The Els Club Vilamoura is not merely a golf course; it represents a blend of innovative design, stunning natural landscapes and outstanding craftsmanship. Ernie Els has adeptly transformed his insights into the game into course designs that are recognized globally.
The extensively revamped Victoria Course, now known as the Els Club Vilamoura, embodies his dedication to excellence. Featuring skillfully shaped fairways, well-placed bunkers, and immaculate greens, the course presents challenges and inspiration for golfers at every level. Each hole provides a distinct combination of strategy and breathtaking views, highlighting the Algarve’s natural splendor.
Additionally, this course incorporates contemporary sustainability measures to maintain a balance with the environment. From conserving water to utilizing natural landscaping, the design emphasizes ecological harmony, delivering golfers an authentically immersive experience.
The Els Club Vilamoura course is one of the best courses in Vilamoura & is a great addition to any golf trip for those seeking to follow in the footsteps of the pros.
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0800 043 6644The course has been redesigned by Ernie Els and was recently selected to host the World Cup of Golf, one of the four high profile World Golf Championship Events.
The course can be stretched to 7,105 from the tips, and is dotted with a number of large man-made lakes which are a real threat, and create a beautiful contrast with the crystal white swathes of sand that guard the greens. This is a formidable test that can humble even the most skilled player, and is an essential part of any trip to Vilamoura for the golfing aficionado.
The 17th is a long par-5 stretching well close to 600 yards from the back tees with water in play off the tee and on the approach to the green. With a favourable wind, you can reach this in two but you'll be faced with a high number if you fall short of the green. The 18th, measuring over 450 yards is a very stern test to challenge its par of 4. Water is in play all along the left-hand side of the hole with bunkers guarding the right off the tee. Anyone managing to find the fairway then needs to play the perfect 2nd shot with a large undulating green that'll be sure to welcome a 3-putt.
Signature Hole: 18th Hole - Par 4 - 462 yards - Stroke Index 4
Without doubt the hardest par 4 on the course is the lengthy 18th hole, which is bordered by a water hazard to the left and several bunkers on the right. The tee shot must be long and accurate to have any hope of making birdie. The degree of difficulty is turned up a notch by a challenging approach (usually into the wind) to a well-protected pin.
Els Club Vilamoure is ranked as one of the best courses in Portugal
| Par | 72 |
|---|---|
| Designed by | Ernie Els |
| Opened for play | 2004 |
| Previously hosted | PGA World Cup (2005), Portugal Masters (2007-present) |
| White | 6,651 metres | SSS 74.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | 6,094 metres | SSS 72.5 |
| Gold | 5,628 metres | SSS 72.0 |
| Blue | 5,164 metres | SSS 70.2 |
| Red | 4,762 metres | SSS 67.4 |
Great course to play (but not easy). Will be superb after refurbishment.
The water on certain holes demands accuracy. Fabulous course .
Exceptional golf course, it has to be played for the experience alone. Everything was great on the day, all staff very welcoming, and informative at all points. It's simply as must play if your going to the Algarve for golf.
Amazing! What an incredible place. Fairways and greens were the best I have ever played and the facilities were excellent. I know it’s expensive, but you get what you pay for. It has a Hard rating as the rough is tough!
Course is in good condition and you can open up your shoulders as the fairways are nice and wide
enjoyable and challenging course.
Enjoyable
This is a great course, great test for any amateur golfer, there was a lot of rain the night before which left it a bit wet in places but you expect this after a lot of rain
Great course,but same comment on golf cart costs.
Slow play due to number of golfers especially on the back nine. Facilities and experience of the Victoria Course being home for the Portugese Open and DP Tour course also built up the experience
to hard on the back 9 for the average golfer
Very enjoyable course to play in good condition
As you’d expect from a championship level golf course, it’s a big piece of real estate so it’s quite a walk with a fair bit of distance between some greens and tees so some serious thought needs to go into deciding whether carry, use a trolley or ride a cart. Also, don’t be afraid to play it forward on some holes - don’t let your ego get in the way of enjoyment as you won’t lose out on the experience going forward a tee if you’re not the longest hitter. Greens seemed to be much quicker than the other courses despite the speed shown in the pro shop only saying they were marginally quicker….
