If you are thinking of renting on the Maresme coast and golf is part of the plan, you are in the right stretch of coast. Some of Catalonia's oldest private clubs are here, and the distances are short: the main courses sit twenty to forty minutes from each other, and twenty to thirty minutes from Barcelona.
Start with Club de Golf Llavaneras, because for most people living on this coast it is the home course. Founded in 1945, it is one of the oldest private clubs in Catalonia, and the 18-hole, par-70 layout sits on the hill right above Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, up from Port Balís. The views run out to the Mediterranean on much of the back nine, and the clubhouse terrace is where half the town seems to end up on a Sunday afternoon.
The course is not long by modern standards, which is part of its charm: it rewards placement over power, and the wind off the sea does the rest. Membership is family-oriented and quietly old-Catalan; visitors can usually get a tee time on weekdays, but weekends need planning.
Twenty-odd minutes inland, in Vallromanes, sits Golf Vallromanes. The club dates to 1969 and the course was laid out by F.W. Hawtree in 1972 — the classic parkland style, tree-lined fairways, a historic clubhouse and no sea in sight. If you have played on a British or northern-European parkland course, this will feel familiar and comfortable, and it is a good option when the coastal wind is up.
For a bigger occasion, two names come up again and again around Barcelona. Real Club de Golf El Prat, historically one of Spain's best-known clubs, and Club de Golf Terramar down the coast at Sitges, a links-style course right by the sea. Both are roughly forty to fifty minutes from the Maresme and worth the drive for a special round.
Green fees vary by club, day and season, and prices nearly always jump at weekends and in summer, so it is worth calling or checking each club's own site rather than trusting a number from a blog — including this one. What is consistent is the culture: clubs expect a handicap, smart-casual dress on the course and a slower, social pace than many expats are used to.
If golf is going to be a weekly habit rather than a holiday treat, membership usually makes more sense than paying green fees, and several Maresme clubs offer family or under-30s categories. Ask about joining fees, annual subscriptions and whether there is a waiting list before you fall for a house based on how close it is to a course.
The geography matters. Living in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres puts Llavaneras on your doorstep and Vallromanes fifteen minutes inland. Sant Vicenç de Montalt and Caldes d'Estrac are also close. Teià and Alella are a slightly longer drive to Llavaneras but closer to the city. If your week is golf plus the occasional trip into Barcelona, the northern Maresme around Llavaneres is the sweet spot.
Rents in that pocket sit at the top of the Maresme range — big houses in Llavaneres have been asking from around €4,900 to €5,800 a month, and more for the exceptional ones — but sports, the marina and the sea clearly feed into that pricing.
A realistic golf weekend here: an early tee time at Llavaneras on Saturday while the sea is still flat, lunch at the port in Port Balís, a swim at Caldes d'Estrac in the afternoon, and Vallromanes on Sunday if you want trees instead of views. Add the R1 into Barcelona for dinner and you have used the coast well.
One last thing. The Maresme is a windy coast, and the wind is part of the game here. A course that plays easy on a still morning in October will play two clubs longer in a March mistral. That honesty is exactly why people who live here end up playing here.