PORTUGAL
The three key golf areas of the country offer pleasingly differing experiences
Even if you’ve been to Portugal five times for a golf break before, there’s still so much to explore. If you’ve been 10 times, there will be excellent courses we suspect you haven’t played.
Part of this reason is the fact Portugal is about a lot more than the Algarve, which has been and remains the country’s heartland in a golf sense.
It’s home to more than 40 courses and no area in Europe can beat it for quantity. You can enjoy seven golf breaks here and still not have played them all.
Throw in its fantastic weather, off-course attractions and easy access from the UK and it is hard to see past it.
But in Porto and Lisbon, Portugal has two other wonderful options. Between the three of them they offer myriad different types of golf holiday, so no matter what type of break you fancy this year, Portugal can provide it.
That also means Portuguese venues simply have to provide quality, because the competition is so high. This internal pressure on the market is added to by the fact that where once they only had Spain to worry about, Portugal now has destinations as diverse as Belek and Dubai to also contend with.
Being popular tourist areas, when you’re not playing golf you can laze by the pool, enjoy some water sports, soak up the sun on the beach or take day trips to heritage sites, water parks or bustling city centres.
It also means the food and beverage side of things is peerless; from ice-cold Sagres or Super Bock to a crisp bottle of Rosé, and sensational fresh fish to endless flavours of homemade ice cream, you will rarely eat and drink better than in Portugal.
Here, we will take you on a whistle-stop tour of the three main areas – although there are further riches on Portuguese islands of Madeira and the Azores – to help you decide where to go.
Porto
Three key courses here – and two of them are by the seaside.
Estela is a Continental Top 100 course that is as close to a raw seaside links experience as you will find on mainland Europe. The start to both nines is routed along the coastline and the wind, sea views, sandy turf and authentic links feels are just what you’d expect from a British equivalent. This is a golfer’s golf club with a warm welcome for anyone who finds their way here. You really should try to.
Oporto is the other seaside option, and is steeped in history. There’s just one older golf club in Continental Europe, as a result of it being laid out by British workers in the port industry in the late 1800s.
It is reminiscent of Royal North Devon in its simple charms of wide fairways and clever green complexes. A really fun, interesting course.
The final option in Porto is Vidago Palace, opened in 1910 and over 100 years later it still maintains the same splendour, service and conviviality for which it was immediately known.
It was refurbished in 2010 while preserving its architectural heritage and is among the best historic hotels of Europe.
The course has nine original holes by Mackenzie Ross among woodland, as well as more open modern holes.
Lisbon
Lisbon has three main areas of its own, and all have their own appeal.
In the north, around the medieval town of Obidos, there is Europe’s new superstar, West Cliffs. Designed by Cynthia Dye, it has ocean views and spellbinding holes.
It is the sister course to Praia d’el Rey, a fabulous seaside course and a fixture in all European Top 100s. It has its best holes along the Atlantic, before which it wanders inland among pine trees.
Royal Obidos is another recent arrival, adding another Top 100-quality championship course to the area. This is a Seve design, built to a high spec and with plenty of drama.
Bom Sucesso is another fine option, a Donald Steel design with a solid back nine in particular.
In the area around Cascais, to the west of Lisbon, Oitavos Dunes is the star, one of our highest-ranked Portuguese courses with some breathtaking Atlantic views.
Next door is Quinta da Marinha, one of the best spots in Europe for a play-andstay break. The short, par-4 13th plays down towards the sea and is amazing.
The Estoril club is one of the most famous names in Portuguese golf, with real pedigree and tournament-hosting history.
Penha Longa is spectacular and tough, a Kyle Phillips design (when he was working for Robert Trent Jones) on undulating land that is never anything but exciting. It’s one of Europe’s finest courses and has a hotel on site that is at least the equal of the golf.
To the south, the Orizonte group own several courses and categorically offer the best pound-for-pound golf break in Europe.
Long-time Top 100 entry Quinta do Peru, two 18-hole courses at Ribagolfe, Santo Estevao and Aroeira’s Woburnesque No.1 and No.2 offer top quality at real value prices.
Troia is a RTJ track and the undoubted highlight of this area – it’s No.2 in our Portugal Top 50 and arguably unlucky to be that low. Awesome seaside golf.
The Algarve
Europe’s most famous area spans the width of Portugal’s south coast and has more courses in our Top 100 of Continental Europe than most entire countries!
Like Lisbon, you can loosely base yourself in three main areas, although it is easy to stay in the west and end up playing Monte Rei in the east.
Nevertheless, while there is great depth to the quality here, these are the stand-out names in each area…
The west has the redesigned 27 holes of Palmares, the original Algarve course in Penina (and still one of its best), and less-hyped but still solid courses at Silves, Gramacho and Boavista.
The centre is the most populated and most celebrated, starring the Dom Pedro quintet of the Old, Pinhal, Victoria, Millennium and Laguna. The Old is still a class act. Quinta do Lago’s three courses – all of Top 100 calibre – are here too, as is picturesque San Lorenzo and the highs of Vale do Lobo’s duo. Amendoeira - whose O’connor and Faldo are equal in quality – are on the centre-west ‘border’.
Then, in the East, Jack Nicklaus’ Monte Rei is Portugal’s No.1 and is ably backed up by Quinta da Cima and Ria, plus Benamor, Quinta do Vale and Castro Marim.