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In the first of this Travelling Golfer series, Rory Anderson heads to Mallorca to experience Pula and Alcanada. He plays both courses to see what the area has to offer.
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00:03hello guys and girls and welcome to a brand new series here on the golf monthly channel called
00:08the traveling golfer i'm your host my name's rory for any of you who do recognize me you know that
00:13i'm an eight handicapped golfer i spent years traveling the world filming golf content and
00:17whacking it on youtube but i'm here on the golf monthly channel to pretty much do the same and
00:21show you guys some of the best destinations that you guys might want to consider for future golf
00:26holidays to kick off the series i'm off to mallorca 48 hours two golf courses let's get going
00:42right guys just got to gatwick airport uh got a two hour 20 minute flight time from here to palma
00:47capital city of mallorca once i get there got an hour's drive to the northeast corner of the island
00:52where the two golf courses that i'm playing this week are waiting for me two epic golf courses yeah
00:57stay tuned 48 hours in mallorca golf sun maybe a couple of beers and uh yeah we'll see what happens
01:04but yeah 48 hours in mallorca here we come
01:18right guys morning of day one of my mallorca adventure and i'm at pula golf resort one of my
01:24favorite venues that i visited here in mallorca basically it's like a one-stop shop stay and play
01:29resort you've got two different accommodation options one here and then some proper golf centric
01:33apartments up there got the sierra de la pula restaurant just literally 20 yards away from
01:38where i am now fantastic restaurant great pro shop track man on the driving range two-tier driving
01:45range here at pula like everything you need for a golf holiday literally roll out of bed onto the
01:50first tee or onto the driving range and away you go 18 hole golf course i'm going to set myself
01:54a
01:54target of breaking 80 today we'll see you know it's a european tour venue it's hosted multiple european
02:00tour events in the past so we'll see how i get on obviously i play off eight so you know
02:05breaking 80
02:06is an ambitious slash realistic target depending on how i'm playing i'm kind of quietly optimistic
02:13let's take to the golf course show you what it's all about here at pula what you can expect you
02:17head
02:17to mallorca on your next golf holiday you all have noticed i've gone baby blue head to toe
02:35hope that's okay with some of you guys i know got beard got man bun and now head to toe
02:41in the same
02:42color apologies if that offends anyone but here we go stroking x18 par four downwind
02:50bunkers up the right i'm not sure if i can fly them or not but let's find out i guess
03:04straight at them
03:08drifting right a touch but it should be fine findable for sure
03:17should be nice
03:21oh that's gone gone a little bit long right guys long and left of the first green here or the
03:28fourth
03:28green should i say after skipping the first three holes um texas wedging don't really feel like
03:35tipping off a bear lie i'm trying to practice my chipping at the moment after a few years duffing
03:41it all over the world but this is definitely a putt in my eyes
03:48sit down now go go in that's it oh there's a lot of emotion going on you can probably hear
03:54on the
03:55cam it is quite windy today here in mallorca obviously i've looked at the forecast the last
03:59couple of days it does look like it's going to die down a bit look it's start of march in
04:04the uk
04:05today we're wearing underarmoured base layers bobble hats thermal leggings if you're getting
04:10on a bit like i am and here in my walker i'm in a t-shirt it's lovely weather it's
04:14about 10 12
04:15degrees now definitely take a pile on the first two points
04:32so straight away here on the fifth hole at pooler you're faced with what this course is really all
04:38about in the middle of the round here at pooler you've got quite big sizable water hazards like i
04:42said it is a little bit windy today so all up the right of this hole you've got water into
04:48the wind
04:48today so playing a little bit longer than it usually would i'm gonna hit driver which i think
04:52is pretty aggressive considering the fairway just gets narrower and narrower and narrower the further
04:56up the hole you go you know if it was a still day i wasn't just straight out my hotel
05:01room onto the
05:01course i'd flirt with the idea of hitting a two iron down there into the fat part of the fairway
05:05but today i'm gonna hit driver i'm on holiday i'm wearing baby blue head to toe so
05:11shouldn't be taking myself too seriously should i
05:17ah some arrow just leaking right get down not gonna lie
05:27ah rinse one into the water so taking a bit of a drop got about 110 ish yards
05:35getting into the wind got a 50 degree wedge what a disappointing start par on the first
05:43stupid club choice off the second to be fair so i'm gonna hit the green and
05:50top two play three in for a five with two putts
05:59oh it's at it if it's the club be up be up yes please that is six feet or so
06:06i've got a
06:07pop up people come on right this would be very sneaky getting out of here with a four
06:14great wedge shot if i don't say so myself not like me at all
06:21come on come on left to righter for another par
06:30oh i've hit that quite hard as well don't miss this now roars
06:37thank god
06:41that's exactly where i wanted to hit it i think that's perfect
