Golf in Lisbon
Lisboa is the capital of Portugal and lies on the north bank of the Tagus Estuary, on the European Atlantic coast. It is the westernmost city in continental Europe. Greater Lisboa has an area of approximately 1,000 km2. The city lies more or less in the centre of the country, approximately 300 km from the Algarve in the south and 400 km from the northern border with Spain. Lisboa offers a wide variety of options to the visitor, including beaches, countryside, mountains and areas of historical interest only a few kilometres away from the city centre.
Lisbon Golf Courses Info
Less than 50 km from the city you’ll find ‘Ribagolfe’ - the most recent golf project at Herdade da Vargem Fresca, with two courses of 18 holes surrounded by the Ribatejo countryside.
On the south bank of the River Tagus, you’ll discover a real challenge at Aroeira II, part of a vast tourist complex.
Troia Golf Course os consistly ranked in the top-25 courses in Europe and was opened in 1980 with a design by Robert Trent Jones Sr. The scenic location is superb and, like all the best designers, Trent Jones used the landscape he had, rather than move millions of tons of earth to accommodate a predetermined concept.
Penha Longa is the outstanding course in the Estoril region, 30 minutes west of Lisbon. Situated in the Sintra Hills, it was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr, whose masterpiece offers not only a great test of golf, but excelent views towards both mountains and sea. Within two years of its opening, it hosted the Portuguese Open so successfully that European Tour players - a very discerning buch - branded it one of their favourite layouts.
Located in the Sintra-Cascais National Park, close to the Guincho beach and surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Oitavos ( Quinta da Marinha Golf Club ) inspires devotion. It was designed by Arthur Hills, a former president of the American Society of Golf Architects, and, in a short time ( it opened in 2001 ), has become one of the best rated courses in the area. The holes are a mixture of pine-laden fairways ( although they are never too obtrusive ) and open dunesland, and, while the sea is not too often visible, it's certainly audible as it crashes on to the beach and rocks. Like all good courses, it feels an inherent, natural part of the lanscape and one hole flows seamlesssly into another. One of those rare places where even if your golf is suffering, you can still enjoy the wonderful setting.
The growth
The growth of Lisbon's "Golf Coast" over the last decade hasn't gone unnoticed: This year it was voted Europe's best golf destination by the more than 1,000 members of the International Association of Golf Tour Operators. Lisbon beat out nominees in Scotland, Ireland and Spain and emerged from the shadow of the Algarve, which copped the award last year. With about two dozen courses, the Lisbon region doesn't have the golfing quantity of the Algarve, but it can match its Portuguese rival in quality on the course and exceed it off.
