Sergio Garcia once said of this week’s Open de España host venue, Real Club de Golf El Prat, that it was ‘without doubt, one of my favourite golf courses, not only in Spain, but anywhere in the world’. So what makes the Catalan course so special? With the help of hometown hero Pablo Larrazábal,
EuropeanTour.com's Adrian Millerick
investigates.
BARCELONA’S GOLFING TREASURE & ITS TRICKY GREENS
The beautiful area of the 32,123 acres Sant Llorenç del Munt i l’Obac Natural Park, located just half an hour north-west of Barcelona, is the location for Larrazábal’s home course El Prat.
The famed Greg Norman design is known for its tough greens, which have caught many world-class players out in the past. With the likes of Garcia, Larrazábal, Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Victor Dubuisson in attendance for this year’s Open de España, El Prat is sure to delight and challenge in equal measure again over the coming week.
“It feels great to be home,” said Larrazábal, who lives in Barcelona and owns a restaurant called Cocomo in the delightful city.
“The greens are certainly the toughest part of this golf course. They’re very tricky, which adds to the importance of putting your approaches on the right part of the greens.
“Tee to green it's brilliant here, but getting your second shots into the green right this week will be a key factor in determining the winner.”
‘THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A BAD HOLE AT EL PRAT’
Although Larrazábal will enjoy some passionate backing this week from the locals, the likes of Garcia, Jiménez and Rafa Cabrera-Bello certainly won’t be short on support either.
One part of the course which is bound to attract plenty of attention from the cameras and fans alike, is the area around the 16th and 17th holes, two longish par fours which measure more than 900 yards combined.
“The finishing holes, especially 16 and 17, are excellent holes, but to be honest the whole course is in great condition,” says Larrazábal, who finished third behind former champion Thomas Aiken the last time the event was held at El Prat in 2011.
“It’s one of those golf courses where there’s no such thing as a bad hole. You have 18 great holes, but it’s one course where you have to play good golf to be under par.
“It’s a wide open course from the tee though, so you can miss shots from the tee and still be okay.”
THE EARLY YEARS AND PETER ALLISS:
Golf in Catalonia dates all the way back to 1912, when the Barcelona Golf Club (later to be named Real Club de Golf Pedralbes) was founded. With Barcelona expanding rapidly in the 1950s, the club was forced to move in 1955 – a predicament it would face again in later years.
The new location was beside Barcelona’s El Prat airport and membership grew ten-fold from 100 to more than 1,000 members, with the new course and facilities covering a much greater area.
The club was renamed Real Club El Prat – a name it finally settled on and one that has been maintained until this day. It went on to host the Open de España eight times, the first of which in 1956, saw a certain Peter Alliss triumph.
TERRASSA, GREG NORMAN, SEVE & A GUY NAMED SERGIO:
When the airport expanded in 2003, the club and its patrons had to up sticks again, this time to Terressa.
Golfing legend Norman, whose vision and creativity is on show everywhere at the idyllic El Prat course he designed, officially opened the much-improved venue with Spanish golfing hero Garcia, in June 2004.
On the subject of legends, one of the many champions of Spanish golf to have left their mark on El Prat is the late, great Seve Ballesteros, who won the first of his three Open de España titles in 1981, when the club was located by the airport.
Garcia also has plenty of history with the name of El Prat, having made his first start as a professional in 1999, also at the venue beside the airport.
The current El Prat was the host venue for the 2011 Open de España, during which Ballesteros passed away after a long battle with brain cancer. After sealing victory, Aiken fittingly dedicated the win to Ballesteros, for whom a minute’s silence was observed during the third round. Poignantly, it was 30 years since Ballesteros’ first Open de España triumph.
THE FINAL WORD – FROM PABLO:
Golfers are global travellers, so the opportunity to enjoy some home comforts is one the players cherish.
“I have my fiancée coming this week, a few friends are going to be here over the weekend as well and a lot of the members will be out there cheering me on. It’s great and I really appreciate it,” he said.
Larrazábal, who is an avid fan of football giants FC Barcelona, is a good host too, having offered the players and staff the chance to enjoy a discounted meal at hisrestaurant. Those sort of offers are too good to turn down.
