It is never going to be easy to pick a top 10 list of golf courses from any country, let alone the fact that within the regions of Lisbon and the Algarve Portugal has got a truly vast array of course types and terrains that one can encounter. Therefore this list is based on a general consensus from forum surveys and personal experiences and is written here in no particular order – they are all a joy to play and any visitor to Portugal is sure to know another few gems we’ve missed off the list.
Starting with Madeira, this steep-cliffed island is famous as an idyllic paradise island. You may think otherwise after facing the challenge of playing Palheiro. Each hole providing a new challenge, whether that is its manicured undulating greens or the sheer spectacle of playing through/over/around a variety of volcanic hills and peaks.
San Lorenzo on the Algarve is regularly rated in the top 10 European courses so its omission here would not be an option. As a result, booking a tee time is recommended well in advance. As you’d expect, the course looks and plays beautifully.
Likewise, the Quinta do Lago Estate has 2 courses in the European top 25 so its omission won’t happen here either. Facing out onto the Atlantic its courses provide the links challenge that so many golfers come to experience. The south course is the most mature on the estate and this fact shows in the maturity of vegetation, the conditions of the fairways (which are kept immaculate) and the true running of the greens.
Oitavos Golf Club has now become the home of the Portuguese Open for good reason. Its well designed holes sit naturally within the environs and (given its Open status) golfers are to expect challenging holes throughout the front and back nine.
The Vilamoura Old Course is one of the more mature golf clubs in Portugal. Each hole provides a surprise through clever use of variety of design, varying use of bunkers and strategic placement of pine trees lining the fairways. Any errant drive is going to be sorely punished on this undulating (read, its steep!) fairways. If golf is meant to be a game where you are only competing against yourself, then think again. Vilamoura will let you know that it is your sole competitor.
The Penha Longa course is sometimes famous as much for its scenery, as its golf. So while some of the holes meander through old ruins, there is no doubt that it is a course of some design.. after all, the 2010 Portugal Open is to be played there! The 16th hole is a wonderful par 4 with raised tees and is probably the toughest out of the 18 splendid holes.
Estoril proves to be another course where long drivers miss out as errant shots will not go unpunished. This 6000 yard course is the ideal course on a hot summers’ day when a longer days walking may prove too exhausting.
At the higher end of the ‘green fee price’ range, the Vale do Lobo Royal and Ocean golf clubs which are rightly popular for their scenery, exquisite fairways and greens and surrounding beaches. Though if you find yourself playing a shot from part of the 5 kilometre beach that runs along the resort then you should maybe use some shorter clubs from the tee.
Further out from Lisbon lies the challenging Praia Del Rey. This spread out links style course has a mixture of links-style fairways and forests and dunes and is popular with Lisbon day-trippers seeking a tough windswept course with ocean views.
The Algarve’s Vale da Pinta is set into a scenic natural valley and provides some interesting bounces off the tee.
While some golfers may baulk at the unfairness of seeing a perfect drive land in the middle of the fairway, only to be ‘redirected’ by one of the fairways undulations, many others enjoy this challenge which rewards strategic golfers more than the long drivers.
While a lot of these golf resorts lie around the Algarve and Lisbon areas, it will always be worth your while venturing to Portugal’s lesser seen courses as you are sure of seeing wonderful scenery just about anywhere in this beautiful golfing country.
The Golf Holidays Portugal Guide website also has an overview of the golfing regions of Portugal with further details of where is best to play.
Related Posts: Golf Holidays Portugal | Getting There – Airlines and Tours To Portugal | Golf Holiday Algarve | Golf Madeira | Golf Lisbon and Estoril
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