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Porto & the North of Portugal, The Ideal Atmoshpere For Golfing

All Square 3 min read • 16 Mar 2018

The romantic city of Porto is a medieval dreamscape, with stunning baroque churches as well as professional courses with infrastructure that rivals the best in the world. With its fresh mountain breezes, excellent weather, and fascinating surroundings, this colourful part of the country offers an ideal atmosphere for golfing.

Whether you enjoy strolling through museums and galleries, coastal walks or simply soaking up the ambiance of one of Europe’s most irresistible cities, Porto has it covered.

In fact, there is little not to love about the captivating city. Outstanding beaches and coastal walks can be found just moments from the city centre. Low prices mean that Porto can easily be accessed from across Europe. While the architecture is truly magnificent.

Perhaps the highlight of a trip to the vibrant metropole is its varied and mouth-watering cuisine. A new wave of Portuguese chefs has helped put Porto firmly on the culinary map. Combined with Porto’s long-standing reputation as a wine producer and visitors will find themselves immersed in a foodie’s heaven.

Then there is the golf. An array of fantastic course within easy reach means Porto is the ideal spot to combine a fun-packed city break with some time on the fairways. We take a look at some of our favourite layouts.

Estela Golf Club

Founded in 1988, the exclusive Estela Golf Club is a true links and one of the most beautiful and great golf challenges in Europe.
Estela Golf Club - Located in a magnificent area along 3 km of beaches facing the Atlantic Ocean.
Estela Golf Club - Elected for two times Club of the year, it has first class commodities and a climate cooled by the Atlantic breeze in summer and warmed by the Gulf stream in winter.
Estela Golf Club - The 19th hole gives a warm welcome to the players with its outstanding ocean view from the bar and restaurant.

Estela offers an authentic taste of links golf, only with much better weather! Warmed by the Gulf Stream in the winter and cooled by the Atlantic winds in the summer, there is never a bad time to play golf at Estela.

A truly top-class golf course matches the conditions. Largely shaped by the natural duneland, Estela runs along the dramatic Minho coastline. One of Portugal’s very finest layouts, the course has played host to several top events including the Portuguese Open.

Vidago Palace

Vidago Palace Golf Course - The golf course was redesigned by Cameron and Powell, specialists on McKenzie Ross design.
The extension of the golf course from 9 to 18 holes was developed to retain the integrity of the original design.
The golf course layout was built in order to retain every valuable centenary tree.
The features of the golf course are the elevated tees and greens, were the tee boxes are built with stone walls, strategic bunker positioning and greens that demand a sharp eye to read the slopes.

Once a summer retreat for Portuguese royalty, Vidago Palace has been a popular golf resort since the 1930’s. A $50 million refurb of its facilities in 2010 would see the resort elevated to a whole new level, with the original nine-holer upgraded into a championship layout.

The highlight of the round is the stunning 17th hole, which offers views so spectacular that some have described it as the most striking hole in Portuguese golf.

Clube de Golf Miramar

The Club was founded in 1931 to particularly encourage the participation of Portuguese in their new found game of golf.
The course at Clube de Golf de Miramar has some notable holes, the first being the second which is a par-3 with a split-level green.
Another challenging hole is the 9th that requires a golfer to score a par-4 which becomes demanding due to its length.
Enjoy breathtaking views, fresh air and and the challenge of a competitive links in Club de Golf de Miramar

A founding member of the Portuguese Golf Association, Miramar opened for play in 1932. The country’s third eldest club, the 9-hole course has changed very little since then, bar a few minor upgrades.

Situated on a strip of coastal land between Espinho and Porto, the course features just one par-5 and two short holes, including the fabulous par-3 5th.

Despite being a 9-holer, a round at Miramar remains a must for golfers traveling to Portugal’s Northern coastline.

Axis Golfe Ponte de Lima

A place with unique conditions for recreation, sport and relaxation.
In this space, golf enthusiasts, professionals or amateurs, will have all conditions for the sport, including a stunning natural surroundings.
The golf course is a mixed between level and hilly, the first nine holes being hilly and the second nine level.

Overlooking the historic town of Ponte de Lima and with excellent links to the city, this Axis-owned property is ideally situated to combine a trip to Porto with some fabulous golf. In contrast to some of the area’s excellent links course, the layout is located high in hills. As a result, Axis Golfe Ponte de Lima carves its way through undulating and wooded terrain and offers exceptional views of the surrounding countryside.

The tight layout is a formidable test of golf and those matching the par of 71 can walk away very happy indeed.

Amarante Golf Club

Amarante golf course is located at just 45 minutes from Porto and one hour from the Douro valley, north of Portugal.
Surrounded by unspoiled nature and with breathtaking views over the Douro wine region, the Amarante golf course is a good option for those who seek quietness and peace.
When driving off from the tees, the Amarante golf course demands particularly precise shots because of its narrow design.
The bunkers protecting greens and lakes are decisive ingredients of the game at holes number 3, 8, 12 and 17.

In contrast to the fabulous links courses that can be found on the coastline, the short 18-hole layout at Amarante carves its way through mountainous terrain. It’s a short picturesque course that meanders its way through the undulations of the Quinta da Deveza estate. There are no fewer than seven par-3’s on the card. Nonetheless, with plenty of sharp inclines and tricky slopes golfers should be sure to pack their long games if they wish to score well.

Oporto Golf Club

The Oporto Niblicks was started in 1890 by a group of British players involved in the business of Port Wine who created a makeshift Links of nine holes.
The original course was called St. Skeff Links in honor of its first President and it was mainly made up of sand, some native grass and greens, with Par 43.
In 1978 a new Layout was designed, with a major change in the course, the construction of a Driving Range and a new "Club House".
Since then the conditions of the Golf Course in Greens, Fairways and Roughs have been improving, keeping the characteristics of a Links. The Course Par is 71.

Oporto opened for play in 1890 making it the first layout in Portugal, and the fifth eldest in continental Europe. While the layout has changed significantly since then, it remains one of the country’s most popular courses. Laid out across traditional links terrain, a round at Oporto is remarkably akin to playing in Scotland or Ireland. With one notable difference. The sun is usually shining.

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