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Golf guide • Spain • Navarre

Golf in Pamplona: three courses between the San Fermín city and the oak woods

Pamplona, capital of Navarre, has three 18-hole courses less than thirty minutes from the centre: Golf Gorraiz, designed by Cabell B. Robinson and opened in 1995, Señorío de Zuasti, laid out by José María Olazábal, and Golf Ulzama, a Javier Arana course opened in 1966 in an oak wood. Come for quiet, wooded golf and an old town with Michelin-starred dining, ideally from April to June and in September and October.

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Pamplona is best known for its week in July, when the bulls charge down Calle Estafeta. The rest of the year, the Navarrese capital is a calm, well-kept city ringed by ramparts, whose life revolves around the Plaza del Castillo. For a golfer it has a rare advantage: three 18-hole courses within twenty-five minutes, which you can reach in the morning and be back in town for lunch. None is a tourist resort; they are members' clubs that welcome visitors.

The three layouts tell of three eras of Spanish golf. Ulzama, to the north, is the work of Javier Arana, the architect of El Saler and Neguri, laid out in 1966 among century-old oaks. Gorraiz, on the eastern edge of the city, is a rolling Cabell B. Robinson course opened in 1995. Zuasti, ten minutes away by motorway, bears the signature of José María Olazábal, between a river, two lakes and a restored palace.

Three or four nights are enough: a course a day, then old Pamplona on foot, the pintxos counters and a Michelin-starred table for the last evening. The climate is that of a basin at the foot of the Pyrenees, green and fresh in spring, mild in autumn, when the Ulzama oak woods turn colour.

The courses

Narrow fairway framed by old oaks, green and bunker beyond, morning mist over the valley

Golf Gorraiz (Club de Golf Castillo de Gorraiz)

  • Architect: Cabell B. Robinson
  • Opened 1995
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Five minutes from the centre, in the Egüés valley, Gorraiz was designed by the American Cabell B. Robinson and opened for play in spring 1995. Spread over 70 hectares, the par 72 measures 6,300 metres from the white tees and gives you little respite: successive doglegs, steep climbs and descents, thick rough and three lakes from the 7th to the 9th. The frequent north wind often changes your club selection. A technical course, best kept for players comfortable with sloping lies; the 18th, uphill to a perched green, is the hardest.

Signature hole. The 8th, a long 201-metre par 3 guarded by water and bunkers, offers the finest view on the course over the city of Pamplona.

Official website

Señorío de Zuasti

  • Architect: José María Olazábal
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Club de Campo Señorío de Zuasti occupies a former manorial estate in the municipality of Iza, ten minutes from Pamplona on the A-15. José María Olazábal designed a par 72 here that follows a river on the front nine and wraps around two lakes at the heart of the course, on the edge of a 90-hectare oak wood. The Zuasti palace, built around the 15th century and restored by the Navarrese architect Francisco Mangado, houses the club restaurant. Non-members book their tee time 24 hours in advance with the golf office.

Official website

Golf Ulzama

  • Architect: Javier Arana
  • Opened 1966
  • 18 holes

The elder statesman of Navarrese golf: a club founded in 1963, with a Javier Arana course opened in 1966 in the Ulzama valley, about twenty kilometres north of the city. The fairways wind between century-old oaks over gentle hills, with many doglegs and small greens, often on two tiers. It plays at 6,000 or 6,200 metres depending on the tees. It is the course most faithful to Arana's spirit, strategic rather than long; visitors are welcome every day on payment of a green fee.

Signature hole. The 5th, the longest hole on the course, demands a drive placed to the left, then a way round an oak standing in the middle of the fairway, before a three-tier green, the trickiest at the club.

Official website

Where to stay

Gran Hotel La Perla

Opened in 1881 on the Plaza del Castillo and renovated in 2007, the Gran Hotel La Perla is Pamplona's historic five-star hotel. Its 44 balconied rooms look over the square or Calle Estafeta, and five attic rooms with sloping ceilings sit on the top floor. Book through the hotel's own website: subject to availability, you will be shown Suite 201, Ernest Hemingway's; 207 is dedicated to the violinist Pablo Sarasate.

Luze El Toro

In Berrioplano, on the road to San Sebastián, ten minutes from the centre, the hotel occupies a four-centuries-old house taken down stone by stone some thirty kilometres away and rebuilt here in 1968. Gardens, a terrace, a spa and free parking for cars loaded with golf bags. Ask for the Suite Reina and set off early: Zuasti is a few minutes away along the A-15, Ulzama less than half an hour north.