06:51and he's fat at it
06:57not gonna lie fat at that it's done quite well actually
07:02all right for a four pretty uninspiring after the t-shot which was in a great
07:07position to be fair
07:14go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:18go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:21go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:21go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:21go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:23go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:27go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:29go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:31go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:32go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:32go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go
07:32go
07:47Now Pula opened for play in 1995 and it was just about a decade after that that the course
07:53went through an extensive remodeling phase and it was none other than Jose Maria Olathabel
07:57who was overseeing that project and anyone who's ever played a Olathabel course knows that the guy
08:03knows exactly what he's doing. Hardly surprising for a double Masters champion and Ryder Cup legend
08:07but yeah he oversaw the renovations here at Pula and you can definitely see how from these back
08:12tees if you look behind me there the white tee is a good I don't know 60 yards further back
08:19than the
08:19yellow tee here today on the 12th. There really is championship golf on offer here at Pula. If
08:24you're the kind of low handicap golfer who likes to test yourself this is definitely a course that
08:29will test your game but with multiple tee positions it is definitely a friendly or a more friendly
08:34proposition for handicapped golfers who just want a bit more holiday golf vibe. Today on the 12th
08:40we've got 127 yards plays uphill wind slightly off the right and a little bit against I would say
08:45so let's see what we can do here. I've not had the best of front nines. Respectable in places and
08:52something to work on for tomorrow when I head to Alcanada which is one of the favourite courses
08:55that I've played over the last few years. So yeah enjoying my time so far here in Mallorca let's
09:01see if we can finish strong on the back nine rack up a few more pars starting with the par
09:063 12th.
09:09That is a toe-y hook but I reckon I'm putting. Right as you can see just about held on
09:17to the
09:18parting green to be honest with you great result after a pretty bang average shot and I'll show
09:24you in a second but the step in this green is quite severe so the pin literally three or four
09:29yards up
09:30onto the top level this is not an easy hole despite only being 130 yards from the LOTs today.
09:39Go go okay
09:45As you can see if you get this just slightly wrong
09:50that is just going to go and go and go off the front edge of the screen that's a naughty
09:57little pin
09:57isn't it? And that's the air out to the right. Get out of that bunker.
10:17Right this is kind of my nightmare considering how bad my chipping is. Ball off the down slope
10:22green running away from me. I've got the 60 degree wedge out. Weight on the left. Oh god this is
10:30so
10:30difficult for me. I played that quite nicely though. Not understanding how it's not rolling right
10:39instead of left but oh well it's on the green that could have been Duff City. Right one final putt.
10:46Can I scramble a par? I can't believe that that chip has rolled down here although now that I'm on
10:52this side of the hole it is a little bit more obvious. See that thing that tall pros do when
10:57they kind of look at it from all angles does make sense but ain't nobody got time for that.
11:02If I can slot this one I'll be happy with the way I've played on day one. Looking very much
11:06forward to
11:07trying a little bit harder to put a score together tomorrow. The golf course tomorrow is out of this
11:13world so make sure you stay tuned for that. Not yet that hard enough. That's poor to say the least.
11:25Right tap in bogey.
11:29Oh well. Right guys and girls there's a bit of a snapshot of what is on offer here at Pula
11:33Golf Resort in Mallorca. Make sure you stay tuned because tomorrow we've got an absolutely amazing
11:38course playing at Alcanada Golf Club. Host of the Challenge Tour Grand Final. Three time host
11:42as of November this year. So if you are looking for a winter golf holiday later on in the year
11:46definitely consider Mallorca because you can play a few rounds of golf here at Pula. You can go to the
11:51event at Alcanada. You can obviously then play that golf course the day after the event in tournament
11:55condition. There are some other courses in this corner of the island as well. So yeah good first day at
12:02Mallorca. Hopefully you've enjoyed what you've seen of Pula Golf Resort. If you have any questions about
12:06this place make sure to pop in the comment section but for now I'm going to head into the Pula
12:11Clubhouse
12:11get changed, go for dinner in a banging restaurant, get up early tomorrow, hit the road for some more golf.
12:43Right guys day two of my Mallorca adventure and I'm off to a place called Alcanada Golf Club. It's about
12:50an
12:50hour's drive just less than an hour from where I'm sitting here at Pula Golf Resort. Still up in the
12:55northeast corner of the island and this I have to say is one of my favorite golf courses that I've
13:02played
13:02over the last few years. So yeah a special one in store for today.
