With sun, sea, excellent beaches and most importantly superb golf, it’s easy to see why so many golfers chose the Algarve for their golf holiday each year. In recent years the region has received excellent additions to their golfing portfolio, the likes of Monte Rei and Oceanico Victoria have received critical acclaim and drawn the world’s best players to sample these Championship layouts. It is, however, one of the oldest courses in the Algarve, Palmares Golf, which has started to receive rave reviews following the dramatic work of famed designer Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Situated on an impressive stretch of West Algarve coastline, Palmares Golf has a feel of a links course which would be equally at home in Scotland or Ireland. With holes meandering through established sand dunes and fast running fairways the only thing which reminds you that you are not in the UK is the heat of the Algarve sunshine!
In its current format, the course has two very different nines with holes 1-9 featuring some stunning vistas towards Alvor while the majority of the back nine runs along the coast towards the town of Lagos. With further developments in the pipeline to incorporate an additional nine holes, as a 27 hole golf resort, Palmares will offer golfers makers a varied experience that is sure to leave a lasting impression and I’m sure will become a mainstay of any Algarve golf holiday.
The par-72 layout is one of two halves, the front nine measures approximately 3,700 yards off the white tees and with a par of 37 it offers few opportunities of birdies and with fast running, undulating greens bogies are more likely than birdies. The stand out holes on this nine are the par-5 2nd hole, which measures in excess of 550 yards and despite playing significantly downhill reaching the small putting surface in two is a very tough proposition, the allied with the stunning sea views it offers make this a truly memorable golfing experience. Another superb hole on the front nine is with par-4 6th hole which again offers impressive sea vistas and is an excellent two-shot hole with the green set slightly above the fairway, protected by a large bunker and devilish slopes to push your ball away from the putting surface.
The back nine features some of the original holes from the Palmares Golf course which offers a great shot making experience. With the opportunity of running approach shots into undulating greens, Palmares requires golfers to think their way round as accuracy rather than distance will give the golfer the best chance of beating old man par. While the 11th, 12th and 13th holes run alongside the coast, the par-5 14th hole signals an elevation change with a dog-leg par-5 playing uphill towards the clubhouse. The closing stretch of holes require accurate tee-shots with Trent Jones Jr’s work ensuring shots in a less than perfect position are punished by deep bunkers and large sand dunes.
Although Palmares Golf is one of the most established golf courses in the Algarve, with its name synonymous with the region, the dramatic redesign work will undoubtedly see many golfers (new and returning) visit what is without doubt one of the hidden gems of golf in Europe.
Your Golf Travel offer Algarve golf holidays to Palmares golf starting from £179 per person including 3 nights accommodation and 2 rounds of golf (including buggy). For more information simply visit www.yourgolftravel.com or call 0800 043 6644.
