Going for Golf

Vilamoura The Algarve’s ‘independent golf republic’

Oceânico

For those unfamiliar with Europe’s favourite – if not yet fully independent – golf destination, the Algarve is the strip along the southern coast of Portugal which fronts on to the Atlantic Ocean just to the west of Spain. It enjoys all sorts of natural advantages, not least of which is a wonderful climate that allows golf to be enjoyed throughout the year. There are dozens of great courses right along the whole length of the Algarve from Sagres, in the west, to Vila Real de Santo Antonio, on the Spanish frontier.

But nowhere is the concentration of outstanding courses greater than around the purpose-built port of Vilamoura. With its fabulous marina, top-class casino, superb restaurants, sandy beaches and quality hotels, Vilamoura is a fabulous destination that genuinely has something for everyone, but golfers in particular are catered for extremely well.

Oceânico Pinhal was the second course to be built in Vilamoura and after a few tweaks now measures over 7,000 yards off the white tees. A gently undulating, parkland course, the front nine weaves through a smart residential area while the back nine is more open and affords the occasional welcome glimpse of the Atlantic. Together the two halves present a fair but challenging proposition which appeals to decent players without intimidating the hackers.

There are plenty of pines – both umbrella and Atlantic – mostly on the edge of the fairways and around the greens, helping with definition and only punishing the very wayward shot. A sprinkling of ponds and streams adds to the overall visual appeal without really causing too great a hazard. However, water is present on five holes and wherever it exists you can be sure that golfers will splash into it.

The spectacular clubhouse deserves a special mention. It was completely renovated and refurbished about 10 years ago and sitting out on the magnificent verandah enjoying a drink and the panoramic view is both a great pleasure and something to look forward to as your round nears its conclusion.

Oceânico Victoria is an Arnold Palmer-designed course that has raced up the rankings almost from the very moment the first ball was struck in 2005. The creators were so confident of its credentials that they were happy to have it host the World Cup of Golf in the autumn of the year it was opened.

Though presenting a proper challenge to the accomplished pros, the course is also eminently suited to less accomplished golfers. It can accommodate both pros and mortals because the regular tees knock more than 1,000 yards off its length. Even though the course is thus shortened, its integrity is maintained because Palmer cunningly located most of the problems and hazards at the business end of the holes. So you’ll hit a decent drive and then find there’s a lake to carry or numerous bunkers to avoid.

The delightful Victoria course is now the regular venue of the Portugal Masters. The pros have grown to love it and it’s also hugely popular with those of us who enjoy a fairly generous course that nevertheless presents a few problems and rewards good shots.

Designed by the legendary Frank Pennink, who has once again managed to preserve the original shape, a natural look and enchanting parkland feel, Oceânico Old was the first course in Vilamoura and the second after Penina to be built in the Algarve.

Rather tight and with narrow fairways, it’s made even more difficult by the presence of umbrella pines, which have a habit of getting in the way. All that and rather small greens make it quite tough. Many consider it a ‘technical’ course that favours the golfer who can shape the ball, but that’s not to say those of us who can both fade and draw, without knowing precisely when, won’t enjoy it just as much because it’s undoubtedly a quite magnificent course.

Like many others in the Algarve, it’s a lot tighter than it looks. The ubiquitous umbrella pines create the illusion of openness while severely restricting the available options. Miss a fairway, get in among them and you discover to your cost that their canopy is like a non-return valve in that it lets balls drop in, but is effectively impenetrable from beneath. You’re therefore obliged to press your hands forward and play a low recovery shot back on to the fairway.

If by now you are growing weary of tight tee shots, threading balls between lines of pines and, when failing, knocking recovery shots sideways out of the woods then Oceânico Laguna could be the course for you. Like Victoria, it’s much more open than is usual in Vilamoura and is consequently more popular with players who are, perhaps, a tad lacking in the precision department. Be warned, however, because what it lacks in timber it more than makes up for in water, and although the familiar sound of balls ricocheting off trees might be absent, you will hear unmistakable plopping noises and the associated shrieks of despair.

Wind is another important factor. Right on the coast, there’s little to protect it from the breezes that blow in off the Atlantic. And there are 79 bunkers to negotiate between the first tee and the 18th green so precision remains a useful weapon. Refreshingly different from those around it, Laguna is eminently walkable and a lovely course that shouldn’t be missed.

It shares a magnificent modern clubhouse with its near neighbour, Oceânico Millennium, which opened, predictably, in the year 2000. The course is a lovely mix of styles but, apart from the third to the seventh where it winds through umbrella pines, it is enjoyably open and unthreatening. There are pretty lakes alongside the third, 17th and 18th, which add to the already considerable visual appeal of what is an exceptionally pretty course.