Algarve, Portugal Golf Vacations

Dom Pedro Laguna Golf Course has earned a reputation as being a somewhat unique offering within the Vilamoura golf portfolio. While it has many water hazards, it truly finds its individuality in the number of holes which convey characteristics of a traditional costal links layout. American golf course architect Joseph Lee was given the responsibility for setting out Dom Pedro Laguna Course over low-lying coastal terrain, and in this setting was able to establish 18 holes which offer a wide variety of playing conditions. The course has been continually improved since the first ball was struck in 1990, although it retains all of the appeal of a modern test of golf, through which the strategic positioning of bunkers and a number of water obstacles demand accuracy of play. Dom Pedro Laguna Golf Course shares a well-proportioned and welcoming clubhouse with the neighboring Millennium Golf Course.

Boasting a unique position within the Vilamoura portfolio, it is often asserted that the creation of the Dom Pedro Millennium Golf Course was pivotal in cementing the status of this region as one of Europe’s most-visited and best-loved for golf. Opened in the year 2000 - comprising nine brand new holes and a refurbished inward half which had previously formed part of the original 27-hole Dom Pedro Laguna Golf Course - this is a more open course than its neighbors, although holes 3-7 are designed in the traditional Algarvian mode, meandering through the towering pines. For many, this stretch bears a resemblance to fairways of Dom Pedro Old Course Golf Club and Dom Pedro Pinhal Golf Course, where landing areas grow narrower, requiring greater accuracy. A number of lakes, particularly interestingly on 17 and 18, enrich the remaining holes of the Dom Pedro Millennium Golf Course, providing some great risk and reward golf scenarios. The course offers a true blend of classic and modern golf course design, providing a great fair test of golf for all abilities.

A golf experience where we truly play the land. Our signature course was designed by Jorge Santana da Silva, who followed a sustainable vision to complement and enhance the natural landscape. Weaving around ancient rivers and trees that have stood for generations, it has achieved the standards of golf’s most prestigious ecolabel certifications and created a naturally diverse setting for a truly memorable round of golf. Concerns and expectations of sustainability are growing in all walks of life, and the golf community is no different, now looking to contribute more, for the welfare of nature and communities - and for the good of the game. To protect the rich natural biodiversity that surrounds us, we have minimized the use of natural resources and built on less than a quarter of the total resort area, with the greens and fairways of our golf course designed to blend seamlessly into the environment surrounding them by repopulating indigenous tree and plant species. The course has been woven around ancient rivers and trees that have stood for generations, which has led to our golf course being recognized with the GEO Foundation certification. You will not want to miss that landmark course which brings remarkable surroundings into the experience, with unforgettable backdroops that play an active role in every stroke.

Within the natural amphitheater of the Bay of Lagos, Robert Trent Jones II has fashioned Europe’s next great golf course, Palmares Golf. The brief given to this exceptional American golf course designer was to craft a 27-hole golf course which maximized the potential of its extraordinary environment. The result is a golf course of breathtaking natural beauty which is a delight to play. The course is a mixture of parkland and authentic links – something unique in the Algarve. The higher part of the course features unforgettable views of the Ocean and Alvor estuary. The lower holes near the beach incorporate links dunes and long grasses and the sound of the sea. Palmares Golf has stunning sea views from 90% of the tees. Few other courses in the Algarve offer you the chance to get so close to the ocean with your golf clubs! Palmares Golf was recently considered the 26th golf course in Continental Europe, and for 7 consecutive years was elected the best golf course in Portugal.