Do You Have to Play Golf to Enjoy Salobre?

When I first saw Salobre Golf Resort around seven years ago, my perspective was clear: I was a keen golfer, and I was immediately taken with this place.

Salobre became a regular part of my holidays in Gran Canaria. My annual escape to the south: sunshine, a break from everyday life and, of course, golf. Anyone who plays knows how it is: tee times, practice and the next round can easily shape much of your day.

That enthusiasm was certainly one of the reasons why I later decided to make Salobre one of the places I call home.

I have now lived in the resort for around three years.

And strangely enough, I now play considerably less golf than I used to.

I cannot even explain exactly why.

Villa 15 is only about 200 metres as the crow flies from the driving range. I could pick up a club, walk over and practise almost whenever I wanted.

Yet I do it surprisingly rarely.

Perhaps that is precisely the reason: I could do it at any time.

Instead, I often walk through the resort with the dog in the morning. I see the fairways, the landscape and the light across the golf course. At some point I started calling this walk, half jokingly, “playing golf without clubs.”

And sometimes that is enough for me.

It is similar for my wife. And over time I began to notice that many of the owners around me hardly play golf at all, or do not play it at all.

At first, that genuinely surprised me.

What the Name “Golf Resort” Doesn't Tell You

Golf naturally shapes Salobre. But if you do not know the place, the name might easily make you think that almost everything here revolves around the sport.

That is no longer how I see the resort.

In winter you see the classic golf guests: often one or two couples spending several weeks here. On their golf days, I recognise the rhythm of my own holidays from years ago.

Alongside them are people who mainly enjoy the sunshine, their villa and the pool, then head out for dinner in the evening. Others now combine their stay with working remotely from the terrace and taking a break in the garden.

Golf does not have to be part of the experience at all.

My Own Personal Garden Show

For me, the golf course has sometimes become my own personal garden show.

Perhaps that is a very German way of looking at it. But the grounds are tended throughout the year by a team of gardeners, and the result is a landscape you have in front of you every day.

You do not have to play on it to enjoy it.

Sometimes, simply letting your eyes wander across the golf course is enough.

Especially when you have an open view across this landscape, it is something you do not necessarily tire of, even during a longer stay.

Perhaps that is why I now understand better why some of my neighbours bought a villa here even though golf plays hardly any role in their everyday lives.

What Not to Expect from Salobre

Salobre is not a typical holiday resort with a beachfront promenade, shops, restaurants and entertainment right outside your door.

If you want to step out of your accommodation in the morning and immediately find yourself in the middle of the holiday atmosphere, you will probably feel more at home on the coast. For me, that is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage. It is simply a question of what you expect from your holiday.

What Has Changed for Me

Seven years ago, I would probably have described Salobre primarily in terms of golf.

Today I live just a few hundred metres from the practice facilities, and some mornings I would rather go for a walk with the dog. The golf course is still there – and perhaps simply knowing that I could play at any time has itself become part of the luxury.