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Golf guide • Spain • Basque Country

Golf in Bilbao: Neguri's clifftops, Basque hills and pintxos at night

Bilbao, in the Spanish Basque Country, has three very different 18-hole courses less than half an hour from the centre: the Real Sociedad de Golf de Neguri, a Javier Arana layout opened in 1961 on the cliffs of Getxo; Uraburu, designed by José María Olazábal on the slopes of Mount Ganguren; and Meaztegi, a Severiano Ballesteros course on former iron mines. Come to combine golf, the Guggenheim and fine Basque cooking, ideally from May to October.

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For a long time Bilbao was a city of blast furnaces and shipyards. Since the Guggenheim opened in 1997, the Nervión estuary has become a promenade and the city a destination for art and food. For golfers, the appeal lies in how close everything is: you stay by the water, in the Casco Viejo or facing the museum, and the area's three 18-hole courses are all twenty to thirty minutes away by road, so you never spend a whole day in the car.

The three layouts complement one another. Neguri, in Getxo, is Biscay's historic club, founded in 1911: an outward nine along the clifftop facing the Cantabrian Sea, a homeward nine among maritime pines. Uraburu, in Galdakao, climbs and falls across the flanks of the Ganguren with views over the Nervión valley. Meaztegi, in Ortuella, occupies the Triano hills, once one of the largest iron deposits in southern Europe, turned into a public course by Severiano Ballesteros.

Three to five nights are enough: a round each day, the afternoon at the museum or in the Siete Calles, and the evening at the bar with a glass of txakoli in hand. Biscay also has a rare concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants, some just minutes from the first tee, and the Unesco-listed Bizkaia Bridge spans the estuary a stone's throw from Neguri.

The courses

Green and red flag framed by maritime pines, a rocky cliff and grey sea under an overcast sky

Real Sociedad de Golf de Neguri

  • Architect: Javier Arana
  • Opened 1961
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Opened in 1961 at Punta Galea, in the municipality of Getxo, Javier Arana's course is the most highly regarded in northern Spain: 6,280 metres, par 72, sixty metres above the sea. The front nine run along the cliff and are played in the north-westerly wind; the back nine, lined with maritime pines, call above all for accuracy. It hosted the 1968 Spanish Open and the 2011 Jacques Léglise Trophy. A private club, it welcomes visitors from Monday to Thursday, except public holidays, by reservation and with a strict dress code.

Signature hole. The 14th, a par 3 of nearly 200 metres played uphill to a green defended by a single bunker, plainly visible and intimidating from the tee.

Official website

Uraburu Golf

  • Architect: José María Olazábal
  • Opened 2004
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

About twenty minutes from the centre, on the slopes of Mount Ganguren in Galdakao, José María Olazábal designed a mountain course that opened in 2004: 18 holes, par 71, across some sixty hectares. The layout follows the terrain, so no two holes are alike; it rewards precision off the tee and patience on the greens rather than length. The reward is the view over the Nervión valley and the peaks of the Cantabrian Mountains. Open to visitors, with a driving range and academy.

Signature hole. The 2nd, a par 3 that asks you to carry a lake to a green perched above the water like a balcony.

Official website

Meaztegi Golf

  • Architect: Severiano Ballesteros
  • Opened 2005
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Opened in 2005 in the Triano hills, between Ortuella and La Arboleda, Meaztegi is Biscay's only public course, owned by the Diputación Foral. Severiano Ballesteros designed it on the site of former iron mines: 18 holes, par 72, more than six kilometres long, plus a 9-hole pitch and putt. The mountains of Biscay frame the horizon and the ground still bears the memory of its mining landscape. Less than half an hour from the centre, with online booking: an easy round to fit in on a day when Neguri is closed to visitors.

Official website

Where to stay

Tayko Bilbao

In the Casco Viejo, facing the estuary and a hundred metres from the Ribera market, Tayko occupies a 1924 warehouse designed by Adolfo Gil Lezama, one of the first reinforced-concrete buildings in Spain, now a 61-room hotel. Ask for a River View room over the estuary, or the Junior Suite for its balcony; the astronaut from the old warehouse still greets guests. Uraburu is about twenty minutes away.

