Algarve Golf History

  The Algarve, World renowned for its mild climate, woke up to golf in 1966 when Penina opened. It was an emblem course, designed by Englishman Sir Henry Cotton who transformed a rice field into a beautiful course after the necessary earthworks and planting 300 thounsand trees. The English community were already in the Algarve and, as they usually did, they brought golf with them.

  Tourism was beginning in the Algarve region and, immediately after Penina course was inaugurated, the courses at Vale do Lobo and Vilamoura appeared. A few years later, another emblem of world golf was built - the first golf course at Quinta do Lago.

  Golf course building proliferated and today more than half the portuguese courses are in the Algarve region. They were designed and are maintained so well that some of them are counted among the main European and Worldwide courses. It would be that they are not too hilly and therefore allow for pleasant games of golf.

  The Importance of international golf in the Algarve is so evident that, by tacit agreement , the Open de Portugal is held there at least every other year.

  Along with the number of courses, the number of Portuguese players has also grow to such an extent that 40% of the Federation players belong to clubs in the Algarve.

  The Clube de Golfe de Vilamoura should be mentioned here as an example to the Algarve, and to the country in general. The effort that the Club has put into training young players has led to first class players in Portuguese golf. They have collected individual, collective, national and international titles thanks to the tenacity of the Club's training. It is enough to look at the numbers for the year 2000 in the Drive project. Out of 150 participants, more than 100 belonged to the Vilamoura Club. Cleary, this club has a bright future. Gary Player said "The more I practice, the luckier I am", and the Clube de Golfe de Vilamoura is a fine example of this.

  It is also worth mentioning that the first association of professional golf players came about in the Algarve. Today the headquarters of the current Portuguese PGA is the Algarve.

  There are two secondary schools in the Region that have golf courses which is an excellent way of integrating golf in school sports.

  Despite the fact that golf attracts a large number of tourists throughout the year in the Algarve, this "business" has not dampened the spirit of golf in any way, but has allowed the clubs to grow and the number of players to increase.