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The best golf courses in Portugal

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Oitavos Dunes is one of the top courses in Europe and ranks third in our latest rankings of the best courses in Portugal.

Jacob Sjöman

By Derek Duncan and Stephen Hennessey
August 31, 2024
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Like its wines (port not withstanding), Portugal’s golf might be the most underrated in Europe. At the same time, the country has barely scratched the surface of what’s possible. Though most of the best courses are incorporated into resort or real estate developments, there are areas of Portugal that possess the ingredients for elite golf: sand, dunes, ocean views and seductive forests of cork and other maritime trees.

The majority of courses in this year’s ranking are located in these regions, specifically in the Algarve along the country’s southern coast touching the Atlantic, and the beachheads north and south of Lisbon. One course that might redefine how outsiders view Portuguese golf, the Dunas at Terras da Comporta, a sandy, heathland-like design by Scottish-American architect David McLay Kidd, did not receive enough reviews to qualify for the rankings.

We urge you to click through to each individual course page for bonus photography, drone footage and expanded reviews. Plus, you can now leave your own ratings on the courses you’ve played … to make your case why your favorite should be ranked higher.

Editor's Note: Our Best Courses in Portugal ranking is part of Golf Digest's rollout of the Best Courses in Every Country. Check back over the next few weeks for more of our rankings of the best golf around the world.

