Club de Golf Alcanada

Few courses in Europe announce themselves quite like Alcanada. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in 2003, this private club on the northeastern tip of Mallorca has earned a reputation as one of the finest layouts on the Mediterranean — routinely appearing on lists of Spain's top courses and consistently ranked among Europe's best. The design makes extraordinary use of its clifftop and shoreline terrain, with several holes playing directly alongside the Badia d'Alcúdia and the iconic lighthouse on the small island of Es Faralló serving as a constant landmark across the water.

The course is built on a landscape of pine forest, red clay soil, and rocky coastline — the natural palette of northern Mallorca — and Jones Jr.'s routing finds an impressive balance between drama and playability. The par-3 12th, playing over water toward that lighthouse backdrop, is widely considered one of the great short holes in European golf.

Alcúdia itself sits near the ruins of the Roman city of Pollentia, and the wider area draws visitors for its medieval old town and clean bay beaches. Alcanada, though, is a destination in its own right — a genuinely world-class course that rewards anyone willing to make the trip to this corner of the Balearics.