FIND YOUR INNER CALM AT CAMIRAL

Formerly known as PGA Catalunya, Spain’s top-rated golf resort is taking a new direction after rebranding itself Camiral Golf & Wellness, where a focus on health and wellbeing sits alongside its already impressive golf facilities and an ever-growing choice of high-quality accommodation

Choosing to change a brand name is never taken lightly and comes with many risks, chiefly that of losing a long-standing connection with a loyal customer base, but it also allows companies to freshen up a product and to widen its appeal, whether that be the result of a new recipe or formula or just one of those ‘change for the sake of change’ relaunches that are almost a daily occurrence in supermarkets and on the high street.

By their very nature, brand name changes of consumer goods have to happen virtually overnight, with old stock taken off the shelves one day and reappearing with new packaging the next. The same, as it became all too apparent on my recent trip to the golf resort formerly known as PGA Catalunya, doesn’t apply to holiday destinations. I lost count of the number of employees I encountered who started off sentences referring to ‘PGA Catalunya’, only to correct themselves with ‘Camiral’ and a nervous laugh, while all over the 560-acre estate there are signs that use the old or the new name, sometimes both, while the small bottles of water that are put in your golf buggy still display the ‘PGA Catalunya’ branding.

While I’m sure guests are highly unlikely to forget where they are – an hour north of Barcelona and 20 minutes south of Girona on Spain’s Costa Brava – the mixed messaging all points to a resort that is still very much in a transformative phase that, while still trading on its well-earned reputation as Spain’s top-rated golf resort, is taking a significant step into the fast-expanding health and wellness lifestyle market that attracts a much more diverse demographic than the ‘four blokes on tour’ that still dominates the traditional golf holiday landscape, at least from a UK perspective.

So that’s how we have ended up with Camiral Golf & Wellness. While the latter two elements are self-explanatory, ‘Camiral’ refers to an ancient route called the Cami Ral, or Royal Road, that leads from north-eastern Spain beyond the border with France. Now popular with hikers and cyclists, the route passes directly through the resort and explains why you’re just as likely to find a group of Lycra-clad bikers or backpack-wearing walkers enjoying a beer around the hotel’s swimming pool as you are a four-ball of chino-clad golfers.
This also explains why my short trip to check out what PGA Catalunya 2.0 – ok, let’s stick to Camiral – has to offer guests in 2023 saw me spending almost as much time involved in a variety of mind and body-bending off-course activities, and exploring a variety of soon-to-be-lived-in luxury apartments and villas, as I did trying to nudge my ball around the two 18-hole championship courses on offer.

While given my age (54), gender (male) and level of interest (minimal), I generally give the spa element of any golf facility a wide birth if I can possibly help it, it wasn’t quite so easy for this correspondent, who, all in the name of research, underwent a 3-minute cryotherapy chamber experience, an hour-long full body massage, a 30-minute countryside bike ride and a 25-minute Pilates class by way of an introduction to the wellbeing experiences that are available to guests. After coming through all elements relatively unscathed – although feeling anxious, relaxed, tense, calm, cold, hot, pained, euphoric, sleepy and light-headed at various times – I can safely say that if you’re after more than just a bog-standard two or three rounds of golf, plus dinner, B&B and a few beers, then Camiral is going to be right up your street – although if you aren’t, it does the golf-only package pretty well too.

And while standing in what is essentially a walk-in freezer in a pair of swimming trunks and gloves while the temperature plummets to -110c (yes, you read that right), doesn’t sound like much fun, I can attest that a cryotherapy session will save fortunes on your home heating bills when family members start complaining that the thermostat has clicked off at 19c. A vital element of any sportsperson’s recovery process these days, cryotherapy is also gaining traction within the wellness community as a way of resetting the body’s functions, with all the blood rushing to save your vital organs from freezing up. Of more interest to me was the fact that it is also proven to boost your metabolic rate, and a three-minute session can burn off as many as 800 calories – more than three times than are to be found in a standard-sized Marathon bar, sorry, Snickers.

CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF

Suitably reset, and with the blood having just about returned to my fingers and toes, the prospect of taking on two of Europe’s toughest championship courses didn’t seem quite so terrifying. Well, it didn’t until I stood on the first tee of Camiral’s Tour Course and wondered how long my supply of half-a-dozen balls would last given the narrowness of the fairways, the looming presence of trees, and the inconsistency of my swing.  Thankfully, I managed to nurdle my opening drive down the right side of the short stuff, hit the green with my second, and a three-putt bogey from 30-feet set the tone for the rest of the day.

While playing second fiddle to the adjacent Stadium Course when it comes to rankings, the Tour Course is certainly no pushover in terms of its playability. Designed by Neil Coles and opened in 1995, the 6,600-yard course is part of the challenge that is presented to the DP World Tour’s qualifying school each year, where 150-plus hopefuls seek to earn one of the 20-odd cards for the following season’s top tier tour in Europe in a 108-hole marathon that requires skill, stamina and concentration in equal measure. Sadly, I’m not blessed with any of those qualities, and although I was extremely proud to have made pars at all five of the short holes, the Tour Course’s par 4s and 5s proved somewhat more challenging, even playing off the more manageable 6,000-yard yellow tees.

The Tour course is a tale of two halves, with the front nine meandering and undulating through beautiful pine forests, while the back nine opens out on to more open terrain that offers views of the surrounding countryside and to the mountains in the distance. Highlight holes for me included the third, a 330-yard downhill par-4 that gently turns to the right before opening up a stunning view of shallow angled green protected by a large pond in front and a semi-circle of tall pines behind. The 550-yard 7th the second of five par-5s, is also a nice hole, with two decent blows required up the left side to get you into position on the corner of a dogleg to attack the green, while being careful to avoid an avenue of trees that block out those who stray too far right.

Water comes into play on the back nine, with the short par-4 12th inviting you to cut off a bit of the drive with an angled tee shot over a pond to set up a wedge to a raised green, while water also encroaches on the approach to the par-4 13th, and again on the drive and the approach to the par-5 15th. The par-5 18th provides a suitably taxing end to the round with the uphill lie of the land ensuring it plays every inch of its 525 yards, while plentiful bunkering, which is another feature of the course, ensures that anything hit marginally off-line with temporarily halt your progress towards a well-earned drink in the clubhouse.

All told, the Tour Course offers a gentle introduction to the demands of the Stadium, and although slightly underwhelming in parts – particularly the par threes and some of the flatter parts of the back nine – it is presented in excellent condition – the fairways are like carpets and the greens like billiard tables – and has a number of holes that would not look out of place on the much more highly rated Stadium course.

And so to the main event ­– well it is if you aren’t that excited by oxygen tents and freeze chambers – the Stadium Course. Designed to rival TPC Sawgrass as the spiritual home of the erstwhile European Tour, the course first opened in 1998 and right from the off was charged with hosting top-flight events, from the 1999 Gene Sarazen World Open, the 2000 Spanish Open – and again in 2009 and 2014 – and since then the 2022 Catalunya Championship and the aforementioned denouement of the DP World Tour’s Qualifying School. A bid to stage the 2023 Ryder Cup lost out to Marco Simone G&CC in Rome, but the Stadium very much remains a world-class venue worthy of staging top events, although perhaps lacking the space around the fairways to accommodate the crowds that are attracted to the Ryder Cup.

Hole for hole, it’s safe to say that the Stadium is right up there among the best courses in Europe. From the off the course delivers on all levels, with each hole perfectly framed by tall fir trees, lush vegetation, and an abundance of purple heather. The greens are well bunkered, many-tiered and always in tournament condition, making it quite easy to putt off the green should you find yourself on the wrong side of a slope. Water is prevalent on many holes, most notably the par-5 third, where danger lurks to the left of the green; the par-4 fourth, where a pond fronts the eft side approach to the green, the stunning par-3 11th, where anything hit long gets wet, and, of course, the iconic par-4 13th, where the shallowest of greens juts out into a lake and approaches hit marginally short or long will require a reload.

