Course of the Week: San Lorenzo  Golf International, Inc. In many ways Portugal is a Cinderella among European countries when it comes to American visitors.  A look at San Lorenzo in the Algarve region of Portugal.
Beautiful, charming and possessing all of the attributes tourists are looking for in a vacation destination, this is a country with a strong visitor appeal, yet it remains very much undiscovered for many Americans. A rich and intriguing history, fascinating culture, excellent food and wines, shopping, nightlife and a pleasant year-round climate only add to the many reasons why Portugal deserves to be better known. Add to this the extremely friendly Portuguese people, perhaps the most welcoming on the entire continent, plus the excellent value for money (even in these days of a weaker U.S. Dollar) and the mystery only deepens as to why this utterly enchanting country has not yet captured the attention and imagination of Americans. But just like Cinderella, Portugal has a glass slipper and in this story, the glass slipper comes in the form of golf. There are more than 60 golf courses located here, the vast majority of excellent quality and the best of the best, all concentrated along a 90-mile length of glorious southern coastline called The Algarve. Long popular with Northern Europeans for summer beach and winter sunshine vacations, it's Portugal's golf, which has started to attract our Yankee curiosity and The Algarve is proving to be the center of our attention, as well it should. The Algarve is over-flowing with more than half of the country's entire golf inventory and it includes most of the very best layouts. You don't come here with your sites set on playing one special layout, you come here to play The Algarve Collection of Courses -- almost a dozen of the very best, with as many more squeezed in as time will allow you to play. Among the cream of the crop is the very special course at San Lorenzo, consistently ranked among the top five courses in Europe, it's an amazing experience and nothing less than a golfing showpiece of The Algarve. Back in 1986, American designer Joseph Lee was presented with a piece of pristine Algarve real estate, which formed part of the Ria Formosa Natural Park -- he was told to design the best course in the country. Joe delivered and in 1988 San Lorenzo opened to universal acclaim. The 15 years which have elapsed since have seen this child star mature into an even better course and achieve the prestige and position of one of the best in The Algarve, Portugal and indeed, all of Europe.
San Lorenzo is not a course for the novice or inexperienced and at 6,240 meters with a par of 72, presents a stern challenge for even the most-accomplished. Immaculately maintained and offering the opportunity to not only use every club in the bag, but to use each in different ways, San Lorenzo is a memorable test for anyone. The course opens with an enticing but almost unachievable par 5, seemingly designed to set the standard for is in store. The next three holes act as confidence re-builders with generous fairways, fringed with pine, setting the unsuspecting player up for the surprises ahead. The true adventure starts on the fifth and the most extraordinary part begins offering challenge after challenge and as a consolation prize, some amazing vistas over the Atlantic Ocean. At the eighth, the course turns inland, presenting the larger of its two lakes as a formidable hazard. Then its back toward the Ocean again, with the most technical stretch of holes on the back nine, culminating with an ominous par 4 and a green surrounded by the waters of the second lake. It's a remarkable finish to a remarkable course. Few courses offer as much variety and as sustained a level of challenge, each one different from the last. San Lorenzo is a true golfers golf course and one that deserves and demands to be played more than once, whatever you do, don't miss it. Combine San Lorenzo with a few of its nearby neighbors such as Quinta do Lago and at least a couple of Vilamoura's superb courses. Penina has a unique allure and the personable Palmares layout is a gem guaranteed to deliver memories. Whatever you do, spend at least a week experiencing The Algarve's golf and the banquet of other off the course distractions the region has in such bountiful supply. It's a guarantee that you too will fall in love with Cinderella. For some ideas on how to get the most out of a trip to The Algarve, click here. Golf International -- Providers of quality golf travel arrangements since 1988. © 2007 David Brice / Golf International Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
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