Championship Venue

Quinta do Lago — Laranjal Course

Almancil, Algarve · Designed by Opened 2009 · Est. 2009

Laranjal is the newest of Quinta do Lago's three championship courses, and many now rate it the best. Opened in 2009 on the site of a former orange grove — laranjal is Portuguese for orange grove — in the peaceful Ludo Valley a couple of kilometres inland from the main resort, it was voted Best Golf Course at the 2011 Portuguese Travel Awards.

A par 72 of some 6,480 metres, it is a modern, generous but demanding parkland test, threading through umbrella pines, cork oaks and, still, some of the original orange trees, with lakes and streams shaping the strategy. The Bermuda fairways and immaculate greens give it superb year-round conditioning, and the quieter valley setting makes it feel a world away from the coast.

With the South and the neighbouring courses, Laranjal completes one of the finest multi-round golf resorts in Europe. Laranjal — Portuguese for “orange grove,” after the citrus plantation that once stood here — opened in 2009 to a European Golf Design layout, and is the most sheltered and wooded of the Quinta do Lago courses, winding through cork oaks and umbrella pines away from the coast. It shares the estate’s superb practice facilities and dining, and is usually the quietest and best-value tee time at the resort.

Holes worth knowing

1The lake-and-stream holes — water shapes the strategy through the valley, demanding position off the tee and a confident approach.
2The valley setting — quieter and more secluded than the coastal courses, Laranjal winds through pines, cork oaks and the last of the orange trees.

Highlights

Quinta do Lago's newest course (2009)
Best Golf Course, 2011 Portuguese Travel Awards
A former orange grove in the quiet Ludo Valley
Superb year-round conditioning

Good to know

→Laranjal (“orange grove”) is built on former citrus orchards — a few of the old orange trees still stand among the holes, and the scent lingers in spring.
→It is generous off the tee but demanding on the approach, with water and streams shaping the strategy; the Bermuda turf and true greens give superb year-round conditioning.
→It rounds out the Quinta do Lago resort with the South and North courses — buy a multi-round pass to play them all, and use the Campus practice centre between rounds.
→The quiet Ludo Valley setting feels a world away from the coast, yet the Ria Formosa lagoons, the beaches and Almancil's restaurants are all minutes away.
→It is only 20 minutes from Faro, whose walled old town and cathedral are worth an evening; book ahead in spring and autumn.