Water hazards aside, despite its difficulty, it’s unlikely that you’ll lose too many balls here if you stay on dry land, as the scrub around the treeline has largely been cleared away, leaving a route back to the fairway if, although most likely, when, you hit an errant tee shot. Although a very walkable course, the undulations and inclines are quite severe in parts, and I for one was glad to have a buggy, and perhaps even more so during the hotter summer months.

We played off the yellow tees, which takes the course down to a manageable 6,600 yards, but the whites are a hefty 7,141, and the tournament tees are 7,309, both of which are probably best reserved for those who like pain or can knock it 300-plus yards off the tee. I certainly came off the course with even more respect for tour pros, especially ones that come here every year to fight for their right to play at the highest level.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

As you’d expect of a tour-standard venue, the practice facilities are also top notch, with The Golf Hub featuring a double-ended driving range with covered and open grass hitting bays to a wide variety of defined targets, with Toptracer technology on hand to help track your yardages, spin rates and shot dispersion. Golfers can also work on their short game on a 2,000 square metre putting green and chipping area, while there are five practice bunkers available, each containing different sand types (Augusta, St Andrews, Hawaii volcanic, Stadium Course and Pebble Beach).
There is also an indoor swing studio looking out over the range that has been kitted out with all the latest coaching and club fitting technology, including Trackman and GEARS, which pinpoints tiny flaws – and big ones – in your swing through detailed biomechanical analysis.

ACCOMMODATION

Relaxation is certainly not hard to come by off the golf courses, with guests able to take their pick from two on-site hotels – the five-star Camiral and the four-star La Vida. The latter is designed for guests who simply want comfortable lodgings between rounds of golf, while the former is for those who want a little more space, a few more luxury touches, a larger swimming pool, and all those spa and wellness treatment options right on the doorstep.
For those looking for longer, self-catered stays, there are numerous apartments and villas available for rent, which are ideal for larger groups and families looking for that extra element of privacy, while still being close to the resort’s many leisure and hospitality facilities.

WINING AND DINING

There are four restaurants to choose from, with the Camiral boasting the fine dining 1477, which focuses on Catalan-inspired dishes, while La Vida has an Italian restaurant which goes big on fresh pasta dishes and wood-fired pizzas. There is also an excellent choice of freshly-cooked food on offer in the clubhouse, with its full-length terrace overlooking the Stadium Course, while the Lounge Bar in the Camiral Hotel is the place for pre-dinner cocktails and lighter bites.

OFF-COURSE ACTIVITIES

Beyond the confines of the hotel, there are two full-size football pitches – Atletico Madrid FC were staying here ahead of their game against Girona during my visit – tennis courts and paddle courts, and guests are welcome to explore the estate on mountain bikes, while there are miles of hiking trails, a zipline adventure and nature experiences guided by resident botanist Oriol Dalmau, who kindly showed me around his organic vegetable and herb garden while I was returning from an early morning cycle ride.

In addition to the many immersive experiences on-site, Camiral also provides the perfect access to Catalonia’s many coastal, cultural and culinary highlights. Girona – known as Barcelona’s ‘charming little sister’ and famed for its gastronomy with more than 14 Michelin-starred restaurants – is just 20 minutes away, while art lovers can celebrate the master of Surrealism at the Dalí museum in nearby Figueres.
Hiking the ancient coastal path Cami de Ronda takes in challenging sea cliffs, secret beaches and lively seaside towns, and the Pyrenees’ exhilarating skiing is just under two hours’ drive away. As Catalonia is on many a road-biker’s bucket list, courtesy of its breath-taking scenery and challenging climbs, Camiral now has a specialist cycling service to cater for dedicated enthusiasts, cycling clubs and professional teams. I, however, prefer to pass my leisure time on four wheels and two feet, preferably in and out of a golf buggy, and thankfully Camiral has that covered too!

STAY & PLAY
For the very latest golf break packages, visit www.camiral.com, where you’ll find a 3-night B&B stay in the 5-star Hotel Camiral and 3 rounds of golf starts from starts from €185pp/pn.

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