13:36Right guys and girls arrived at Alcanada Golf Club but as you can see from the drive in the location
13:41of
13:41this course is pretty spectacular. We'll see more of the amazing views as we get to the high points
13:47around these mountains with some of the raised tees looking out over the bay of Alcudia looking
13:52pretty special. I have played this golf course before and I was last here I didn't play but I was
13:57watching
13:58the Challenge Tour Grand Final which has been hosted here at Alcanada twice. It's coming back in 2023
14:03for a third visit. So as you can see when you come here play off those back tees championship golf
14:08is
14:09very much on the cards and the winning score last year was only minus nine and bearing in mind these
14:14guys are obviously playing for their rights on the DP World Tour so they're at the top end of the
14:18professional game. Really really amazing players and only coming out with a winning score of minus nine shows you
14:24what the test of golf is like here at Alcanada from those back tees. Now I'm not man enough to
14:29take
14:29on those white tees because it's over 7,000 yards from back there. I get my handicap at a 6
14:34,200 yard
14:34course so I've edged forward onto the yellows which are still 6,600 yards and I've set myself a target
14:41of breaking 80. Now an educated guess, I'd say I'm probably not going to do it but anyway let's crack
14:48on
14:48play a bit of golf here at Alcanada like I said an hour from where I'm staying at Pula and
14:52a really
14:52really special course. Can I break 80? Jump in the comments down below, yes or no?
15:00It's up the right, it's well hit, it's fine it's just over that bunker. Kicking down now,
15:08could be on the adjacent fairway once gravity gets involved but considering I'm fresh out
15:13the car with no time to warm up I'll take that to start. Not really expecting to hit this all
15:26the way
15:27to the green. Anything in play and over that trouble I'll be happy with.
15:38Ripped it straight at the bunker.
15:42Yep, that is about five, six yards short of the green. Exactly where I was aiming. Happy, happy with
15:47that start. Like that. Run. Ah, not enough to get over that slope. Not the best but given my history
16:00of the duffs I'm not overly disappointed with that. I just needed to fly a little bit further or take
16:06a
16:07little less loft. Something to think about. Obviously I didn't have a chance to warm up on the practice
16:11screen before I teed off so a little bit of guesswork with how the greens are going to react over
16:17the
16:17first couple of holes but hopefully I'll get up to speed with them for lack of a better pun. Apologies.
16:25Right, birdie putt on the first.
16:30Go in, go in. Oh, I will take a two inch tap-in par putt on the first hole without
16:37a warm-up
16:38any day of the week. Level par through one.
16:44Yeah, actually a bit of a cut there but that's absolutely fine.
16:57And hit the slope. And go a bit. And go a bit more. And go in. Oh.
17:05I think we can all agree that that is a gimme. So worth noting that Alcanada boasts this tag
17:12marshall buggy system which is a really, really detailed GPS of the golf course.
17:17Tells you what your pace of play is like, what your start time was. I've been playing for 29 minutes.
17:22Too too old. Maybe need to speed up a little bit but you can do all sorts of stuff with
17:27this.
17:28Give it a bit of a food and bevs action. Lovely. As you can see, map of the course.
17:36You know, don't get lost, all that kind of stuff. It's a great system.
17:40One of the fancier GPS units out there for sure.
17:47Bit skinny. Low on the face, up the right. Not a good shot at all but
17:53it's bouncing. Could even get a bit of carter path of love and a few extra yards out of that
17:58one.
17:58So quick shout out to Alcanada actually. The course opened for play in October 2003. So we're creeping up
18:05on the 20th birthday of this magnificent golf course. We'll just see if I can find my ball,
18:10flick another little wedge shot into this par four green and hopefully start off with par par par.
18:15That would be lovely.
18:18Taking the wrong club down here. I've got a 60 degree wedge. So I'm going to have to throw this
18:22quite far.
18:23But I definitely can't be bothered to go back to the buggy.
18:28Played it nice. And sit. Definitely take that.
18:36No, that was low all day long. Now to be honest with you, struggling for a bogey.
18:45Yeah, in for five. One over through three. To be honest with you, without a warm up, take that for
18:50sure.
