Balai Golf Village
Vilamoura Millennium Golf Course
A TASTE OF GOLF ON THE ALGARVE
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Balai Golf Village |
Vilamoura Millennium Golf Course |
A taste of golf on the Algarve is all I can give you as the choice is immense as Portugal is blessed with a total of 59 courses with a further 13 under construction. With only 9,400 registered golfers, that works out at 159 players per course. However, that does not include the fact that more than that number of golfing tourists play each day on the courses of the Algarve, Estoril and Costa Azul.
Before visiting the courses I have chosen to cover I had to select a base for the duration of my stay which is a development I have stayed at for five years now known as the Balaia Golf Village. It is approximately a 30 minute drive from Faro International Airport and is ideally located in the central Algarve, between Vilamoura and Albufeira, with their beautiful beaches and cosmopolitan night life.
The properties are built to the highest standard and furnished and equipped with all modern conveniences. Around the grounds you can enjoy 6 swimming pools, 4 tennis courts, a Health Club with an indoor pool as well as the “A Varanda” restaurant and various pool bars. Shopping facilities, glorious beaches and 9 championship golf courses are all within easy reach, not to mention the array of excellent restaurants owned by local families.
It is always a good idea to ease into any holiday and Balaia Golf Village allows you to do just that as it has its own nine-hole par-3 course, along with a driving range, putting and chipping greens, golf shop, golf academy and a very comfortable Clubhouse right there in your back garden! This attractive course with its strategically-placed bunkers, elevated greens and tees, subtle undulations to test your putting and trees to test your accuracy has made this one of the hidden little gems on the Algarve.
For my second course I chose the home of this years Algarve Portuguese Open which took place at Vale do Lobo in April, the 2002 winner being Carl Pettersson of Sweden. The Open was played on the Anniversary Course specially created by a combination of the best holes from the Royal and Ocean Courses. This didn’t prove easy as accuracy from the tee was paramount if he was to be rewarded by narrow fairways and penal rough! The tight and undulating fairways are in immaculate condition.
The Royal Course, a wonderful test of golf, has already been described as the “best in Portugal”, while its sister The Ocean Course will reach new standards with a major upgrading, which will include extending the course by some 500 metres, an important factor in attracting big tournaments. As its name implies, the course provides attractive links-style holes adjacent to the Atlantic. There are also parkland holes meandering through the Vale do Lobo estate. The combination provides a challenging course for golfers of all handicaps.
The Millennium was my next port of call as it is Vilamoura’s newest course (opened 2000). It is a perfect blend of nine extensively reshaped holes on the 27-hole Laguna course, and a completely new nine. A few of the holes are over rolling parkland, but most are set between umbrella pines. Although different in style to the other three Vilamoura courses, it shares their technical and aesthetic excellence.
Vilamoura is one of Europe’s biggest private resorts it caters for all kinds, but it is a haven especially for yachtsmen, golfers and gamblers.
Ranked No.8 in Europe and undoubtedly the most beautiful, San Lorenzo was no disappointment. This 18-hole par 72 championship course set in the spectacular Ria Formosa Nature Serve, shares the same exclusive and charismatic location enjoyed by Quinta do Lago and Pinheiros Altos. Although the sheer magnificence of the setting can cause some confusion, the course is ‘user friendly’ and it is consistently maintained at an excellent standard. The Clubhouse offers a pro-shop, lounge bar and restaurant. A large terrace overlooks the driving range with the first and tenth fairways either side.
Whilst here I drove up to the Le Meridien Dona Filipa, this hotel has exclusive ownership of the San Lorenzo Golf Course and hence guests receive preferential green fees and tee times, and I could certainly see the benefits of staying at such a beautiful location which is just a short drive from the airport, a few yards from the beach and surrounded by golf courses – truly a golfer’s paradise.
The following day I drove to Le Meridien Penina Golf & Resort a sister hotel to Dona Filipa to check out the differences. This proved a totally wasted exercise as they both proved superb in their own way and style.
Penina is probably the best known course on the Algarve. It will always be known as Henry Cotton’s course – the course he developed from such uncompromising beginnings and the place he made his home for almost 20 years.
Together with the luxurious hotel, the immaculately groomed course has become one of the finest golfing destinations in Europe.
From lst June 1996 Penina became part of the prestigious brand of ‘Le Meridien’. ‘Le Meridien’ epitomizes the choice of the international traveller: prime locations, stylish European ambience with a ‘French touch’, innovative high quality cuisine, and personalised attentive service.
The biggest attraction however is the golf and you will not be disappointed with this 18-hole par 73 championship golf course. As you walk the fairways you are aware of the many major tournaments in has hosted, including 7 times, the Portuguese Open. There is also a 9-hole Academy Course and the 9-hole Resort Course.
The course is laid out over predominately flat terrain encompassing over four hundred thousand trees and numerous lakes and streams. A new lake has been built to protect the 5th green and the lake on the par 3, 13th has been extended to form a semi-island green. Penina offers an inspirational challenge to all levels of player.
Whilst in the west of the Algarve I decided to call in at Parque Da Floresta which is situated in gently rolling hills above the fishing village of Salema, 16 kilometres west of the historic port of Lagos.
Since the course opened in 1987 it has undergone a number of improvements. The layout winds through dramatic landscape and has infinite variety. Some of the more daunting especially the more notorious 9th & 15th, are destined to become classics. More I would say for the discriminating golfer not afraid of a challenge for with no two holes even remotely similar, the variety and appeal is endless. Unfortunately I did not have time to play this course but if the opportunity lends itself in the future I would certainly like to but not without a buggy!!
The clubhouse with its spike bar, informal terrace area and a la carte restaurant provide a perfect setting boasting breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding countryside to the ocean beyond.
My last call before my return home was to the newly opened and welcome addition to the growing variety of courses in the western Algarve, that of the Boavista Resort. This exclusive 260-acre prestigious resort is located west of Lagos, close to the beach resort Praia Da Luz. Boasting over 750 desirable residential properties and a proposed 250-bedroom hotel, this luxurious development is set amidst a newly constructed 18-hole Championship Golf Course on which I was invited to play and pass comment! It is part of Jones Homes which is the founder company of The Emerson Group, a privately owned property development with its headquarters in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.
Although the course had only been open two months I was surprised how settled into its environment it felt at no stage did it feel new. Designed by Howard Swan MSc, past president of The European Institute of Golf Course Architects, he has kept to his philosophy of creating a course as if it has always been there, preserving, integrating and harmonizing with the area’s natural terrain. It offers exceptional playing conditions and presents an enjoyable challenge to golfers of all abilities – including me!!
The Algarve is truly a golfer’s paradise. Its mild climate, quality of its courses, beauty of landscape, and friendliness of its people, has made it one of Europe’s most popular golfing holiday venues since mass tourism started here in the 1960s.
To book a holiday contact Peter Walsh, Fairway Holidays Tel: 0808 144 2345