Discover The Ultimate Golf Break in Portugal

Portugal is one of the most popular golf destinations on the planet - and for very good reason - but have you considered combining both the Algarve and the capital city of Lisbon? For the ultimate break, Golfshake Ambassador Andy Picken recently experienced both Aroeira Golf Club near Lisbon and the incredible Palmares Ocean Living & Golf on the outskirts of Lagos.

I flew into Lisbon from Manchester on a standard early morning chartered flight and was playing golf by the early afternoon after a superb meal in the clubhouse of Aroeira. I carried a small case that fitted the overhead lockers and was ready for golf. I flew wearing casual golf gear and was ready for immediate play. I carried a golf glove, a few tees and a couple of sleeves of golf balls. 

All the venues we played or stayed at are linked to the Details Hotels & Resorts enterprise based in Portugal.

Aroeira Golf Club

Our first course was the Pines Classic created by Frank Pennick. This exceptional amateur golfer and captain of the Oxford golf side in 1935 had an excellent reputation for his design skills. After national service he became a writer for the Sunday Express and Daily Mail before entering the world of golf course architecture. 

He has an impressive portfolio of designs having input to several Open venues.

The course was created in 1973 and was awarded the Portuguese Open in both 1996 and 1997.

It is a tight course with many tree-lined fairways. His trademark plateau greens with severe run-offs for the errant shot are in evidence on most holes.

Climatic conditions have impacted upon some of the green structures and complexes adversely, but the takeover by the Details group is allowing for the injection of substantial sums of cash for renovation and repairs.

These courses are still eminently playable.

We then enjoyed an overnight stay at a hotel linked to the venue called the Crowne Plaza Caparica. An excellent hotel with a mini golf course on site and an excellent restaurant.

We then took on the Aroeira Challenge golf course. Designed by Donald Steel and opened for play in 2000, this is another tree-lined beauty that requires a strategic plan to play well. Anything off-line is swallowed up by the sentry like trees that are such a prominent feature of the course. 

Steel used the water collection areas on the course to great affect and the golf holes that used this as a component are excellent. 

As expected, the shorter holes are all exemplary in design requiring accuracy off the tee. 

The trees screen effectively much of the dwelling houses that are also a feature of this course. There are a mix of modern, traditional and some jaw dropping properties that are within the course boundary.

The trees are so well established that they offer dappled shade on much of the fairway edges offering a cooling effect to anyone playing. The climate here is perfect for the travelling golfer.

Again, a major investment programme is planned, and I am genuinely excited to see how these changes are managed over the next few months.

The clubhouse restaurant is superb with top quality local produce creating some excellent food offerings.

This site is surrounded by around 30 km of beach that is littered with cafes and restaurants. This is an idyllic location for the golfer who likes food and beach life.

Palmares Ocean Living & Golf

Heading south to Palmares, we have to start with one of the very few Michelin starred restaurants that has a golf bag drop directly outside the front door!

Celebrity chef, Louis Anjos operates the bespoke Al Sud restaurant on a reservation only basis for up to 24 covers on limited days during the week. All produce is a tribute to local culinary traditions and stylings of Portuguese gastronomy. The setting is exquisite, offering views across the Bay of Lagos and the Alvor Estuary and beyond. Al Sud means The South, providing the gastronomic and geographic link to the restaurant's theme.

The restaurant has extensive views over the Alvor Estuary and the three 9-hole golf courses that form part of the Palmeres facility. The Alvor, Lagos and Praia are the names given to each loop. Each has its own distinct style and flavour and they can be played in any combination by arrangement. 

To maintain this wonderful natural setting under 6% of the available land has been developed.

Superb accommodation has been created that sits in easy partnership with the golf course providing views to the sea. The design of the accommodation is award winning and allows each suite its own vista and sun terracing facing the water and the Meia Praia Beach that is within easy walking distance of the accommodation.

The ochre colouring of the apartments fits subtly into the horseshoe estuary that they overlook. Stepped up the gradient but unobtrusive and in keeping with the site.

