Championship VenueBucket List

Palmares Golf Course

Lagos, Algarve · Designed by Frank Pennink (1975); redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Jr (2010) · Est. 1975

Palmares, on the western edge of the Algarve near Lagos, is the region's closest thing to a true links, and one of its most spectacular. Originally laid out by Frank Pennink in 1975, it was completely redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Jr in 2010 into a 27-hole complex — the Alvor, Lagos and Praia loops — that tumbles down a south-facing hillside to the shore of the Bay of Lagos.

The variety is the appeal. Holes run through woodland high on the slope with long views over the Alvor estuary and the ocean, then drop down to the beach, where the Praia nine plays through genuine seaside dunes — proper links golf, rare in Portugal — including a par 5 of 550 metres along the sand. Rated among the top 30 courses in Europe, it combines resort polish with a wild, coastal edge.

With ocean views from almost every hole and that stretch of true dunes golf, Palmares is a highlight of the western Algarve.

Holes worth knowing

1The Praia nine — real links golf through seaside dunes along the beach, including a 550-metre par 5 on the sand; a rarity in Portugal.
2The hillside holes above the Alvor estuary — long ocean and estuary views from high on the south-facing slope before the plunge to the shore.

Highlights

The Algarve's closest thing to a true links
27 holes down to the Bay of Lagos
A genuine dunes nine along the beach
Rated among the top 30 courses in Europe

Good to know

→Palmares is a genuine taste of links golf — a rare thing on the parkland-dominated Algarve — so use the ground, keep it low into the sea breeze, and enjoy the dune nine along the beach.
→It is 27 holes as three loops (Alvor, Lagos, Praia); the Praia (beach) nine is the one everyone remembers, so try to include it in your combination.
→Lagos is one of the prettiest, liveliest towns in the western Algarve, with a walled old town, buzzing bars and restaurants, and the golden cliffs and sea caves of Ponta da Piedade.
→Meia Praia beside the course is a four-mile stretch of sand, and the wild, end-of-Europe capes at Sagres and Cape St Vincent are a spectacular hour's drive west.
→It is about an hour from Faro, so pair it with Penina nearby, or make Lagos your base for the quieter, more scenic western Algarve.