In good condition and always a tough challenge
Stunning course, front 9 lures you in and the back 9 spits you out, lots of water on the back 9 making it more challenging but some stunning holes, greens in good condition, and the staff were so much more accommodating to our group than the ones at Vale Do Lobo, they wanted you to enjoy it and come back, very friendly and informative about the course.
I need to play this course again to understand the fairways and greens.
Lovely course with some great holes. I certainly would go back to play this course
Good course, 9 holes were much better than the other 9 holes
Very enjoyable
Would definitely play again
Always a great experience, need to think your way round on the back 9
Lovely greens. Some of the rest of the course was a bit tired and signage needed a kick of paint. But a great layout with some interesting holes.
A bit to commercial bland in some holes
I’ve played it before about 8 years ago and it was better than I remembered
Great course, quite different to the other courses. Excellent club house. Overall it is a good mix of holes and probably a bit less difficult, rather than easier, than we were expecting but a few real testers, especially the 18th. Greens were struggling a little as the grass had seeded and they had also done some work on them. They putted true enough but were slower than I would expect is usual. Again slow play but unlike a lot of the other courses there were rangers trying to put things right. However when people have paid a lot of money to play a course I expect they don't respond well to being to told to pick up the pace. The tough holes do tend to compress the field though and there were some long waits. It is something for the whole area to deal with and no club can be singled out. If they took 5% less players it would be interesting to see what effect it would have on the slowness of play. I think though the course owners have got used to the money. But for us three mind numbingly slow rounds on different courses over the weekend makes us think twice about going to the area.
Amazing golf course. Plays hard if the wind is up in the afternoon. Very open golf course but lots of water on the back 9.
The course was in disappointing condition given its a Championship course. Cost of buggies is ridiculous €60 compared to €45 last year
One of the best course we have played in Portugal and we have been coming for 9 years. Up there with San Lorenzo. All the course were fantastic. Going back next year.
What a course and amazing experience. Incredible with great touches around - pictures in the first tee.
A proper championship golf course which challenged every aspect of your game. Facilities and quality of the course were top notch. Would play here again and would recommend anyone to add this to their list.
Would recommend this course
Great course, in beautiful condition, a real, but fair, challenge.
Best of the 3 courses we played with some different challenges to others played
Good golf challenge .
Great course , was expecting this and was not disappointed. Top level If your not good at walking get a buggy
Always a tough challenge but I knew it was as played it before.
Service in bar very slow. No towels for showers (as everyone wet)
Excellent
Four hours
Course was about to hold the Portuguese Masters so was left a little fluffy to be able to manicure, other than that really good.
Really enjoyed the course but it was a near 5 hour round again due to slow people up front. You need a marshal to get people going.
Hadn’t a great day on the course but really enjoyed the task facing the pros in a week or so
The Victoria course was just being set up for the Portuguese Masters the following week so was in very good order
Our tee time was too late as both 4 balls completed the round in the dark
Very slow round and I still managed to lose against my husband
See why this has been used for the professional tournaments. What a fantastic course. I’d played it years ago and booked to play it twice this time. An outstanding setting, great testing holes, water with risk and reward options. If you come to Vilamoura you have to play this. Can’t rate this highly enough. Some of the best facilities also, great food, drink and such friendly staff. We stayed just taking in the place watching everything go by with the odd pint for 3 hours. No driving because of the free transfers, absolutely marvellous
Played this course in a buggy which was a good move. On some holes it’s a fair distance from green to tee. Water plays a big part in many of the later holes and the fairways are a bit tight in places. Enjoyable course however.
A more open course but a very challenging back nine! This is a far superior course to the other Dom Pedro courses. Definitely worth a visit.
