Gems of the capital
While the southern tip of Portugal is often the first port of call for golfers, around the city of Lisbon you will find some excellent tracks
lthough, to many, golf in Portugal equals the Algarve, courses of the same quality can be found elsewhere in the country. Often these come with the added advantage that they are less populated than those on the south coast. The area around Lisbon is particularly rich in enticing golf offerings.
Quinta da Marinha is in the coastal town of Cascais, just over half an hour’s drive from Lisbon. Here, Robert Trent Jones has designed a thoroughly entertaining 18-hole course with six par 3s. The first of these is the 4th, aptly named ‘ravine’, which plays over a gully with magnificent views of the Atlantic to your left. Its par-4 predecessor – one of the more famous holes in Portugal – plays towards a green with the sea beyond. The hole’s picture was used for many years to promote Portuguese golf tourism.
The back nine boasts four par 3s and takes you on a serene journey through tall trees and past lakes. The 10th features a lake running up the left side and is followed by one of the back nine’s three par 5s. The par-3 13th is another fine short hole, playing uphill and over water to a green surrounded by sand and shrubbery beyond. The long 14th is then a unique double-dogleg par 5 that demands sound course management.
There are opportunities to score on the back nine, but you will have to hold on to your hat as you negotiate the challenging par-5 18th, which does serve up a closing birdie opportunity but there are two lakes waiting in the lay-up zone, one of which goes on to protect the front and left of a narrow putting surface that sits in front of the hotel’s pool. It’s a great
finishing hole and a fitting end to a fun and, at times, quirky golf course.
Away from the golf, the hotel’s pool and outside area has to be one of the best spots in Portugal to relax after your round. It’s easy to spend the entire day enjoying the excellent service and watching fellow golfers attempt to come through the 18th unscathed.
The five-star hotel underwent a significant renovation in 2020 and has taken what was an already lovely locale to a different level. There are multiple places to eat and drink, with varying accommodation offerings, but crucially, every single room has its own balcony – the hotel’s unique U-shape with the pool in the middle ensuring a good view from each one. In truth, you could spend a week relaxing and playing golf without feeling the need to leave the property, but the charming town of Cascais is just a short drive away, where you’ll find a multitude of bars and restaurants through cobbled streets and past pastel-coloured buildings.
Nearby, you will find one of Europe’s finest courses, Oitavos Dunes. It is sometimes described as a links but, although on sandy soil with a coastal setting, the course also has many other notable characteristics. The first few holes are narrow and played through trees, before the layout opens up from the par-4 5th. In this part of the course, the views are open and expansive. The playing surfaces, meanwhile, are quite magnificent.
The stretch of holes from the 8th to the 14th is as good as anywhere in Europe. It starts with a twisting downhill par 5 played between the dunes, takes in a glorious short hole and two beach-flanked short par 4s, and finishes with a quite sublime par 3, which is played over a ravine to a green perched in front of the sea.
A little further north of Cascais is Penha Longa, which has an 18-holer and a nine-holer. Sadly, they are not called Longa and Shorta, but Atlantic and Monastery. The Atlantic layout arcs, plunges and climbs to and from a wooded vale to the rolling hillside, giving views along the way of an old viaduct, the Estoril motor racing circuit, the Sintra Mountains and the towns of Estoril and Cascais. It is a beautiful setting with a course of much charm, variety and challenge.
Half an hour’s drive south of Lisbon over the River Tagus takes you to Aroeira, whose two courses form part of Orizonte Golf’s portfolio. Aroeira Pines Classic and Aroeira Challenge both underwent significant renovation during the lockdown period and the results are stunning. Aroeira has been referred to as the
‘Wentworth of Lisbon’ and you can certainly understand why.
Aroeira Pines Classic – a former host of the Portuguese Open – has a calm and tranquil feel with holes wending through large pines and around bodies of water. The par-5 1st is a great indicator of what is to come as you drive over a lake to a fairway flanked on both sides by giant trees. It is a lovely place to play golf and most holes are divided from one another by these large specimens, which really adds to the relaxed and secluded feel.
The front nine is strong in its own right, but the back nine takes things to another level. Every hole is memorable, but the short par-3 14th over a lake, the risk-reward par-4 17th and the beautiful uphill 18th make a compelling case for being the best three. The 18th green sits just to the side of the clubhouse and the 19th hole is a cracking spot to spend a few post-golf hours talking over your round.
Located between Sado Estuary and Arrabida National Park is Troia, another masterpiece from Robert Trent Jones, who believed Troia’s 3rd hole to be one of the best he had ever designed. It is a beautiful left-turning dogleg par 4 which nestles neatly into the beachside landscape.
The preceding hole is a long par 3 to a green nestled on the edge of the beach. The 4th is another par 3 which runs along the shoreline. Troia’s fairways are often tight, but there is little by way of rough. Instead, it is sand and pine trees you have to contend with en route to what are often small, elevated and wellprotected greens.