Oitavos Dunes

Cascais, Lisbon Coast · Designed by Arthur Hills (2001) · Est. 2001

9.3/10Edge Score

€€€€Green fee

71Par

6,372Yards

18Holes

Why this Edge Score: Arthur Hills's links-style course near Cascais runs through protected Atlantic dune land with Sintra behind and Cabo da Roca on the horizon. Frequently ranked at or near the top in Portugal, its environmental sensitivity and coastal drama place it just behind Monte Rei on our list.

Oitavos Dunes, on the Estoril and Cascais coast just twenty minutes west of Lisbon, is regularly ranked the number one golf course in Portugal. Designed by the American architect Arthur Hills and opened in 2001, it is one of only two European courses to bear his name, and it is a genuine links-style course — laid out old-fashioned out-and-back through sandy, pine-covered dune land beside the Atlantic, with Sintra's mountains behind and Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe, on the horizon.

A par 71 of about 6,300 metres, Oitavos flows naturally with the terrain, and when the sea wind gets up it plays every inch a links. It has hosted the Portuguese Open four times and was the first course in Europe to earn Audubon Gold environmental certification — a course as thoughtful about its landscape as its golf.

With the boutique Oitavos hotel on site and the sophistication of Cascais on the doorstep, it is one of the most complete golf experiences on the continent.

Holes worth knowing

1The dune holes by the Atlantic — Oitavos runs out-and-back through genuine sandy dune land, and when the sea wind rises it becomes a true links test.
2The views to Cabo da Roca and Sintra — several holes frame the westernmost point of mainland Europe and the mountains behind; golf and scenery in equal measure.

Highlights

Regularly ranked No. 1 in Portugal
Arthur Hills links-style design (2001)
Four-time Portuguese Open host
First course in Europe with Audubon Gold certification

Good to know

→It sits on the glamorous Estoril–Cascais coast, 30 minutes from Lisbon, with the boutique The Oitavos hotel on site — an easy, upmarket base.
→Play it on a breezy day for the full links experience: the Atlantic wind transforms it, so keep the ball down and take plenty of club into the exposed greens.
→Cascais is a chic old fishing town turned resort — a marina, a historic centre and the dramatic Boca do Inferno sea chasm nearby; the wild Guincho beach is a windsurfing mecca.
→The palaces of Sintra (Pena, Regaleira and Monserrate) are a short drive into the hills, and Cabo da Roca — mainland Europe's westernmost point — is minutes away.
→Lisbon, one of Europe's great city breaks, is half an hour by car or a scenic train ride along the coast from Cascais.