Quinta do Lago North Course

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When we played this course many years ago on a cold and rainy day in the beginning of January the starter welcomed us: “Welcome to the millionaires’ golf”, because we were the only players. In October 2014 the course has been reopened after a complete redesign by renowned American architect Beau Welling in collaboration with European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley to the highest specifications using the latest state-of-the-art technology. This time the conditions were ideal to experience Algarvian winter golf at its best – sprinkling stopped after a few holes and on the back nine we enjoyed sunshine and a blue sky.

Due to refurbishment activities the reception had been moved to the other side of the Av. André Jordan next to the driving range and the McGinley Golf Academy, so that we could conveniently warm up there. The course was in excellent shape, only on few fairways we found wet spots as a result of the rainy weeks end of the year. The soft white sand on the well maintained bunkers provided less challenges than the high grass of the semi rough.

Having renting a buggy turned out to be a wise decision due to the length of the course and the distances between some fairways. The onboard electronic score card allows a precise determination of the own position and the distance to the green. The newly designed practice facilities, open to the public, include a 500 square-meters 9-hole putting green and a 300-meter driving range with grass and mat tee areas with 6 target greens. Three short game areas are divided into bunker, chipping and pitching sections and are designed to give the player a comprehensive and challenging training session.