San Sebastian – Golf and Culture – May 2026

Certainly our culinary part of the week got off to a great start on our first evening together at the wonderful Lanperna restaurant in the heart of San Sebastian.  Beautifully cooked fresh fish and super Albarino wine set us up perfectly for our golf the next day.

We played the scenic Basozabel Golf Course  Allegedly Jose Maria lives by the fifth hole, but we didn’t know this until later in the week.  Some fun golf augmented by a super lunch afterwards of grilled pork and the best half way house in Spain too. This evening we enjoyed an interesting and delicious Pintxos Tour around the Old Town.  Our guide Guru was wonderful and ensured we ate the best Pintxos at the different venues we went to.  Each bar has a speciality which as she explained “They make in the moment” rather than the ones that are sat on the bar. Add in telling us this amazing City’s long history, we all felt we had a first class experience.

On Monday we visited the impressive Larrabea GC the home of Jon Rahm.  Certainly with it’s variety of holes and golfing questions it asked, you can see how a young Jon Rahm hones his game.  The evening featured a menu Jon had for his Masters Dinner. We had this meal in one of the Gastronomic Societies venues.  The two chefs Jorge and Michel were our hosts and although they were not professional chefs, the food and imaginative menu were out of the top drawer.  We were really fortunate to eat here as it is invitation only by a member.

On Tuesday we went to visit the Marques de Riscal winery and then the Bodegas Muga winery.  This without doubt came top of my visits to a vineyard.  The attention to detail of the family owned company was inspiring, right from the beginning of the process and keeping the wine in barrels that are made on site.  Our host for the day was Maria Muga and she was so knowledgeable and we enjoyed a fabulous lunch there.  We met her husband, other members of the family and sampled a few wines too!  Needless to say we will be off to Majestic Wines for more Muga wines when we get home!

Back to golf on the Wednesday and played the rolling hills of San Sebastian GC.  A wonderful setting with a suitably well appointed Clubhouse made for a very enjoyable post golf venue. The evening was spent at another local specialty venue, the cider house.

Thursday was our Basque Country Tour starting in Biarritz at the scenic Lighthouse.  It has a wonderful view from there with the coastline to your right and the magnificent Hotel de Palais to the left.  Then on to Saint Jean de Luz which is a delight with a lovely seafront and wonderful buildings.  The day was rounded off with an amazing Sea Bream and Sole dinner with a few glasses of Muga wine.

Our final day was spent by taking the short drive back into France and playing the delightful Chantaco Golf Club.  The course is owned by the Lacoste Family and there was some interesting memorabilia pertaining to their time in the clubhouse.  In addition the Pro Shop had wall to wall Lacoste clothing, which took some resisting.  Another top quality dinner at Narru to round off the week and we all agreed this is really a splendid venue and look forward to returning in the not too distant future.

Barney 

Click on a thumbnail to see the big pictures

The post San Sebastian – Golf and Culture – May 2026 appeared first on David Short Golf.