Very close to here Columbus departed to discover a new world. Also very close is El Rocío, where the most popular and attractive pilgrimage in the world takes place. But what is really close, very close, to Golf Dunas de Doñana is the famous natural park that lends its name to this unique golf course. Its fairways border this protected area, where nature and fauna unique in Europe reign.
This golf course is certainly located in a privileged area. A little less than an hour from Seville and less than fifty meters from the largest unspoiled beach in the world: dozens and dozens of kilometers that go into the Coto de Doñana and many more that go in the direction of Huelva. A beach always lined with natural dunes and vegetation that impresses with its beauty. The white sand and the transparent blue of the sea are unmatched here.
Playing this course is almost like walking through the natural park. Holes 4 and 13 border the Coto. It is common to see deer and other animals between shots.
Because it is so close to the park, non-aggressive and experimental techniques were used in the construction of this course, making it a fully ecological course. Matalascañas, the municipality that hosts Dunas de Doñana, is located at the imaginary vertex of the Doñana region, which includes towns such as Bollullos, home to one of the best wines in Spain, Almonte, El Rocío, Mazagón, Punta Umbría, etc. In addition to the natural attractions of the region, the gastronomy here is a highlight: the best fish, the best seafood (who has not heard of the white shrimp of Huelva), the best ham?
Now the City Council is going to acquire Golf Dunas de Doñana to guarantee the continuity of this course and to offer one more tourist alternative to this region, certainly attractive and full of possibilities.
On this occasion I was accompanied on the round by the professional of the field, Rafael Barrero Multo, who would be of great help to me because of his great knowledge and mastery of this route located in the outskirts of the Doñana Park.
“This is a course that you have to take seriously and play it with your head. Above all, you always have to place the ball in the fairway,” he says. The fairways are sometimes narrow, with very dense rough and a lot of lateral vegetation. If the ball is well placed at the tee, the shots to the green are not so complicated. There are not many bunkers and the greens are wide and with the right slopes. It kicks very well.
We are in a field that because of its proximity to the sea and the influence that the winds exert on it could be considered link type. The vegetation that covers the field and delimits the streets is mainly composed of junipers, a kind of low pine.
Water has a considerable influence on some holes, especially around holes 4, 5, 8 and the tee of 11, where several lakes converge. There are also two others that do not come into play as much, such as the 18th.
It is an easy course to walk, there are hardly any slopes. Most of the tees are a little elevated, which provides good visibility for the tee shot, although, yes, almost always with a drop for the first shot very delimited by the junipers. Losing fairway rarely allows for recovery.
Hole 1 is a par 4 of 338 meters (we will always speak from yellow bars) with a slight dogleg to the right. If you want to take advantage of this hole, you have to play it over a wooded area, which is where you ‘play it’, but if you pass the junipers -and it is somewhat accessible-, the second shot is not very complicated. The green is very wide, with bunkers to the left and right, but easy to enter.
The 2nd, another par 4, of 306 meters, has a very narrow fairway, and where it narrows the most is precisely where you want to go. Despite being a short hole, if you miss the fairway, a double bogey can be a good result.
The 3rd is a par 4 of 310 meters with a dogleg to the right of ninety degrees practically. If you have a punch, you can try to fly over a lake and leave a very short shot. If not, it is better to play a hybrid and leave the ball 130 or 140 meters.
The 4th is the first par 5 of the course, measures 493 meters and is the first handicap of the course. The difficulty of this hole lies in how you approach it. If you are able to keep the driver on the tee, because there are out of bounds on the left, and you limit yourself to a 3 wood and do not take risks, there may be birdie options. The green is very protected by a lake that practically surrounds it.
The 5th, a 165-meter par 3, is possibly the most attractive hole on the course. The green is on an island. Therefore, you are either on it or sunk in the water.
The 6th is a par 5 of 438 meters and perhaps the least complicated hole of the course. The fairway is very wide and practically the only one that allows you a margin of error, because on the right is the fairway of the 4th, from where you can play. Of course, to miss to the left is a bad option. The junipers and the undergrowth will make your life impossible.
The 7, a par 4 of 353 meters, has a slight dogleg to the left, with a very narrow driver drop. If you don’t reach the top of a small rise, you don’t have a good view of the green. It is not a completely blind shot, but almost.
The 8th, a 156-meter par 3, has a green practically surrounded by water on all sides except the front. If the flag is in the background and you shoot to it, there is very little margin behind.
The 9th, a par 4 of 399 meters, is a rather complicated hole. Not in vain, it is the 3rd handicap of the course. It is long and the winds are almost always against it, which makes the green even more distant. The fairway is very wide. A driver should be hit without problems, but the entrance to the green is out of bounds behind and to the right.
The 10th, a par 4 of 311 meters, to compensate, is an easy hole. The only problem lies in the out of bounds on the right. The fairway is wide, but the green has three platforms, practically the only one with so much movement.
The 11th, a par 4 of 347 meters, is all water on the left and an out of bounds not very close, but on the right, so the tee shot must be very secure. The green is very well protected by bunkers on the left and right.
The 12th is another par 3, 162 meters, with a green heavily guarded by bunkers on the right. To the left is out of bounds.
The 13th, a par 5 of 493 meters, offers a wide and straight fairway, with only out of bounds on the left. It is handicap 2, especially because the green is half-rounded by water on the right and behind.
The 14th, a 326-meter par 4, is a very technical hole. On the tee shot it is advisable to use an iron or a hybrid to catch the fairway. It is a short hole and, if you try to get distance, you can cross the fairway and even lose the ball, because it makes a slight dogleg to the left.
On the 15th, a par 4 of 338 meters, if you want to shorten the distance, you have to hit the tee shot almost blind because the fairway turns a little to the right. Those who know the hole know that you can shoot over a pine tree that is a reference and that the ball will be perfectly placed. If this path is not followed, the hole can become very long.
The 16th, a par 3 of 158 meters, is a complicated hole, although it is marked with the 12th handicap of the course. Out of bounds on the right just five meters from the green and also on the left. Either you take the green or you are lost.
The 17th, a par 4 of 293 strokes, is a very nice hole, with a high tee shot, which allows you to see the entire fairway. With a good drive, there are no further complications.
To finish, the 18 par 5 of 489 meters, offers us the widest fairway of the course. It is a good end to a course in which one has the sensation of having been in a nature sanctuary.
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