Playing golf in Portugal

Playing golf in Portugal is in the memory of all who try it. The reasons? Excellent courses in stunning scenery, mild weather all year round and the friendliness with which golfers are welcomed.

It's hard to find a better destination for a golf holiday. Elected by the World Golf Awards as the Best Golf Destination in Europe for six consecutive years, between 2014 and 2019, and as the Best Golf Destination in the World, between 2014 and 2018, Portugal has a great diversity of courses with characteristics appropriate to the various levels of difficulty and budget available.

There are more than ninety courses throughout the country, with varied layouts and with great golf challenges, recognized by the most experienced professionals.

Many of the courses were designed by famous architects such as Robert Trent Jones Jr., Jack Nicklaus, Arthur Hills, Nick Faldo, Severiano Ballesteros, Henry Cotton, Rocky Roquemore or Arnold Palmer, author of the award-winning Victoria Golf Course, an ex-libris of golf, in which the Portugal Masters has been held since its 1st edition, in 2007. They have in common the environmental quality and harmony with which they are integrated into Nature.

The Algarve and the coast of Lisbon are well-known destinations for the most experienced players and have been awarded several times internationally. They host great races of the professional circuits, such as Madeira with its mountain courses.

In the Azores, there is also rustic golf to practice in a rural environment. But it was in Porto and the North that it all began, since in Espinho is located the second oldest field in continental Europe.

But the biggest challenge is not to let the beauty and light of the surrounding landscapes break the concentration on the game. We have greens overlooking the ocean, flanked by cliffs and white sand dunes. And others framed by lakes and mountains, in which the smells of flowers and herbs mix, impossible to distinguish.

And if the matches can be relaxed or very disputed, in the end, the meeting is scheduled at the table of the Clubhouse, the restaurant ... to practice a "sport" in which the Portuguese are excellent: to socialize.