Golf Courses

Benamor Golf

Benamor offers a pleasant playing experience, to players of all standards. The course is undulating but not hilly. The views of the mountains to the North and the Atlantic Ocean to the South are stunning. The indigenous olive, cork, carob, fig and almond trees, many of them centuries old, feature aesthetically and in playing terms. Water hazards and sand bunkers are located to test the strategy and striking ability of the player.

The Penn A4 greens and tees are simply superb. The fairways of Bermuda Sahara and cool-season grasses, provide good lies for wood and iron shots.

Boavista Golf

Boavista Golf opened on 1st January 2002, the impressive 18 Hole Championship golf course has been designed by Howard Swan MSc, past president of The European Institute of Golf Course Architects.

His philosophy - to create a course as if it has always been there - has been sensitively applied at Boavista, preserving, integrating and harmonising with the area’s natural terrain. Boavista Golf Club offers superb facilities in a uniquely sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere and is already attracting people from all over the world.

Gramacho

On Gramacho, Ron Fream has created a unique concept of 18 greens, 18 tees and 9 fairways.The design skill which has gone into creation of the green positions and the protective bunkering is such, that an 18 hole round gives 18 genuinely different challenges.The positioning of the tee markers helps to increase the variety even more. As with the Pinta Course, the preparation and condition is at tournament standard year round.

The use of existing features of the land, outcrops of rock, dry stone walls, fig, almond, carob and olive trees, have been augmented by well positioned bunkers and lakes. These hazards, combined with the shaping of the fairways and greens, have produced a wonderful array of challenging but fair golf holes.

From the first tee shot to then pitch to the final green, the player must not only strike the ball and putt well, but also utilize the best strategy, to produce a good score. Experienced golfers will certainly acknowledge that they played a very fine golf course with a testing par of 72 and more than sufficient length at 5,919 metres.

Laguna Golf Vilamoura

The 18 Holes have been laid out over level ground and provide and with the exception of the eleventh and twelve that take the player around and over a lake, it is open fairways for the player with very few trees to present difficulties.

It is a course that can be likened to some degree to the challenges that are provided by a Links course. However, there are many water hazards with strategically placed bunkers in open terrain. These factors combined with the occasional strong wind make for an interesting round.

Millennium Golf Vilamoura

Martin Hawtree has extended his original concept of the original 27 Holes by adding another 9 and created and creating two distinctive courses. These new holes are part of the Millennium Course and wander amongst the parkland of pine tress that are often found on the coast in the Algarve.

The course is a pleasure to play with subtle with few very tricky situations except for possibly the the par-3 sixth with its lake on the left of the fairway waiting for erring balls.

Palmares Golf

Some say that is the jewel in the crown of the Algarve. Some say the landscape is unique. Some make it a must on their Algarve golf tour. We are speaking, of course, about Palmares golf course.

The Frank Pennink designed course enjoys a beautiful location, near to the historic city of Lagos, commanding magnifi cent views of the bay of Lagos and the distant Monchique hills.

During springtime, the fairways and hills are covered with the flowering shrubs, acacia.The Blossom from the Almond trees giving the impression of snow covered trees, lining the vived green fairways beneath a warm springtime sun.

Parque da Floresta

Parque da Floresta is one of Europe’s most spectacular golf courses and is the ideal location for golf holidays in the Algarve. With no two holes remotely similar, the variety and appeal of this unique course are endless, and one round will not be suffi cient to appreciate its imaginative design.

Meandering through the undulating terrain, it offers fantastic views of the surrounding Algarve countryside and the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

Penina Championship and Penina Resort & Academy

Set in its own picturesque 360-acre estate, Le Meridien Penina Golf & Resort offers three golf courses designed by Sir Henry Cotton. The course owes its beautiful setting to the forward-thinking architect, who, in 1966, designed the Penina golf course with no less than 360,000 trees, shrubs and hedging plants.

Now a luxurious and highly-respected Championship course, it now offers 2 more courses of 9 holes - the Resort Course and the Academy Course - ideal for beginners and experts alike. There is a Golf Academy for golfers of all abilities, and Penina offers a fi ve-day golf instruction programme (bookable in advance and subject to availability).

Pinhal Golf Vilamoura

This course is laid through the pine tree forest of the area and is set back from the tourist beach area. The outward nine holes wander through the holiday villas that line the fairways. The well-positioned bunkers make the course very enjoyable to the players, testing their choice of clubs and their accuracy.