Where to dine

Rodero

Jesús Rodero and Resu Armendáriz opened the house in 1975 on Calle Emilio Arrieta; their children run it today, Koldo in the kitchen, Goretti front of house, Verónica on the wine. A Michelin star for Navarrese cooking brought up to date: squid with pork jowl, wild turbot grilled over charcoal. Dinner is served only Thursday to Saturday; on other days, come for lunch after a round at Gorraiz.

Bar Gaucho

In a side street off the Plaza del Castillo, Bar Gaucho, founded in 1968, is run by two couples who first cooked at a small restaurant in Sangüesa; in 2000 they turned its counter into a benchmark of 'miniature cooking'. Order the truffled egg, the sea urchin or the crispy black pudding with foie gras. Avoid the rush from 1.30 to 3 pm and after 9 pm: on a weekday, late in the morning, there is still room.

Bodegón Sarría

On Calle Estafeta, along the route of the encierro, this bodegón opened in 1959 and has been run since 1988 by the Galarza Lezea family, today Julián and Arantxa. Hanging hams, a counter, a few tables and a terrace on the street. Order the 'escombro', a small round roll filled with chopped Iberian ham and chorizo and pressed on the plancha: eat it piping hot. Open every day until late.

Wooden counter laden with plates of pintxos, glasses of red and rosé wine, hams hanging above

Beyond golf

The encierro route

Outside the festival, walk the encierro's 850 metres or so: from the Santo Domingo corrals, up the cuesta, across the Plaza Consistorial, along Calle Mercaderes, then the long Calle Estafeta to the bullring. From 7 to 14 July, at 8 a.m., the bulls run here every morning. The rest of the year these are pintxos streets, which you work your way up in the evening from one counter to the next.

The Citadel and the ramparts

From 1571, Philip II had a star-shaped citadel with five bastions built, designed by the Italian engineer Giacomo Palearo, known as El Fratín. Today it is a public park, with its restored powder magazines and arsenal, extended by the lawns of the Vuelta del Castillo. The citadel is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela.

The Bardenas Reales

In south-east Navarre, near Tudela, the Bardenas Reales spread over more than 40,000 hectares of ravines, plateaux and clay and gypsum buttes carved by erosion. A natural park since 1999 and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2000, this unexpected desert is explored by car along marked tracks, ideally early in the morning or late in the day.

Cobbled old-town street at dusk, façades with wrought-iron balconies decked with geraniums

When to go

Spring, from April to June, and autumn, in September and October, are the best seasons: green grass, mild temperatures and courses in good condition. July and August remain playable, if hotter, but San Fermín week, from 6 to 14 July, fills the hotels and sends their rates soaring. Winter is cool and often wet at the foot of the Pyrenees; it is wise to keep spare days in hand.

Getting there

Pamplona airport (PNA), at Noáin, is six kilometres south of the centre, a quarter of an hour by road; it is mainly connected to Madrid and Barcelona. Many golfers prefer to arrive via Bilbao or Biarritz, less than two hours' drive away. A car is essential to reach the three courses, all under thirty minutes away.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course near Pamplona?

Golf Ulzama, designed by Javier Arana and opened in 1966 in an oak wood, is the most highly regarded for its character. Gorraiz, by Cabell B. Robinson, is the most demanding; Olazábal's Zuasti plays between a river and lakes.

How many golf courses are there around Pamplona?

Three 18-hole courses less than thirty minutes away: Gorraiz at five minutes, Señorío de Zuasti ten minutes away on the A-15, and Ulzama about twenty kilometres to the north.

Can you play golf in Pamplona without being a member?

Yes. All three clubs are private but accept visitors on payment of a green fee; Zuasti asks you to book 24 hours in advance.

Is Real Golf Club de Zarauz close to Pamplona?

No. This nine-hole course, founded in 1916, is on the Gipuzkoa coast at Zarautz, more than an hour's drive away: a day trip, not a course to base a stay around.

When is the best time for a golf trip to Pamplona?

From April to June and in September and October. Avoid San Fermín week, from 6 to 14 July, if golf is your priority; winter is cold and damp.

Tailor-made

Your golf trip: Pamplona

Tee times, suites, transfers and tables: your concierge replies within 24 hours with a proposal shaped around you.

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