18:50Right. Seventh tee. Raised tee. Absolutely spectacular view in the background as you can
18:55see as this par five snakes its way down the hill in between bunkers and rows of trees. Brilliant,
19:01brilliant golf hole. I would argue this is the signature hole on this golf course. There are
19:05other candidates later on the round, which I'm sure you'll see on this video. But yeah,
19:10if I can get a good drive away over this bunker, chasing down the hill, even though it's a 600
19:14yard
19:14par five from this yellow tee, I reckon I can get pretty close in two. So bombs away,
19:20as they say. And let's see if we can sneak one down there in the fairway.
19:30Bit necky. Definitely not my best strike. Up the left is absolutely fine. It's at that kind of big tree
19:37right in the middle of the two bunkers. But as you can see, I've been so close to going down
19:43this
19:43slope and getting a few extra yards. That would have been lovely. But as it stands, I've got about
19:50320 yards left in. So there are two bunkers down there. One right, one left, which I do think make
19:56this layup a little bit more complicated than it needs to be. So I am kind of tempted to hit
20:01three
20:01wood and just try and get as close to the green as possible over these bunkers and in play with
20:07a wedge. Unfortunately though, three wood off the deck is not really my strong suit.
20:14So I'm going to be a wimp. I'm sorry. I'm going to play this hole as a three shotter,
20:19which let's be honest, unless I absolutely ripped one down the right and side here and chased down the
20:23hill. It was always going to be anyway. I was going to hit a six iron, which I don't think
20:29is enough to
20:30reach the bunker on the right. If I go in that direction, should leave about a wedge in.
20:40That is straight out of the bunker, so if it does reach it, I'm an absolute plonker.
20:47Yep, comfortably right in the middle of that bunker!
20:51Right, so nine iron, 136. Try and catch it a little bit clean.
21:00Like that. That's the yardage, that's such a good shot. Get down, get down, get down!
21:09Straight over the top of the pin, but I think I have hit that a little bit too hard. Probably
21:13got
21:13like a 35 footer for a birdie. I'll take it though.
21:28That's right.
21:30That's right.
21:33That's right.
21:36That's right.
22:05Come on.
22:07Par required to break 80.
22:15Oh, it hit a bit bottomy, but that's so straight and safe.
22:21Oh, that's fairway, I think.
22:23Rubbish for distance, but accuracy-wise, lovely.
22:30Stay there and be the yardage.
22:33Stay there.
22:35It's just not quite reached the green, but I think it's literally like a yard short.
22:39I should be putting that.
22:40Now, I know I said I quite fancy practicing my chipping at the moment, and this would
22:44be a good opportunity to practice that strike off the tight fairway lie, but let's be honest,
22:51I need to get this down in two for a 79, so I'm running back to the putter.
22:57Off the left, quite a few left to right putts today, all on the pace.
23:06And swing.
23:07And go.
23:09Go.
23:10And that's a tapping.
23:1279.
23:14Nothing to write home about for decent golfers, but for me, eight handicapper, seven over,
23:19broken handicap, break 80.
23:23Done.
23:26There we have it, guys.
23:26All done at Alcanada.
23:28All done in Mallorca, I'm sad to say.
23:29That was my 48 hours on this amazing island, playing two really cool golf courses.
23:34Really enjoyed my stay at Pula.
23:36As always, fantastic, all-encompassing resort.
23:39Trackman driving range.
23:41Superb restaurant.
23:42Great place to have a few drinks in the evening.
23:44Really relaxed kind of vibe.
23:45Friendly people.
23:46Cool.
23:46And obviously the two different accommodation options on site, making it a super convenient
23:51place to stay and play in Mallorca.
23:53And then you've got this place, Alcanada Golf Club, an hour's drive, or just less than
23:57an hour, from Pula.
23:58So if you're looking at maybe like three nights, five nights, kind of holiday stay and play
24:02package, definitely recommend Pula as a good base.
24:06There are accommodation options near Alcanada, but as a standalone golf club, they don't have
24:10their own hotel as of yet.
24:12So this is definitely a kind of tack it onto the itinerary kind of vibe option.
24:17And I certainly would recommend it.
24:19One of my favorite courses that I've played over the last few years.
24:21And I'm lucky to say that I've ticked off a fair few all the way around the world.
24:25And this is definitely one of the most spectacular places to play, as you can see behind me.
24:30And as I said at the start of the video, super friendly, really great clubhouse to have
24:33a spot of lunch after your round.
24:36Unfortunately, I don't have time for all that.
24:38I've got to shoot back to Palmer Airport now and back to the UK.
24:42Back to base layers and jumpers and bubble hats.
24:46Can I just stay in Mallorca?
24:48Yeah.
24:50Bye.
24:51Bye.
24:51Bye.
24:52Bye.
24:57Bye.
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