The Par-4 on the fourth hole is difficult to achieve with water waiting for the erring shot. The Par-3 on the eighth of 149 metres is tricky than it fi rst appears. The back nine-holes have a more open feel but the slightly altered fi fteenth will cause a problem to meet the Par-4 it requires.

Pinheiros Altos

Located within the well-known Quinta do Lago estate this course enjoys a solid reputation. Within the golfing world it is known as providing a mental challenge due to well placed hazards.

The outward nine-holes are played down rolling fairways lined with pine trees. The back nine-holes bring a lot of interesting water hazards into play. An attractive hole is the seventeenth with its inviting green sitting on an island but surrounded by its water hazard.

Quinta da Ria

The first of the two Par 72 golf courses extends itself in a spectacular location on the coast of the eastern Algarve, locally known as “Sotavento”.

Quinta da Ria Golf situated in the Ria Formosa Nature Reserve has already been described by experienced golfers as the most beautiful course in the region. In fact, perched above the Ria Formosa estuary, the views down to the sand below, the tidal waters and the ever fl owing currents are quite breathtaking. The concentration will drop, the mind will wander ...

Keeping your score at the forefront of the throught-process may not be so easy ... and, in fact, you may not want to!!

Quinta de Cima

This magnificent 18 hole golf course is a formidable test of golf off any of the tees and a truly exceptional challenge. The whole area is blessed with a profound peacefulness.

From Quinta de Cima Golf the views are slightly different, but no less spectacular, no less inspiring: from any part of the course, both the sea and the Algarvean mountains are a delight to anyone’s eyes. Old centenary olive and carob trees, together with the surrounding orange trees and vineyards, maintain the typicism of the region landscape. It looks as if the course has been there since centuries ago. This is a protected area and long may it remain so, hopefully for ever!

Quinta do Lago North

The course has two architects: The American William Mitchell designed holes 1 to 5 and 15 to 18 in 1974. These holes (as with the other course) share a unique character. The terrain is typical of the area: sandy and stewn with pine trees, heather, gorse and wild flowers.

The fairways and tees are basically “Bermuda” with a cool season mixture of grasses, hybrid, which provides year-round and a top quality swards. The greens are sown with “Creeping Bentgrass Penncross”, giving a fast, true putting surface, which provide good all-year round putting surfaces.

These holes have more cross falls on the fairways than the other layouts and all the Par 4 and 5 holes are doglegs, demanding precise tee shots, to set up straightforward approaches. Like the “Quinta do Lago South” course, it is an anti-clockwise loop and favours the player with a draw. Holes 6 to 14 were designed by Joseph Lee with the collaboration of Rocky Roquemore, both from the USA, and opened in 1989. The terrain is superb, sandy and littered with umbrella pines. In the spring, the rough is covered with a blanket of wild flowers.

Quinta do Lago South

Designed by William Mitchell from the USA and opened in 1974, the Quinta do Lago South course was the venue for the Portuguese Open Championship in 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 2001. It has also hosted many large professional and amateur championships.

The favourite of many tour players, this course offers the possibility to hit the greens in regulation in several ways. However, each hole has one easy route and the player who sees this, and has the skill to follow the designer’s intention, and produce sub-par figures. An anti-clockwise loop, it favours the draw shot.

Salgados

Herdade dos Salgados is a tourism and residential complex of unbeatable quality that offers a broad range of facilities for health, sports, leisure, business and culture.

Located near Praia dos Salgados beach, which itself extends over 7 km along the coast, the complex is nestled among the dunes and woods, boasting a golf course and proximity to the Lagoas dos Salgados lagoons, areas that are part of the scenic National Ecological Reserve.

San Lorenzo

Located in the Quinta do Lago estate enjoys a reputation for the condition of its course and its attractive views around the lake formed by Ria Formosa. It has been ranked in the past as the second best course in Europe. The outward first five holes are through the pine tree forest.

Water and good hole layouts provides the hazards that play a big part in players having to select clubs and hit with care. The eighteenth is a tricky par-4 mainly involving a lake that is waiting for the inaccurate shot.

Silves Golf Resort

Nick Price, the former world Nr.1 player, has teamed up with the well-known golf course architect, Ronald Fream, to create a uniquely designed 18 hole course with 27 varied greens that enable the golfer to play the same course several times with different greens and new challenges.

