Quinta do Lago South Course

The South Course is William F. Mitchell's original design for Quinta do Lago, part of the 27 holes he laid out in 1974 that also gave the resort's North Course its first nine. It's the estate's founding layout, set among umbrella pines beside the Ria Formosa Natural Park, and it hosted the Portuguese Open eight times between 1976 and 2001, Colin Montgomerie among the winners with a course-record 63 in 1989.

It's a par-72 of around 6,500 metres, run as two anti-clockwise loops: the front nine rewards a draw, the back nine a fade. Elevated tees, rolling fairways, and doglegs, three of them sharp, keep the tee shot honest throughout. Water shows up mostly on the back nine, though the 3rd is worth minding early, a risk-reward par-4 with a lake down the left. The signature hole is the 15th, a long par-3 played entirely over water with the Atlantic in view beyond it.

The buggy isn't essential here, and the resort adds a driving range, an academy, a clubhouse restaurant and snack bar, locker room and pro shop. Book a round at the course European Tour pros still call their favourite in the Algarve, and the one every other Quinta do Lago layout is measured against.