Second favourite after Laranjal and old. Brilliant course and love playing it
Fabulous course in good condition greens fantastic
Excellent experience
Beautiful scenery with some tough but fair holes. A delight to play. Greens were in nice order.
Course was only slow due to the two players we were paired up with. Great course and very picturesque
Tough when you go off the fairways.
slow round due to not being able to take buggies to green areas , so had to take 2 clubs to greens, then asked to speed up a lot off walking which slowed pace.
Great course and clearly a level above the millenium.
Enjoyable round, 2nd of 3
This course was a little bit more difficult due to water hazards, but was still a nice challenge for all handicaps
Best course of the week. Challenging with the lakes. Great service again with the buggy staff….very friendly. Toasty and a pint after on the patio….all good.
The back 9 is lovely and the course is playing well we played at 2 so it was quite
A lovely golf course. Really nice from 9 and a very challenging back nine, when the water comes into play. The view from the 12th tee is fabulous.
Wow. Not the cheapest but well worth it. Fabulous layout, great holes, great condition. Not to be missed.
Best course I’ve played so far to date. Loved the course, the scenery and the locals I played with were excellent. Cannot stress this enough that it’s a fab course to play
The best course we played whilst in Algarve, stunning facilities and the course itself was incredible. Great service from the staff and you can see why the Portigal Masters calls this place home, loved every minute and only wish we had booked this more than once. Can't wait to visit again!
Very good course. Long holes with a lot of feature holes. Bunkers not in good condition. Fairways in need of water
Great course in great condition but again too busy trying to fit too many golfers in but a course you must play
Great long test of golf
Excellent course, and I expect big things in the years to come
Tough course to play
Lovely course really enjoyed it. But too expensive for a round of hdf
Great course, staff fantastic too. Quite hard due to length. Need to be able to hit a decent 230-250 drive. But great course and would recommend
the most challenging course we played - beautiful and scenic and in exceptional condition. Buggy hire more expensive here than the other 2 courses, but only a minor gripe. lovely club house and bar area. definitely recommended if you like water and a challenge.
Very good condition lovely course
Nice course to start with
Good course thought condition could have been better
Absolutely beautiful, great landscapes, nice fairways and very difficult and fast greens. We had a great time.
Proper championship course in very good condition. Greens were exceptional but hard. Worth playing.
I have seen the Victoria course in better condition, but all in all, an excellent course with a very tough back nine. The greens were fantastic and very fast.
Even the changes in weather conditions didn’t detract from an excellent course in great condition. Can’t wait to play it again and would like to experience the true course from the competition tees.
Very average front 9 dry an tired , back nine very tricky with lots of water
Tough track (long) but very enjoyable. Really laid out for tournament golf and a buggy required. Ace greens, quite open at parts, quality setup / lunch and drinks.
Fantastic course in magnificent condition. The back 9 around the water is absolutely stunning but tough! All of the facilities were first class as you would expect at home of Portuguese Masters
Very nice and in great condition.
Great experience...one to avoid with novice players.
A tough golf course although the fairways were generally pretty wide which helps the higher handicapper or way ward hitter. Very friendly staff
Stunning set up as you would expect from a championship course
Course was in fantastic condition
great course tough back nine
Lovely course but play was a bit slow again. We had a buggy for this round which perhaps resulted in us catching up with the 4 ball in front quicker. Some challenging holes especially when it was windy.
First time playing and a difficult course for a mid handicap golfer but exciting. Need your best concentration at all times. Greens are fast and dangerous if you are not used to the pace and this was in February! Can’t wait to return!
You have to love this course, it is a great challenge but not too hard, the greens were fantastic.
Played many times before, however on this occasion the greens were outstanding. Definitely in the top 10 best greens i have ever played.
We all enjoyed playing Victoria,very tough and demanding would play it again. Thanks Freddie Great trip
Everything was great except the lady in the pro shop was really rude and unhelpful, she made a mistake mixing us up with another group even though I gave my name which was totally different to the one she confused us with, we had to go back to the shop to sort it out. When we asked to move our tee time slightly she was rude also. Apart from that the course was spectacular and we enjoyed the golf immensely.
