Construction of the Hotel/Club course at PGA Golf de Catalunya commenced in January 2004, undertaken by Cañellas Golf S.L. of Tarragona in Spain, who had built the Championship layout over ten years previously. The front nine holes were seeded in Autumn 2004 and opened for play in May 2005, by which time the back nine holes had been seeded and are scheduled to open for play later in the year.

As David Williams explains .."As a Hotel and Club course, the aim of the second 18 is to be slightly easier in play than the testing Championship venue, although visually it will appear very similar. Whereas the Championship course, and particularly the greens are designed to test the highest standard of player and perhaps deflect off all but the most well-struck shot into the surrounding hazards, the new course will be more ‘player friendly’, and players will notice perhaps a few more kindly bounces onto the putting surface".

He continues .."Neil Coles, Angel Gallardo and I first visited the property in 1985 when it had originally been purchased by the RAC of Catalunya to build a Grand Prix racing circuit. However, the RACC had second thoughts, and built their Grand Prix venue a few miles nearer Barcelona, but stayed on in the project with the PGA European Tour to develop a 36 hole venue. The site was probably one of the best I have had the privilege of working on in over 20 years of golf course design, with dramatic cork and pine covered valleys, and almost all the 600 acre site being tree-covered.

The initial routing was difficult, in ensuring that the course played fairly, but it is pleasing to note that the excellence of that initial routing is recognised, in that there is really only one uphill shot on the Championship course, with only a few more on the second layout".

DWGD was therefore delighted when the Championship course retained its ranking in Europe’s Top Ten of European Golf Courses in the 2003 edition of Golf World. The magazine described the course as "already one of Europe’s elite, never dull and always inspirational, this plunging course is a collector’s item. Europe’s best have already taken on its demanding fairways and speedy greens and universally love it". They continue, " a roller-coaster ride despite such vigorous terrain, there is only one truly uphill drive but plenty of downhill belters".

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