Poniente is frequently regarded as the best designed golf course on Mallorca, and its signature par-4 10th hole has drawn rave acclaim from Spain’s best known golf course architect Pepe Gancedo, who still lives on the island.

The first thing you will notice is the rustic clubhouse, terracotta coloured and draped in ivy vines. The second is the sound of cockerels, the birds that once lived at El Gallo de Can Barral, the farm upon which the golf course and clubhouse are now built. They are part of the club’s unique ambience, and over the years have acquired respect for the golfer, and rarely crow on the backswing!

Opened in 1978, Poniente has the kind of status on the island that is afforded to the older Scottish clubs in Britain, and is a favourite of British and German golfers staying in the coastal resorts around Palma.

Its 18-hole 6,430-metre par-72 layout was created by John Harris, and combines woodland, lakes, sweeping terrain and large quick greens. The first four holes are a gentle start but soon enough the course reveals its guile at the intriguing stretch between the 7th and 10th holes.

The 8th hole plays blind and steeply downhill with a ravine to the right. Place your drive onto the fairway and you’ll have a medium iron left to a big green surrounded by palms and panoramic views. The best is still to come.

Poniente’s best and Gancedo’s favourite, number 10 will scare you at the tee. Water and reed beds loom large and to the right, bunkers guard the run-off at the fairway end, and a watermill has an iconic status in the distance. The green at first seems unreachable, but it is possible to carry the water with a sweet strike.

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Fair price, good variety of holes, ok green-fee, good speed of play. Oct 09

Course quiet when we played. Thought it was going to be same old up and down holes, but opened out to have very exciting and individual holes. Jun 09

A good test of golf. Apr 09

The course was in good condition and there were no hold ups. Had 2 rounds both were just under 4hrs. June 08

Varied landscape and holes. Quick rounds as 1st out. May 08

Just a good, traditional golf club. Welcoming staff. Good layout in good nick. May 08

Complexity of course and degree of difficulty. Feb 08.

Large open fairways allowing free use of the driver and long irons. Course was forgiving and suited to long hitters. Tragic to see all the damage from the recent storms and a lot of work required to bring course back to pristine conditions. Oct 07

Very friendly staff. We've been playing Poniente for 20 years so it's an old favourite and close to our accommodation. Oct 07.

Very picturesque but due to recent storm course was damaged. Oct 07.

Very pleasant course in the countryside. I played well! Oct 07.

Better all round layout, more user friendly to play for the first time, fair but challenging and in the better condition green wise of the three courses we played. Oct 07.

Poniente was a good challenge but not over demanding. The greens were excellent. If we return we will definitely play this course again. Oct 07.

Good condition; great views, challenging but fair. Was a good course for people of differing handicaps. July 07.

The following scores represent the percentage of our clients who marked the course as good or excellent in each of the following categories:-

	2008		2009
Overall Course Quality	43%	16th	60%	14th
Speed of Play	73%	12th	68%	13th
Overall Enjoyment	67%	14th	61%	14th