GOLF HOLIDAYS IN SETUBAL, SESIMBRA, TROIA & COMPORTA
The best golf courses south of Lisbon.

At the base of the Troia peninsula lies the most spectacular new course in Europe.  Within earshot of the Atlantic ocean, amidst the wild sands and pines, David McLay Kidd has created a contortion of Fairways and desert (too vast and too numerous to call them bunkers!) that is unlike any other golf course we have ever seen.  The views from the Tees are wonderful (especially on the hillier front-nine) throwing down the gountlet for you to take on the challenge of the hole ahead.  There are some blind corners and long carries though, so choose your Tees wisely (there are six sets).  An amazing golf course that you will surely want to play more than once.  Currently, Dunas da Comporta has just a simple Clubhouse (beside its enormous driving range) but plans are afoot to add another 18-holes and hotel complex (although it took 15 years to build this first course!): hopefully they won't destroy the Comporta nature reserve completely.

At the very tip of the Troia peninsula Troia requires a short (10 minute) ferry crossing from Setubal to reach or a ten-minute drive up from Comporta, but is worth every nanosecond of the trip.  Tight sandy Fairways, very tight in places, run between tall pines and around crystal white bunkers to diminutive Greens.  Accuracy is crucial at Troia, however under the pines the ground is fairly clear so most errant shots are retrievable.  Water surrounds the course on both sides and crops up around the course too to add to the examination.  You may not score well on your first visit to Troia, but you will be desperate to come back for more!

One of Portugal's less-heralded golf courses which is an oversight as it offers very enjoyable golfing across  gentle, pine-clad slopes.  Quinta do Peru is a (long finished) residential development within easy reach of Lisbon so enjoys a healthy local membership to keep it going in fine condition: plenty of room for visitors midweek though.  Quinta do Peru is a very impressive parkland course covered in pines and cork-oaks.  Between the trees the Fairways have some interesting shapes and slight dog-legs leading to large and fast Greens - defended mainly with sand but on a few holes water features and a stream meanders across a couple of holes too.  An excellent course, enjoyable and fair.

Another tough test of golf hidden away to the East of Lisbon amongst a huge cork-oak plantation; houses are planned but at the moment the land is wild and tranquil.  Riba's main defence is its length and tightness: big-hitters will appreciate the test of strength and endurance (forward Tees are also available!).  A great course and kept in great condition with big plans for the future, at the moment Clubhouse is a modest affair and a little way from the first Tees.

The second course at Ribagolfe and a much friendlier proposition with shorter wider Fairways and more receptive Greens, you may even play to your Handicap!  Running through the same cork-oaks as Riba I, the course has less water, featuring just once on each half.  Bunkers are less prevalent from the Tee and smaller around the Greens too, but still a very entertaining and enjoyable course with the same high standards of Greenkeeping as its big brother. 

Pines, pines, pines.  The two Aroeira courses are carved through a vast pine forest to which golf and residential housing has been added (so you will meet residents all year round).  Aroeira I is the flatter of the two courses with thin rows of pines separating the holes and houses around the perimeter.  All of the holes are similiar in style so arguably Aroeira I lacks a little variety, that said, it's a charming course aimed at relaxed fun, which can be nice!

Aroeira II was a later addition to the Aroeira complex and occupies the more uneven terrain so expect Fairways that rise and fall and have more twist and turn to them: as always through towering pine trees.  Aroeira II also has more water in play and is generally the tougher proposition of the two layouts.  The Clubhouse at Aroeira I serves both courses, even though the first Tee of Aroeira II is about a mile way across the estate!

A course designed primarily for holiday golf for the residents at the hotel on site.  With no pretensions of grandeur Montado is a solid enjoyable course on flat land with plenty of established trees lining many of the Fairways.  Around the closing holes on each nine and in front of the hotel, large lakes come into play creating a spectacular finish.