set in a canyon with holes and greens that must have been blasted out of the rock to form the contours and profile. The 3D elevations were scattered right across the course. We were always in awe at every turn of the scenery, views and golfing profile before us. The distances between greens combined with the height change, meant the compulsory buggies aided to the enjoyment of the course.
The surrounding rock around the fairways did result in some interesting wayward lost balls bouncing off at acute angles NEVER to be seen again. While we were only programmed to play this course once some keen members revisited it on our last rest day for even more “enjoyment”.
This Prosecco reception with prize giving was in true GSGB style, configured to give everyone a well-deserved prize. ‘We then convened for the final buffet meal in the hotel restaurant.
