Portugal is widely regarded as one of the best locations in Europe for golf breaks. While it may not have the same heritage and golfing tradition as the British Isles it still has enough world class courses to make choosing a top 5 list as challenging to compile, as the courses are to play.

For this reason, this list is the culmination of personal experience of several golf holidays in Portugal and a variety of forum surveys. The courses chosen are selected for their location, quality of greens & fairways and the sheer variety of game play they can offer through 18 holes of golf.

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.

The Oitavos Golf Club is a well architected course that makes the most of the surrounding countryside. It has played host to the Open and as a result the front nine and back nine holes require long tee shots and accurate second shots in order to avoid the bunkers that are dotted around most greens.

No golfing holiday to Portugal could be complete without experiencing the Vilamoura Old Course. The steep fairways and strategic bunker placement can quickly punish what would initially appear to be accurate drives. The course architecture is sympathetically surrounded with pine trees especially on dog-legs which add to the courses difficulty.

Any top 5 list of Portugal golf courses will always miss out some personal favorites. So while this list doesn’t limit itself to the Algarve (undoubtedly the perfect location to base yourself for a golf break) it hopefully provides some insights into the range of great courses that are available in Portugal.

Looking for European golfing breaks? For the perfect golfing holiday Algarve, Estoril and the other Portuguese regions have it all. Visit the Golf Holidays Portugal Guide to learn more.


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