If a boutique beachfront hotel sounds more your style, the Palmares Beach House Hotel, with its reduced number of rooms and intimate style provides guests comfort and front-row views of the ocean, not only from their balcony, but also from the spacious bar lounge. A large swimming pool subtly set into the vista adds even more value to the scene. The views from the hotel are distracting and beautiful.

This is an idyllic spot to relax on mild evenings, with a drink in your hand, as you plan the days that follow. 

The hotel's restaurant has a delicious blend of Portuguese cuisine. The breakfast on each day of our trip was excellent.

Add to this 27 holes of excellent golf in three loops. Each differ in character and style. Awesome sea views linked with a natural setting that must have excited Robert Trent Jones Jr when he first viewed the canvas on which he was to create a memorable golfing experience. Sand scrapes and deep bunkers are well placed on all the loops. This is a golfing layout with the emphasis on fun. 

Over the period of our trip the sea winds had a measurable impact upon the golf course and its playability. The wilder settings in the Lagos links style course were great fun. This required close monitoring of the movement of the grasses in tune with the wind and trying to manoeuvre a ball on or into it. Consistency with this concept was not met with continued success but it was still a highly enjoyable golfing experience.

Visually the three courses offer a different challenge, but accuracy from the tee is the key to success in every layout.

The use of the natural gradients built into the course was a clever design idea as several downhill tee shots simply tempt the player into an ambitious response. Rewarding when it works, but a time to reload when it fails. I like an elevated tee box that offers a clear view of the hole from tee to green. All bunkers and hazards are visible from the tee and tend to require a tee shot taking them cautiously into account. 

I loved the strategic thinking in the longer par five holes as all were a challenge for every shot. 

The protection of the greens by the deeply swooping swales and runs is added to by the wind when it blows. It made a wonderful change to my recent golf games being required to consider balls that ran after pitching off the tee. The greens on each of the courses were true and quick compared to those recently experienced in the UK. Visually some look a little patchy and they have suffered from recent droughts in the area. These issues were fully acknowledged and recognised by the management and staff, and these are now a priority for the resort going forward.

These issues are not enough to prevent meaningful golf, but they could be distracting if you came across them as a player without prior knowledge. Recent adverse reviews have been noted and the drought affected greens are undergoing an extensive rebuilding programme that I witnessed at first hand.

Having seen the reconstruction in action with teams of staff relaying greens I have no doubt that these issues will be seen as a temporary blip in the excellent reputation it has previously enjoyed. The timetable for the work is well organised and I look forward to another opportunity to view the finished product in the future. 

From a more positive perspective the accommodation at the venue for the visiting golfer is nothing short of superb. We stayed in the purpose-built golf apartments, and they are simply magnificent. Everything you want and more including some incredible views over the entire estate. 

If Michelin standard cuisine is not your thing, there are a plethora of local restaurants within a ten minute easy drive to Lagos and surrounds. Quaint family run seafood venues of the best quality offering excellent value abound. 

I have become very interested in the rapidly developing local wine trade in Portugal and found some superb wines that were extraordinarily good value considering the quality they offered. 

This venue has enjoyed a sizeable financial investment to bring it to its current standard with plans in place for that to increase substantially. 

The climate and accessibility for the venue to the UK markets is second to none with great golfing weather almost guaranteed. 

Reflecting on my experience, I am currently sat on an aircraft flying from Faro to Manchester on a lunchtime flight. The glorious weather and excellent companions for the trip allowed us to play a beautiful round of golf starting after breakfast at 0800. We played a highly competitive but great fun 9-hole round in an unhurried one hour and 40 minutes. Pace of play here is great and well policed by the staff. A 45-minute transfer time from the door of the hotel to the door of the airport made this a very relaxing and enjoyable journey. 

The three nines offer the chance to mix and match the styles to suit your golfing needs. Ensuring that this runs well with no delays for players could be a struggle as the holes cross over, but it ran like clockwork during our visit  and the staff were highly professional. 

This is luxury golf at its most convenient and joyous.

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