Miró Hotel Bilbao

On the Alameda de Mazarredo, directly opposite the Guggenheim, this boutique hotel was conceived by the Catalan fashion designer Antonio Miró: contemporary rooms, art photography in the public spaces, a library devoted to Bilbao and its surroundings. Ask for a museum-side room or a top-floor Master Suite, and book the Acqua Wellness, reserved for you alone, after a round. Bicycles can be hired on site for a ride along the estuary.

Where to dine

Andra Mari

The Asúa family opened this Michelin-starred restaurant in their former caserío farmhouse in Galdakao, near the 13th-century Andra Mari church that gives it its name. Seasonal Biscayan cooking, a cellar you can visit and a terrace over the Ibaizabal valley. Lunch only, closed on Tuesdays: ask for a table on the terrace and try the veal sweetbreads with coffee and vanilla, straight after a round at Uraburu.

La Viña del Ensanche

Opened in 1927 on Calle Diputación, in the Ensanche, this ham bar has kept its wooden counter and its 1920s marble tables, beneath Joselito hams hanging from the ceiling. You eat elbow to elbow, amid the noise of the regulars. Order the Joselito ham tosta and the house foie gras as half portions: the plates are generous. Closed on Sundays and Mondays; for a table, book a few days ahead.

Casa Rufo

A short walk from Abando station, Casa Rufo opened in 1955 as a delicatessen and still is one: in the morning people come for wine, conserves and ham, at lunch and dinner they eat among the shelves. The speciality is the txuleta, a rib of local or Galician beef seared over embers and served with fried potatoes. Start with the salt cod al pil-pil. Closed on Sundays.

Wooden bar counter laden with anchovy, pepper and tortilla pintxos, a flute of sparkling white wine

Beyond golf

The Guggenheim and the estuary

Opened in 1997, Frank Gehry's museum changed the city's image and remains one of the most discussed buildings in contemporary architecture. Visit at opening time, then walk up the estuary to the Casco Viejo: redeveloped quays, footbridges and the Arriaga theatre, a neo-Baroque hall of 1890 by Joaquín Rucoba, where the Siete Calles begin.

The Bizkaia Bridge

At Las Arenas, in the municipality of Getxo, the world's oldest transporter bridge has linked the town to Portugalete since 1893. Designed by Alberto Palacio, it has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2006, and its gondola still crosses the mouth of the Nervión every eight minutes during the day. A natural stop on the way back from Neguri.

Pintxos and txakoli

In the evening, Bilbao is enjoyed on your feet, from one bar to the next in the Casco Viejo, choosing a few pintxos in each. They go with a glass of txakoli, a dry, lightly sparkling, low-alcohol Basque white, poured from a height into a straight glass. The Mendibile palace, in Leioa, houses a museum devoted to it.

Old-town quayside at dusk, white glazed-gallery facades reflected in the estuary

When to go

The climate is oceanic: mild, green and wet. From May to October, highs range from 21 to 26 °C, and June to September are the driest months, with seven to eight days of rain a month. September and early October are often the most pleasant. November is the wettest month; winter remains playable, at around 13 to 14 °C in the afternoon, but the hillier courses are heavier underfoot.

Getting there

Bilbao airport (BIO), at Loiu, is nine kilometres north of the centre, about twenty minutes by taxi; its terminal, opened in 2000, was designed by Santiago Calatrava. It is the largest airport in northern Spain and well connected to major European cities. Uraburu is a quarter of an hour from the airport; Neguri and Meaztegi are then less than half an hour from the centre.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course near Bilbao?

The Real Sociedad de Golf de Neguri, in Getxo, designed by Javier Arana and opened in 1961. It hosted the 1968 Spanish Open and ranks among the highest-rated courses in Spain.

Can visitors play at Neguri?

Yes, from Monday to Thursday except public holidays, by prior reservation and in keeping with the club's dress code. At weekends, choose Uraburu or Meaztegi instead.

How many golf courses are there around Bilbao?

Three 18-hole courses lie less than half an hour from the centre: Neguri in Getxo, Uraburu in Galdakao and Meaztegi in Ortuella, Biscay's only public course.

When is the best time to play golf in Bilbao?

From May to October, when highs are between 21 and 26 °C and rain is less frequent. November is the wettest month.

Which airport should I fly into for a golf trip to Bilbao?

Bilbao airport (BIO), at Loiu, about twenty minutes from the centre and a quarter of an hour from Uraburu.

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