Championship VenueBucket List

Penha Longa — Atlantic Championship Course

Sintra, Lisbon Coast · Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr (1992) · Est. 1992

The Atlantic Championship Course at Penha Longa is one of the most dramatic parkland courses in Portugal, set on the wooded slopes of the Sintra hills within a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr and opened in 1992, it makes bold use of the considerable elevation — plunging downhill tees, sweeping fairways and long views out towards the Atlantic — and it staged the Portuguese Open within two years of opening.

Olive, cork and eucalyptus trees frame the holes, water comes into play on several, and the changes in elevation demand careful club selection throughout. It has hosted the Portuguese Open three times (1994, 1995 and 2010) and a string of major international events, and it deservedly ranks among the best courses on the continent.

It is the centrepiece of the five-star Ritz-Carlton Penha Longa resort, moments from the palaces of Sintra and the Cascais coast — a round in one of the loveliest settings in European golf.

Holes worth knowing

1The downhill tee shots — RTJ Jr used the Sintra slopes for a series of dramatic elevated tees with the fairway and the Atlantic laid out far below.
2The tree-and-water holes — olive, cork and eucalyptus frame the course, with water forcing thoughtful, well-judged approach play.

Highlights

Three-time Portuguese Open host
Robert Trent Jones Jr design in the Sintra hills
Big elevation changes and Atlantic views
Five-star Ritz-Carlton resort setting

Good to know

→It sits within the UNESCO World Heritage landscape of Sintra, among palaces and forested hills — one of the loveliest golf settings in Europe.
→The elevation changes are significant: take a buggy, add a club on the uphill approaches, and trust the plunging downhill tee shots.
→Sintra is unmissable — the fairytale Pena Palace, the mysterious Quinta da Regaleira with its initiation well, and the gardens of Monserrate are all minutes away.
→The Ritz-Carlton Penha Longa on site (with a Michelin-starred restaurant) and the historic estate make a memorable base; Cascais and its beaches are 20 minutes downhill.
→Lisbon is 35 minutes away, so you can pair world-class golf with the city's trams, pastéis de nata and nightlife.