The Vilamoura Resort: An endless golf banquet
By David Brice, Golf International, Inc.
Anyone visiting Portugal's Algarve region for the first time immediately has the impression this is a land of sea, sand and fairways. The first time visiting golfer will undoubtedly see it from a slightly different perspective, as a land of fairways, greens, sand traps and the sea.
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Golf is clearly a main attraction in this most southerly part of the country. Extremely good golf courses are in plentiful supply, but never more so than in the central Algarve, an area sitting within a 20 minute driving radius of the regional capital and the main airport at Faro. Driving this short distance puts you within a chip shot of over a dozen of The Algarve's cream of the crop layouts.
Nowhere is golf quite as prominent than in and around the resort community of Vilamoura, 8 square miles of unadulterated Algarve bliss. Boasting five championship golf courses, Vilamoura certainly qualifies as a golf resort, but with a yachting marina that berths more than a thousand boats, it also qualifies as a yachting resort, as well as it does as a beach resort, considering the magnificent beaches that surround the place. But strictly from a golfers standpoint, Vilamoura is very much a top of the line golf resort. There's no other place in Europe where you can stay in one hotel and have 5 championship courses literally sitting at the back door and another half dozen within a 10-minute drive. Golfers, the good life gets no better than this.
All of Vilamoura's courses are owned and operated by Oceanico Golf, an Irish/Portuguese operation that knows and understands golf inside and out and it shows in Vilamoura's layouts. From the actual facilities and their seamless operation, to the high levels of maintenance and most importantly, their adherence to the strictest of Europe's environmental protection guidelines, no golf course operator does a better job.
Stay in any one of the dozen different five- and four-star hotel choices, scattered throughout Vilamoura and the perfect world of golf is at your doorstep, with the only decision to be made being, how many of these five layouts to play. Play them all if you have time, but if not, these few pointers may assist in making the decision.
Oceanico Old Course was the very first course opened at Vilamoura, back in 1969. It's an intriguing design by the fabled English architect, Frank Pennink, which has been subtly and painstakingly modernized in more recent years, without detracting from the original design in the least. Reminiscent of some of the great British parkland courses, only with a far more agreeable climate, many Vilamoura veterans still consider this the most interesting layout at the resort, if not along the entire Algarve Coast. The European Tour seemed to agree when they selected this grand old lady of Portugal's golf as host The Portuguese Open in 1979.
Magnificently landscaped, taking full advantage of its surroundings, yet maintaining a completely natural flow, don't be misled into believing this good looker will be a walk in the park. Accuracy is required from start to finish, with mature trees standing at the ready to penalize any careless shots. There are some challenging and really fun par-3's and on the back nine, three par-5's, strong enough to test even the most accomplished player. If you can only play one of Vilamoura's five courses, this might be the one to choose.
Oceanico Victoria Course is Vilamoura's most recent addition and a slice of design brilliance from our own Arnold Palmer. Specifically built with international tournaments in mind, Victoria was hosting the World Cup -- World Championship in 2005, barely a year after it had opened. In 2007 it was enlisted by The European Tour as the regular host for a new event on its calendar, The Portugal Masters. The Victoria has been on a rocket ride to success and there is every likelihood that the ride isn't over just yet.
High handicappers should be warned that this is a tough layout, designed to test the best of professional players and though never unfair, with hazards almost always in clear view, it's the strategy you take to stay out of the water and bunkers that counts most. American style target golf is the order of the day. Still a relative youngster, The Victoria Course is only going to get better and probably even more testing, as it comes to full maturity. If you are a mid to low handicapper, you'll enjoy the test, the less accomplished are more likely to be confronted with a frustrating round.
Oceanico Laguna Course. This 1990 vintage course from American designer, Joseph Lee is totally different from the other layouts at Vilamoura, with far more of a links feeling to it. This one is a special treat for the big-hitters who simply can't resist the temptation to spread their shoulders and let it rip, Laguna will allow you to get away with it, even though your accuracy may leave something to be desired. With wider fairways and far fewer trees than on its sibling courses, Laguna is the closest of the five to The Atlantic, making its very open design subject to the vagaries of the often fickle sea breezes and more than a few thrills are all but guaranteed.
As the name suggests, there's no shortage of water hazards on this track, with lakes and ponds coming into play on 11 of the holes, so choose where you show-off your macho abilities with the driver, carefully. At first glance The Laguna has quite a fearsome look, but this is a case of the bark being worse than the bite -- it really offers a very enjoyable round with more than enough testy challenges along the way.
Oceanico Millennium Course was designed by Martin Hawtree, the highly regarded English architect and offers a very fair layout to be appreciated by players of all golfing abilities. Perhaps one of the most attractive courses on The Algarve Coast, the narrow fairways place a premium on accuracy. Water occurs on only two holes, so those with an inborn fear of the wet stuff, need only be concerned on holes 8 and 9 -- the rest of the way you can enjoy the views and have fun.
Oceanico Pinhal Course is a perennial favorite with regular visitors, which first opened in 1976, this is the second oldest of Vilamoura's 5 layouts and another original design from Frank Pennink. Later improvements were made by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and more recently; Martin Hawtree was brought in to further refine this challenging layout. The combined efforts of three of the best modern day architects, have resulted in an excellent test of golf where course strategy is the key to success. This is definitely one for the thinking golfer and if accuracy comes along with the thinking, it's a course to love.
Many of the fairways thread their way through encroaching umbrella pines, creating some interesting and often, very challenging situations, while others are quite open, giving players the chance to enjoy some enticing views of The Atlantic. It's this variety that provides much of Pinhal's appeal and makes it a serious consideration for any visitor.
Vilamoura boasts more than enough excellent courses to keep even the most avid player busy, but with more Algarve gems sitting within a brief 10 minute drive or so, the temptation to play at least a few of these maybe too much to resist. Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo, Vila Sol, Pine Cliffs and San Lorenzo, all call out to be played, so maybe it will be best to extend your stay, give in to temptation and enjoy them all.
For more ideas and suggestions on how to get the most out of your Algarve stay, click here.
©2009 David Brice / Golf International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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