Son Vida Golf, Mallorca: A PGA Professional's Honest Review (2026)

We teed off at 8:16, one of the first times out, with rain from earlier in the morning still on the ground. My client was staying at the Sheraton and paid €88 for the round, the hotel guest rate. We walked, and we were paired with two UK golfers in a buggy who were great company. By the time we finished, a crowd was waiting around the 1st tee. An early tee time is the one to book here.

Mallorca's Oldest Course

Son Vida opened in 1964 and is the oldest golf course on the island. It hosted the European Tour's Open de Baleares twice, in 1990 and 1994, and Seve Ballesteros won the first of them in a playoff. Tree-lined fairways run through classic parkland, with the Bay of Palma and the Tramuntana mountains behind. I played the yellow tees, 5,470m, which is short by modern standards. The greens slope, the holes dogleg and the ground rises and falls.

How The Course Plays

Most of the greens slope a lot, and several have two tiers. Land your approach on the wrong tier and you are left with a very difficult putt, so distance control into the green matters more than length off the tee. There is a lot of elevation change, mostly early in the round, and several par 3s play downhill, where the club you pick depends on how much the drop takes off the yardage. We walked all 18 comfortably, though I would not call it an easy walk.

The course is built among the houses and the hotel with very little spare land, and the buildings mark the edge of many holes. There are plenty of doglegs, and each one gives you a decision to make on the tee. The first 12 are the tightest. The last six open out and reminded me of Son Muntaner, with more space, more interesting hole designs and more obvious decisions from the tee. I preferred them.

Holes Worth Mentioning

The 4th was one of my favourites. It is the first downhill par 3 and played around 140 yards after allowing for the slope. From the elevated tee you see the whole flight of the ball and know straight away whether you judged the distance correctly.

The 7th is a dogleg right where the correct line off the tee is not obvious. I thought I had hit a good tee shot curving to the right, and I ended up on the right side of the fairway, not where I expected. Knowing the line, and what sits beyond the visible landing area, would make a big difference on a second visit.

The 11th is a 483m par 5, a dogleg left and uphill with houses down the right. I hit 3-iron followed by 3-iron onto the green. The tee shot feels open, and the angle into the green narrows depending on where it finishes.

The 14th is a 327m par 4 with a significant dogleg left and water just short of the green. You cannot easily see where the ideal landing area is. I hit driver and had 50 yards left. How aggressively to play it and which line to take are real decisions, which is why I found the closing stretch more interesting.

The 15th is a 368m par 4, a dogleg right, with the same kind of choice. The further left you play, the longer the approach. I took a more direct line towards the green and had 80 yards in. I liked having different options from the tee instead of one obvious way to play it.

The 18th is a beautiful finishing hole. It is a 460m par 5 with water running up the right, the hotel as the backdrop, a fountain, and the clubhouse on the left. People around the clubhouse can watch the approach shots into the green, which gives the hole an atmosphere to finish on.

Conditioning And Service

The course had clearly been watered heavily, and with the morning rain that left some areas much wetter than normal. There were quite a few wet lies and muddy patches around the greens, and balls landing on the greens often plugged instead of releasing. The greens themselves were very pure but slightly slow. I do not think we saw the firmness Son Vida normally has.

The presentation was what I would expect from an Arabella course: tidy and carefully maintained. The greenkeepers were cutting the edges of the greens with scissors and raking them by hand. The staff were warm and friendly all the way through, and the club cleaned my client's clubs for free after the round. The halfway hut is very good, and so was the food after the round.

There is a putting green and a practice net, and no full driving range. Son Muntaner's range is around a two-minute drive away, so it is easy to hit balls there for a proper warm-up and come back for your tee time.

Practical Information

Green fees are dynamic, running from around €84 in low season up to €190 at peak, plus the standard €3 daily federation licence if you are not a federated player. My client paid €88 on the day as a Sheraton guest. Handicap limit is 54 with a certificate required, and Son Vida is about 15 minutes from Palma. Buggies are optional. Singles can book and will usually be paired with another group, as we were. Standard golf dress code applies, soft spikes are required, and club hire is available.

The one real negative from the day: on the first 12 holes you are rarely out of sight of a house or the hotel, and the routing felt cramped in places. The rain added wet lies and plugged balls that I would not expect on a normal day. In drier weather I would expect it to play firmer than it did for us.

Common Questions

Handicap limit is 54, with a certificate required at booking. It is walkable, with most of the climbing early in the round. It suits golfers who enjoy working out where to put the ball. One thing that surprises first-timers: a few tee shots hide the best line, so a second visit is easier than the first. Local tip: on the two-tier greens, finish below the hole.

Verdict

7/10. Son Vida is Mallorca's oldest course, and it hosted two Open de Baleares, one won by Seve Ballesteros in a playoff. Sloping two-tier greens mean every approach needs the right distance, the doglegs mean some tees need a plan, and the last six holes have the space and choices that the first 12 lack. It suits golfers who want history and an easy round from the Sheraton. It is a weaker fit for anyone who wants open space on every hole, since the first 12 are the tightest.

I enjoyed Son Vida and would play it again, particularly now that I know the lines off the tee. It works well alongside Son Muntaner and Son Quint if you are staying in the Son Vida area. If you are building out the wider trip, the trip planning guide covers how to sequence rounds like this.