Practice Course

A loose shot on the Practice Course can carry a heavy price, which gives this short layout real purpose before taking on a longer round. Set below the Pirin Mountains at Pirin Golf & Country Club, it asks for controlled striking and careful judgement rather than a casual warm up. The neighbouring Ian Woosnam Main Course provides the full 18-hole examination, playing to par 72 and 6,761 yards from the white tees. Its rugged ground is shaped by 80 bunkers, four lakes and a river, with mountain planting adding to the sense of place. The club’s wider practice provision caters for accomplished players, juniors and newcomers, while the pro shop can arrange lessons, tee times, club hire, trolleys and buggies.

GPS buggies supply distance information and can also be used to send food and drink orders during the round. Afterwards, the clubhouse has generous changing rooms with lockers, showers and relaxation areas, plus a restaurant, bar and terrace facing the course and practice ground. By the driving range, the halfway house serves international dishes and drinks from a terrace looking towards pine woodland and the surrounding peaks. More than 40 tournaments are held here each year, including ladies’ clinics, events involving professional golfers and competitions open to players without a handicap.

Pirin Golf Hotel & SPA has 71 rooms, family spaces and suites, all with views across the surrounding landscape. Each has a luxury bathroom with a television and hydromassage bath, while direct access to the 5,500-square-metre wellness centre makes the post round routine particularly easy. There is an indoor pool, thermal area, sauna facilities, treatments and massages, along with six outdoor pools. Dinner can mean European cooking at Euro Kitchen, Asian dishes at Taste of Asia, or a table at La Foret, before a drink at Let’s Bar or the Lobby Bar. Sofia International Airport is around an hour away, and Bansko is only minutes from the resort.