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15. Vale do Lobo Golf and Beach Resort: Royal
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
Just a few miles down the Atlantic coastline where he crafted San Lorenzo along with Joe Lee, Rocky Roquemore, Lee’s right-hand man, built the second course at the luxurious Vale do Lobo Golf and Beach Resort in Fabo. The Royal course contains some thrilling shots—including the par-3 16th, which plays over a clifftop—in addition to the ninth green, which plays like an island green.
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14. Amendoeira Golf Resort: Oceânico Faldo
Alcantarilha , Algarve, Portugal
Described as a “desert-style” design, this course from Nick Faldo, opened in the Algarve in 2008, is a highly imaginative piece of construction built on a neutral site of scrub and sand. Everything was fabricated to create vast washes that engulf holes that pivot at sharp angles around ornately shaped bunkers, outcropping and desert plants. Nearly every long hole presents multiple options off the tee, from safe plays to fat parts of the fairway (leaving longer approaches into angled greens) to aggressive drives that can attack corners and carry expanses of cacti amd “native.” The greens come in an assortment of shapes and orientations with low-mow runoff areas to one side or another. It's a busy piece of architecture, but one that never produces the same round of golf twice.
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13. Vilamoura Golf Club: Victoria
Quarteira , Algarve, Portugal
The Victoria Golf Course, designed by Arnold Palmer, opened in the early 2000s and earned a reputation for being one of Portugal’s top courses. It closed at the end of 2023 for extensive renovations after being acquired by a development company, but our voting occurred before that time. The new course, to be designed by Ernie Els and his design team, is scheduled to open in February 2025.
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12. Penha Longa Resort: Atlântico
Linho, Sintra, Portugal
Penha Longa might be considered Portugal’s mountain course. Most clubs and resorts are built within easy eyeshot of the Atlantic coast, but the Atlantico course at this 27-hole complex near Lisbon sits up in the Sintra Mountain foothills and feels higher than the 500-foot elevation suggests. Built next to a monastery founded in the 14th century, the 1992 Robert Trent Jones, Jr. out and back design flows gently downhill for ten holes before turning to ascend again toward the old monastery, now the site of a Ritz-Carlton. The course is full of attractive risk/reward driving holes with engaging fairway bunkers that must be navigated, punctuated by short par 5s and two tantalizing short par 4s at three and 13 that make players think hard about what club to pull.
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11. Quinta do Lago: Laranjal
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
One of three courses at Quinta do Lago Resort ranked among Golf Digest’s Best Golf Courses in Portugal, the Laranjal course was built on an old orange grove site a few minutes away from the main resort. About 35 years after the resort first opened, new land was acquired and made way for a third entry at this upscale Portuguese facility.
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10. Vale do Lobo Golf and Beach Resort: Ocean
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
Sir Henry Cotton was instrumental to bringing great golf into the region of the Algarve. After World War II and post-retirement from his playing career, Cotton helped John Stilwell design the first 18-hole course, the Championship course at Penina. After the success of Penina, Cotton was highly sought-after in the region—and his next project was at Vale do Lobo. He designed two nine-hole courses, one of which became part of the Ocean course, supplemented by a new nine in 2003 by American architect Rocky Roquemore. The first nine presents tight shot-making demands as it winds through residences and cottages including several Florida-style holes that interplay with small lakes, including the third that requires a long approach over water. The second nine moves away from the campus toward the ocean where the 14th and 15th greens sit along the beach.
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9. Quinta do Lago: North
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
A ton of American architects have worked on the North course over the years, starting with the original 27 holes designed at Quinta do Lago by William Mitchell in the early 1970s. Nine of those holes comprise the current day North course, with nine additional holes being added by Joe Lee and his protégé Rocky Roquemore in the 1990s. Then in 2014, Beau Welling oversaw a complete remodeling of the existing North course with consulting by Paul McGinley.
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8. Praia D'El Rey G. & Beach Resort
Praia D'el Rey, Obidos, Portugal
An hour north of Lisbon, Praia D’el Rey shows off some of the country’s most dazzling ocean golf. Five holes on the second nine run parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, set down amid the wind-blown dunes, a Portugeuse doppelganger of the middle-section links of Maidstone on Long Island. This course was built in 1967 by American designer Caleb Robinson, who ran the European office for the late Robert Trent Jones. The ocean holes feel more special because of the time it takes to get there, with the routing first working back into the inland forests before bursting out onto the surf at the par-5 12th.
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7. Tróia Golf Club
Troia, Carvalhal, Portugal
About 30 miles from Lisbon, accessible via a train and then a ferry to Setúbal, Portugal’s Troia Peninsula is 13 miles long and one of the world’s longest uninterrupted strips of sand. In other words, the ideal site to build a golf course. The setting is tough to beat—with views of the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains across the Sado River, including the par-4 third hole, which Trent Jones dubbed one of his best. He routed the course through a towering pine forest and sandscapes—leaving a very naturalistic feel akin to a nature walk. His typical strategic bunkering and smaller greens are difficult to navigate, but Troia is one of the most enjoyable courses in the region and a regular on top 100 European lists.
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6. Quinta do Lago: South
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
The South Course at Quinta do Lago, this development’s original course, was part of the first wave of Spanish and Portuguese modern golf resorts in the 1960s and 70s, most built by American and Canadian architects. In this case it was American William Mitchell, who laced slender holes through the umbrella pines of the Algarve region on the country’s southern coast. Tension builds as the holes work toward the second nine and gorgeous views of the Atlantic Ocean, punctuated by a nearly 200-yard par-3 15th that plays entirely over water. The club completed a $7.8 million dollar in-house renovation in late 2020 that has enhanced an already elegant design.
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5. San Lorenzo G. Cse.
Almancil, Algarve, Portugal
Joe Lee is credited with 232 course designs—with extensive work in the Southeast part of the United States, having been the lead associate for Dick Wilson. But after Wilson died in 1965, ‘Gentleman Joe’ took over the business and his solo career took off. He and his protege Rocky Roquemore were flown out to build the second course at the Quinta do Lago estate, San Lorenzo Golf Course, on a spectacular site in the Algarve. The routing makes good use of lagoons, saltwater marshes and brilliant vistas of the Atlantic Ocean and mountain backdrops. Even with hte influx of newer courses in the area, San Lorenzo remains a great test while being very playable—true to the design ethos of Lee's evident at all his courses.
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4. Vilamoura G.C.: Old
Quarteira , Algarve, Portugal
One of the oldest courses in the Algarve region of Portugal, the Frank Pennink-designed Old Course opened in 1969 and underwent extensive renovations by Martin Hawtree in the late 1990s. With five par 5s, the par-73 course is routed around towering trees with doglegs, medium-sized green surfaces and punishing bunkers. The course is part of Dom Pedro Golf Club, which also includes the Victoria course (#13 on our list), the Laguna, Millennium and Pinhal courses.
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3. Oitavos Dunes
Cascais, Lisbon, Portugal
American architect Arthur Hills didn’t often work outside the U.S., but the nature preserve site he got for Oitavos Dunes on the southwest coast of Portugal was one of the best of his long career. Opened in 2001, most of the course canvases an arid, upland section of land with holes that cross ravines and play low beneath dune ridges of coastal pines. The key to scoring well is to avoid the numerous fairway bunkers, and have a deft recovery game around the small greens. The set of par 3s rival the best in the country.
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2. West Cliffs
Vau, Obidos, Portugal
West Cliffs, on Portugal’s Silver Coast an hour north of Lisbon, it one of the more scenic courses built on the continent in the last decade. Designed in 2017 by American Cynthia Dye McGarey, a niece of the late Pete Dye, it plays through a sandy coastal property with striking elevated views of the Atlantic Ocean several hundred yards away. Think of this as Portugal’s version of Spyglass Hill, with some holes like seven, eight, 10, 11 and 12 situated through a plain of low sea salt vegetation, and others that play inland through forests and the resort development.
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1. Monte Rei Golf and Country Club
Vila Nova de Cacela, Algarve, Portugal
Monte Rei leaped into the World 100 for the first time two years ago and is the second-highest ranked international course from Nicklaus Design. How could that be? Well, let’s see: It’s located on a panoramic site in the Algarve region of southern Portugal just 3.5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean with holes that roll over 1,000 acres of crumpled, arid foothills. The design is a blend of modern and classic—wide fairways, aggressive bunkering and shallow, angled greens that hook around hazards, including a variety of American-style water features. Troubled economic times when the course opened has meant the resort development is peacefully underbuilt, an advantage in accentuating a feeling of remoteness in the surrounding hill country.
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