So much water for tee
RICHARD WILLIAMSON GETS INTO THE SWING OF GOLF IN PORTUGAL – BUT NOT WHERE YOU MIGHT IMAGINE
IT’S a simple enough equation. Sport equals golf. Country equals Portugal. Add them together and the answer must be the Algarve, right?
There are marginally more courses strung along this 100-mile stretch of coast than Brexit permutations, with more than 1.3 million rounds played every year across the 42 choices… so not much of a brain teaser, right?
But coming up with the conclusion that it can only be the Algarve is a bit like that moment in all the detective programmes, like Morse or Poirot, when they point an accusing finger at the wrong person before they have all the facts.
Lisbon may not automatically appear on the usual suspects list when it comes to golf, although it is one of the great European cities. Visitor numbers reach a staggering 4.5 million, which means the locals are outnumbered by nine to one!
But for those whose luggage also includes a sand wedge rather than just a history guide – the city’s roots go back to its Phoenician residents of 1200 BC, making it western Europe’s oldest city – there are a dozen courses close by.
And the names behind them include some of the sport’s major influencers on golf course design, including Robert Trent Jones, Donald Steel and Sevvy Ballesteros.
Seven of them now operate under the umbrella of Orizonte, offering the potential to package them together with some local accommodation to create a pick ‘n’ mix holiday that can include any combination of golf, city or beach break.
I first stumped up at Quinta do Peru Golf Course, one of the more established layouts tripping back to the 1990s. It is built in the Azeitao region, some 30 minutes or so outside Lisbon, between the castles of Sesimbra and Setubal. And it takes some storming ...
Here is a course whose defences strengthen the deeper you get into your round. Deceptively tight as it wends its way between the trees like a tipsy reveller making his way home, it also becomes increasingly easy on the eye. Natural forestation offers much to repel anyone laying siege to the greens but on the par 3 eighth hole the first moat of water can be found. It needs arrow-like accuracy to pierce the barricade. On the 16th, which stretches to 220 yards, it might be quicker to take a ferry with a tee shot that needs muscling in to avoid upsetting the lake’s wildfowl.
Our visit was broken with an overnight stay at Sesimbra, a small fishing port overlooked by its own fortress, which dates to the 12th century and was one of the last of its kind built by the Moors ahead of a Christian invasion. There’s an appealing stretch of beach and it is a popular destination for those looking to escape the heat and congestion of city life for a while.
The location of the SANA Sesimbra Hotel could hardly be any closer to the sea front. If you rolled out of bed, chances are you would wake up with sand between your toes – but at least you can head to the land of dreams, where no putts are missed, with the sound of waves lapping at the shore.
Aroeira II, based at the country club of that name, could not have found a better home – just 25km out from the centre of Lisbon, and with the beach a short drive away.
Once again, first impressions can be deceptive. The tall pines that hem the fairways – a feature also of its sister course – suggest a need to stay on the straight and narrow, but then the Steel-designed course throws off the shackles as the back nine delivers a more generous prospect from the tee, offset by the omnipresence of water.
This is a wonderfully deceptive course, where visualising the shots is important to avoid the traps laid by the designer – false aprons that mean your approach is not snuggling up to the pin as first thought but still needs more work to get up and down; shots to the green which nudge and nurdle you towards the waiting sand; the need to plot rather than blunderbuss your way round to avoid the water and prise open the pin positions.
The bunkers, too, offer a more traditional challenge. At Quinta de Peru, the sand spilled out across the
course like a messy toddler’s dinner table, but here they are deeper, steeper and require some excavation work if you find them.
A new 68-bedroom hotel is being added to the area, with obvious designs on the golf market, although there is a spectacular 22km stretch of beach on its doorstep with its own beach bar perfectly placed to drink in a sunset while enjoying tasty tapas.
Our final stop was Ribagolfe I, as different in character to the others as the Marx brothers. This is a majestic course, woven into the natural cork forest with the marketeers happy to attach tags like ‘the Vilamoura of the north’.
This is the most expansive of the three, a tough old test but the breadth of its canvas means even higher handicappers can feel they have a chance.
Again, there’s wonderful detail in the design, with greens stacked up against you so that the right club choice is crucial. The short par 4 14th, tiptoes around the water hazard, adds a touch of variety and guile before the par 3 15th, from the back, needs brains and brawn to defeat the water in front of the green.
And, of course, it is possible to play these courses while staying in, and enjoying, the benefits of Lisbon with its hugely impressive historical heart.
We rested golf-weary limbs at the Pestana CR7. Football fans will quickly spot the link to Cristiano Ronaldo and, as you might imagine, this is a sleek and slickly presented hotel. And not without its quirks.
Ronaldo’s presence – and edge – is never far away: ‘Your love makes me strong, your hate makes me unstoppable’ proclaims the mantra above reception, while stationery is emblazoned with ‘The Time to Win’.
There are football references everywhere, including murals of fans’ faces emblazoned with flags on the walls of the stairways, and a football pattern on the room ceilings.
Even the sound of a crowd singing a Ronaldo chant is triggered as you walk down the corridors to your room.
But it is a Ronaldo free kick away from the waterfront and the Arco da Rua Augusta gates, and offers an entrance to a city that teems with history, a beguiling mixture of old and new.
Even the trams sit at either end of the spectrum – a smooth, modern carriage or something that clunks, clangs and charms its way through the streets.
Throw in foodie heaven at the Time Out Market and this proves itself to be a city with plenty on the menu for travellers. So don’t be too quick to jump to conclusions like Poirot or Morse… and give Lisbon a sporting chance.