You do not even have to leave Las Palmas to play golf. Las Palmeras Golf is an urban 18-hole par-3 course in the capital, designed for golfers who want to fit the game into city life rather than devote most of a day to a full-length course.
For tourists, that makes it unusually convenient. You can spend part of the day at Las Canteras or exploring the city, play 18 short holes and still have plenty of time left for dinner or an evening walk.
An urban Pitch & Putt course
Las Palmeras describes itself as the first urban golf course in the Canary Islands and one of the pioneers of the concept in Spain. The course opened in 2006 and is recognised by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation as Pitch & Putt.
All 18 holes are par 3. The club gives their lengths as roughly 40 to 120 metres, spread across an area of about 80,000 square metres.
This is clearly not intended to imitate a championship resort course. Instead, the attraction is short-game golf that can be played without sacrificing half your holiday day.
Two different halves
The course has two noticeably different sections. The first nine have a more British-inspired character, while the second nine take inspiration from American-style golf design.
One feature to look out for is the 15th, with its island green. Short holes do not necessarily mean easy holes, and water around a small target can quickly make club selection more interesting.
Practice facilities
Las Palmeras is also useful if you want to practise rather than play a full round. The complex includes a two-level driving range with 48 positions, along with putting and short-game facilities.
The driving range is around 250 metres long and is illuminated, making the facility more flexible than a course that effectively closes as soon as daylight disappears.
Club and golf-bag rental are among the services listed by the facility, which is particularly helpful for visitors who did not travel to Gran Canaria primarily for golf.
Good for beginners – but not only beginners
A par-3 course is an approachable place for newer golfers, but experienced players should not dismiss it. Eighteen short holes force you to work on wedges, distance control and putting, and can be much more revealing than repeatedly hitting driver on a range.
For a mixed group where some people play regularly and others are relatively new to golf, Las Palmeras can therefore be a much easier choice than arranging an entire day at a full-length course.
More than golf
The wider sports complex includes additional facilities such as padel, a gym, restaurant and pro shop. That reinforces the feeling that Las Palmeras is an urban sports centre rather than a destination resort.
It is exactly this everyday character that I find interesting for a visitor. You are playing where local golfers practise and compete, inside the island’s capital.
Las Palmeras or a full-size course?
Choose Las Palmeras if convenience and time matter most. Choose Bandama or El Cortijo if you want a traditional full-length golf day. And if golf is one of the main reasons for your holiday, consider making a separate trip to the larger resort courses in southern Gran Canaria.
There is no need to choose only one, of course. Las Palmeras can work as a warm-up early in the holiday before a full round elsewhere on the island.
A useful option for a Las Palmas holiday
This is probably the easiest golf experience to add spontaneously to a Las Palmas itinerary. The short format, practice facilities and equipment rental remove many of the complications that normally come with playing golf abroad.
If you have a few free hours and feel like swinging a club, you do not need to drive across Gran Canaria. There is golf right here in the city.
Opening hours, green fees, equipment rental and playing conditions can change. Check Las Palmeras Golf’s current information before visiting.