The design technique has positioned the greens and protective bunkers so that an 18 hole round is a genuine challenge. The positioning of the tee markers helps to increase this variety still further. As in the case of the Pinta Course, this course is maintained at tournament standard all the year round.

In the Nick Price style, the wonderful characteristics already existing on the site, from the boulder outcrops and dry stone walling to the fig, carob and olive trees, have been complemented by artfully positioned lakes and bunkers. These hazards, combined with the design of the greens and fairways, result in a challenging but attractive course.

From the first stroke off the tee to the final green, the player must not just play the ball well but also adopt the best strategy to achieve an optimum result. At the end of the round, experienced golfers will be able to confirm that they have played a good course, with a challenging 72 par over a more-than-sufficient length of 6,107 meters.

Old Course Vilamoura

This is the second oldest golf course in the Algarve. Set in an umbrella pinewood and laid out in an interesting way to take advantage of the natural contours. It is from the English school of Course design.

The first Holes are easy and inviting with reachable par-4s. The par-3 on the attractive fourth is a Hole in One potential. Club selection from here will play an important part of your game, and straight shots will be needed.
The ninth is an excellent example of this situation. The back nine has three interesting par-5s. The sixteenth providing a 522 metre challenge for good length and straight hitting.

Vale da Pinta

Pinta is a championship course with an exceptional layout which was designed by Ron Fream of Golfplan USA and opened in 1992.

The course has earned an excellent reputation because of its excellent condition and its ability tochallenge golfers of all standards. The fairways with Bermuda Grass and the Pen Cross Bent greens are protected by sand bunkers which are in an excellent position, and also two ornamental lakes which are in play on four holes. The course also has an array of Fig, Almond, Carob, and Olive trees some of which are up to 600 years old.

The dogleg shape of all the par 4 and 5 holes puts an emphasis on the ability to drive with accuracy. The size of the greens are well matched to the length of the approach shot. This 6,152 metres, par 71 course, will be appreciated by all golfers.

Vale do Lobo Ocean Course

The name of this course is appropriately suggesting is enviable location. As an older golf course it had a strong influence in placing the Algarve as a destination in the golfing world.

The fairways have a tendency to be narrow and accuracy is imperative when playing. The holes wander through pine trees with wonderful views of the sea between the homes lining the sides of the fairways. Some of the holes take you along the cliff top with the blue Atlantic sea as the backdrop.

Flanked by luxurious pine and eucalyptus trees, the course’s gently undulating fairways run down to the shores of the Atlantic. Developing along the very edge of the coastline, it allows golfers to tee-off alongside some of the most incredible ocean views in the Algarve.

Vale do Lobo Royal Course

The course that has combined existing holes from the original Vale do Lobo course and some special interesting new holes. The layout of the course is skilful with a mixture of challenges slowly building up to a finally on the eighteenth. The famous par-3 “seventh hole” from the old days is now the spectacular sixteenth on this new course. The closing eighteenth is a tricky hole on which to finish, with its narrow fairway and a deceptive green.

These enviable golf facilities, combined with the Algarve’s excellent climate, a choice of outstanding property, 2km of sandy beach and a selection of fine restaurants, make Vale do Lobo theperfect destination for a holiday or year round golfing lifestyle.

Victoria Golf Vilamoura

The Victoria Clube de Golfe Course is the most recent course to be opened to the public in the Algarve. Laid out on virtually flat terrain covering some 90 hectares it includes a series of constructed mounds specially landscaped to emulate the outline of inland hills on the horizon - a feature that enriches the course with a sense of movement and harmony.

The series of beautiful lakes and waterfalls also helps to provide an attractive background whilst playing the course. This is at present the longest 18 holes golf course in Portugal and promises to be a notable course in Europe. Each hole has a minimum of five tees from which to play thus making the course suitable for golfers of all handicap levels. Before playing it could be advisable to take advantage of the immense putting green of around 2,500 m² to “feel the green” in that very important end game.

Vila Sol Golf

The magnificent Vila Sol SPA & Golf Resort, which is located in an estate of some 150 hectares, is characterised by its beautiful natural surroundings with a vast range of fauna, animal and plant life. At Vila Sol Golf you will find a fabulous 27-hole golf course designed by the famous architect Donald Steel, which stretches along a wide valley, naturally sculpted by Mother Nature and divided into three loops with three different levels of difficulty: Prime, Challenge and Prestige.

Vila Sol Golf has twice played host to the Portuguese Open, in 1992 and 1993. It was honoured by the Green Globe organisation in 1996.