Real Madrid to convert stadium into golf driving range during 2026/27 season

Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium is one of the most iconic venues in world football – but it’ll soon be playing host to a different sport altogether.

It’s just been announced that the 15-time European champions’ home will be turned into a driving range early in the 2026/27 season.

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Courtesy of Upper Deck Golf, the public will be able to tee off inside the Bernabeu from September 24 to September 27.

Already a revelation in the USA, Upper Deck Golf is beginning to make its way to Europe, with Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium playing host to the experience this July.

Giving the standard golf driving range a thrilling twist, Upper Deck Golf sees various tee points installed in the stands, with various targets set up on the pitch.

It’s the latest chapter in the esteemed history of the Bernabeu, which underwent a major renovation between 2019 and 2024.

With a capacity of over 83,000, Madrid’s home since its completion in 1947 is one of the largest stadiums in Europe.

Features of its recent makeover include a retractable roof and a spectacular 360-degree video screen measuring 11 metres at its highest point.

The arrival of Upper Deck Golf in Spain is apt given the country’s rich history within the sport.

Four Spanish golfers have won at least one major championship, with the late Seve Ballesteros the most successful among them, winning the Masters twice and the Open three times.

Ballesteros also captained the European team which won the Ryder Cup in 1997, when Spain held the competition for the first time at the Valderrama Golf Club in Andalusia.

The Ryder Cup is set to return to Spain in 2031, with Camiral Golf and Wellness in Catalonia the venue.

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Madrid, meanwhile, are picking up the pieces after just their second trophiless season since 2010.

Head coach Alvaro Arbeloa left his position at the end of the campaign, with Jose Mourinho to make a surprise return to the Spanish capital as his successor.

Los Blancos’ sub-par 2025/26 resulted in Spain naming no Madrid players in their World Cup squad for the first time ever.

Madrid finished as runners-up to arch-rivals Barcelona in LaLiga, ceding the title with defeat in El Clasico last month.

Arbeloa’s side were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich at the quarter-final stage and exited the Copa del Rey at the hands of second-tier Albacete in the last 16.

Fans will be hoping that under Mourinho, in his second spell in charge, Madrid make like golfers and come out swinging next term.