Played before the Portuguese masters so in good condition,
Great course fast greens, grass range which is a massive plus
I had played this course once before two years ago( also a YGT trip!) but this was the first time for my wife. Course was in better condition this time ( they were due to play a major tournament there a couple of weeks later) and we both enjoyed our rounds. A fairy open course compared with many in the Algarve but still plenty of potential to go astray!
The course was good but we were disappointed that we were told buggies would be included by Yourgolftravel when they were not so we ended up paying an additional €150 when we arrived.
Great course
Always enjoy our visit.
Fabulous golf experience supported by welcoming staff
More difficult than usual due to them growing the tough for the up coming European tour event early November but still really enjoyable
just brilliant i have played this course on numerous occasions and it never fails to inspire me
Rough was very hard around greens to get out of and hard to find your ball
Overpriced in current climate
Great course, again buggies too expensive.
Excellent course and highly recommneded
What a course, if you stay out the rough, don't go in the rough
Fabulous
Excellent experience.
The fairways and around the greens a little dry and in need of some rain. The course itselfis excellent and greens in excellent condion, must be played when in Vilamoura
Around the green areas were not in good condition due to bare patches a bit scruffy.
Really good, challenging and well designed course.
Great course but if your a medium to high handicap golfer you really need to be at your best to fully appreciate this course.
The best course we’ve played. Greens fast. Challenging course.
Fantastic course. Lovely set up. Greens were true and quick. Would return.
Great course
3 weeks before the portugese masters, absolutely fantastic course without better in this area.
To many single players, being polite and letting them through,took the shine off a fantastic course
Thoroughly enjoyed it, transfer smooth and facilities were excellent. Best course out of the three to play on
The clubhouse was truly awesome, beautiful facility. the golf course itself was really good, just maybe lacked the character that The Old Course or Villa Sol had. Couple of fairways were a little rough around the edges, but otherwise a good golf course.
Course was not in as good a condition as previous visit.
Proper test of golf, great condition, very friendly staff.
Has to be the best course on the Algarve. It is a difficult course to navigate around to escape all the hazards, each hole makes you think hard before each shot. Absolutely brilliant & tiring too.
We've played this course many times before but it is in a poor state now. No run off first cut off rough, miss a fairway by a foot and you could be playing out of sand as there are so many bare patches. Lots of ground being repaired with no gur or local rule in effect. Extra charge for Sat nav in the buggies is a rip off. We vowed collectively not to return.
Good course, wind up difficult back 9
They are clearly doing a lot of work on the course. Greens were good fairways reasonable off the fairway very poor. Our guys found it difficult averaging just 25 points.
such a fab course everything was firstclass even the magic buggys who simply do not allow you to go where you shouldnt. Fab Day
Great course, true test of golf, played very long in wind, managed 35 points playing off 8.
shame Dom Pedro now make you pay for practice balls..
Great (championship)course with good paced greens. Would definetly play again and well worth the small supplement
great course.
Brilliant golf course - worth the extra cost
Great course with some great holes and tough water holes which can catch you out.
best course for mid handicappers to play. a real challenge with put it being a slog
We played it a week after the Portuguese Masters, and for ordinary club golfers it was extremely difficult. it is too expensive and i would not book it again. i will pass on my comments to other golfers. What are they trying to prove???
Great , the golf course staff were good enough to shuffle T times a bit to allow our group of 10 to play as 3-3-4 rather than the proposed 4-4-2 with addition of 2 add ons. If your golf travel had been able to facilitate this in advance it would have allowed us to accommodate to late add ons ( 6 weeks priro to leaving) to our group
nice course, lot more professional and the other courses
Perhaps due to the fact that we played it a week or so after the Portuguese Open the greens in particular were worn and need some TLC. Again essential to stay on the fairways as the light rough was very thick and 'springy ' hence difficult to find stray balls. Also a problem with ball spotting as there was a problem with white bird feathers covering the ground particularly near to the areas of water .
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