Golf Holidays In Portugal - 5 Golf Clubs That Are Well Worth A Visit

It is never going to be easy to single out five special golf courses in any one country. Compiling such a list for Portugal is made even more difficult due to the huge range and styles of courses on offer.

This top five list brings together several on-line surveys along with the personal experience of playing some of these courses while on golf holidays in Portugal.

One club that is ideal for hot summer days in Portugal is the relatively short but enjoyable Estoril course. This 6000 yard course requires careful course management to navigate the bunkers and unforgiving rough that surround most fairways and greens.

The Penha Longa course is one of the championship courses in Portugal to really savor. In 2010 considerable work has been ongoing to make the greens play true and to add enough variety and difficulty on each hole.

The south course in Quinta do Lago is the more mature of the two courses available to play at this resort. Some holes prove challenging due to the stark Atlantic Ocean breeze, while other holes are sheltered by lush vegetation and forestry. Given the courses maturity, the greens play exceptionally true and fast as one would expect.

If championship courses are your preference then the Oitavos Golf Club is one you must play. The course design and challenging greens have played host to the Portuguese Open in recent times and keen amateurs will find the course plays long due to the long par 4's and par 5's.

A great many golfers will base themselves in Vilamoura town for their golf break. The highlight of such a stay would have to be playing the Vilamoura Old Course. The course has an array of trees running the length of some fairways, placed there to capture poorly placed drives and channel the gusting winds around greens. As one of the older courses in the area it probably has the smoothest & fastest greens in the region.

Given the range of courses in Portugal, and the proliferation of clubs in the Algarve, a top 5 list of courses will always be quite subjective. Hopefully this list gives you food for thought about your next golf break.