GOLF COURSES

Respected American golf architect, Cabell B. Robinson, viewed being asked to design the 18 hole par 72 championship Praia D'El Rey golf course as the opportunity of a lifetime.

"This is the kind of landscape we architects try to create, but at Praia D'El Rey it's all here, naturally. Now it's my responsibility to protect it", he says modestly.

It is certainly one of the most picturesque layouts in Europe, set in extensive grounds of pine forest and undulating dunes with spectacular views over the Atlantic and the Berlenga Islands beyond. The course is visually stunning and tremendously exciting to play. Because of the endless variations of the terrain you'll never play it the same.

The Golden Eagle (Quinta de Briçal) is set on a property near Rio Maior, 55 kms north of Lisbon

This championship course, designed by Rocky Roquemore of Atlanta, USA, occupies almost the double of an ordinary course. It is also unique because of the beautiful natural setting and the calm that reigns, the space available and the golden eagles that circle over the property in the late afternoons. You will find pine trees, eucalyptus, mimosas, camellias, hydrangeas and a lot of other eyecatching plants bordering the fairways.

The fairway grass, Penn Eagle, is not often seen in Europe. Greens have Penn Cross and are quite sizeable but not too undulated. Bunkers are plentiful (87 altogether!) and, in many cases, very large. Seven water hazardas really only affect the "wide" golfer.

The restaurant provides very good meals with excellent wines, most of which are produced on the property. "Today's special" is likely to be a Portuguese speciality (which is well worth trying) but there is always a selection of international dishes.

Penha Longa is a fabulous eighteen-hole course situated in Sintra, only twenty minutes from Lisbon. It forms part of the Protected Landscape Area of Sintra and Cascais.

Robert Trent Jones II, the architect of the course, designed it to best take account of the steeply sloping terrain and excellent views of the surrounding landscape, across the mountains to the sea beyond. This means that the first three holes and the final three are laid out in a valley wooded with pines and studded with granite outcrops.

The sixth to the 13th holes, meanwhile, have been built on a hill offering extensive views over the region.

Its championship characteristics - as well as its excellent level of maintenance - contributed to its being selected, just two years after its inauguration, to host the Portuguese Open Championship. It was unanimously voted by golf professionals as one of the best courses on the European Circuit. In 1995 Penha Longa inaugurated a new nine hole course - Mosteiro.

Oitavos Golf, set in Quinta da Marinha, lies within the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. It is set among pine woods and reforested dunes, in an area of great natural beauty. Being a seaside golf course, the ocean view is present all the time, although some of the more fantastic scenery come from the Sintra mountains and Cabo da Roca the Europe's most western point in Europe, seen from the 9, 10, 11 and 14 holes. The layout has been carefully crafted by one of the greatest golf architects of our times, ex-president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, Arthur Hills. Hills has maintained and preserved the unique caracteristics of the land, creating a 6.303 meters, par 71 golf course. The sustainability of the resources is the prior objective, and because of that the flora and fauna peculiar to the region are strictly protected, being some areas closed to people and machines.

Quinta da Marinha Oitavos Golf is the 1st Golf Course in Europe and the 2nd in the World to be recognized as a Certified Signature Sanctuary - Gold. It is already set as one of the best golf courses in Europe, where a non stress round of golf can be played all year round.

Internationally famous for its location near the luxurious beach resort of Estoril, the course was designed by Mackenzie Ross. However a number of alterations have been made to its original layout.

The architect has made excellent use of the pine trees and eucalyptuses, which together with the uneven terrain make this course challenging in terms of accuracy rather than distance.

It is a short course, covering 5,200 metres for a Par 69, providing an engrossing challenge. Its hole number 16 is internationally well known; a Par 3 of 184 metres. The Estoril course hosted the Portuguese Open Championship between 1953 and 1972, and also in 1977 and 1987, as well as several non-Pro international Championships. For that reason famous golfers of the calibre of Ramon Sota, Max Faulkner, Seve Ballesteros, Bernard Gallacher, Peter Aliss and many others have played here.
For less experienced golfers there is another nine holes.

Campo Real (Royal Meadows) Golfe & Natureza is a challenging course designed by Donald Steel which opened 28 May 2005. The course at Campo Real has been designed to appear as natural as possible. This was considered to be important to reflect the incredibly beautiful surroundings. The hills all around provide a stunning backdrop to many holes and give the golfer a feeling of escape. The out of bounds parts of the course will be maintained as wild and natural areas and much of the existing vegetation has been retained for this purpose. In this way the flora and fauna of the site will be encouraged and allowed to flourish.

As a result of the significant change of level of the site, there are many exciting shots to play at Campo Real. This change of level also results in the course being a difficult, although not impossible, course to walk. However, a full set of cart paths are to be provided so that golfers can enjoy their round using a buggy. The green surfaces also contain a significant amount of undulation. The greens are built to USGA specifiation to provide optimum conditions for growth and quick recovery after rain. Effective drainage and irrigation systems have been installed. There are relatively few bunkers on the course due to the strong natural characteristics of the site.

The Silver Coast is the new golfing destination for Portugal. It is now widely known to be more favoured by golf enthusiasts than the Algarve as the courses are quieter, cheaper and better. All that a golfer could possibly ask for! It has the greatest variety of courses available in Portugal, with true links and mainland courses. The Silver Coast has around 10 courses with the likes of Praia D'El Rey, Penha Longa (former portuguese Open venue), Oitavos and Quinta de Brincal, all having great reviews.

We have added more details on all the courses below to give you a taster to what each course offers. However, please contact us if you wish to book golf at any of the courses or if you need any further information.

The Belas Clube de Campos was designed by Rocky Roquemore, author of hundreds of high quality courses from which the reputed Quinta do Lago and San Lorenzo.

Nested in the Carregueira mountains, it is in perfect harmony with Charles Franzman master plan: the houses on the hills with view over the golf and the course in the valleys, protected from the wind.

Its eighteen holes extend over 6,128 metres for a Par 72. The course meanders in amongst the hillsides, affording splendid views of the Sintra hills and is divided into two well defined parts: one with low density residential surroundings and the other through an untouched natural environment.

There are two holes that are particularly notable for their beauty and their challenging qualities: the second hole, a par 5 called "Augusta" was built in homage to the 13 th hole of the famous course where the US Masters tournament takes place; hole number 18, a memorable par 4 final hole, was christened the "Big Hole" because of the second shot that players must take makes some 180 meters from the green, which is well protected by a fearsome lake.